Planning and control of meso-scale manipulation tasks with uncertainties

Abstract

We develop a systematic approach to incorporating uncertainty into planning manipulation tasks with frictional contacts. We consider the canonical problem of assembling a peg into a hole at the meso scale using probes with minimal actuation but with visual feedback from an optical microscope. We consider three sources of uncertainty. Because of errors in sensing position and orientation of the parts to be assembled, we must consider uncertainty in the sensed configuration of the system. Second, there is uncertainty because of errors in actuation. Third, there are geometric and physical parameters characterizing the environment that are unknown. We discuss the synthesis of robust planning primitives using a single degreeof- freedom probe and the automated generation of plans for meso-scale manipulation. We show simulation and experimental results in support of our work.