Researchers at MIT have developed a new robot that can easily perform certain types of kitchen tasks, such as peeling multiple vegetables.
In a recent video, the robot peels a pumpkin with one hand while holding it with the other.
The robotic system can easily rotate fruits and vegetables using its finger and peel them with its other hand.
Robot solves efficient handling problems
Recent studies have made significant progress in addressing efficient handling issues, particularly in material reorientation within the hand.
However, there is some work investigating the potential use of developed dexterous manipulation controllers for low-level tasks.
In this new study, with Researchers focused on controlled efficient manipulation of food peeling. Food peeling presents various constraints on the reorientation controller, such as the need to securely hold the material by hand after reorientation for peeling.
„We propose a simple system for learning a regenerative controller that simplifies the subsequent peeling task,” the researchers said.
Humans peel potatoes by holding them in one hand and using the other hand to operate a peeler to remove the potato’s skin. After a portion of the potato is peeled, it is rotated while being held in the hand (ie, handled in the hand) and peeled again. The rotating and peeling sequence continues until all of the potato’s skin is removed.
The robotic system can reorient various vegetables
„In this work, we present a robotic system that can reorient the skin of different vegetables using an Allegro arm to peel using another manipulator,” he said. researchers.
An efficient handling system that uses an Allegro arm mounted on the Franca robot arm to adapt food items to be peeled downwards. The other Franca robot arm uses its gripper to grab a peeler for peeling.
The regenerative controller for the Allegro arm is learned through reinforcement learning, while the skinning is performed through teleoperation.
The researchers demonstrated the process of reconstituting and peeling a melon, a sweet potato, and a pumpkin.
The regenerative controller presented in this study is a blind controller that relies only on proprioceptive sensory information. Although it has demonstrated its ability to successfully reposition heavy objects and hold them securely, its performance could be improved by combining visual and tactile feedback.
„These extra steps for recycling are something so straightforward for humans that we don’t even think about,” said Pulkit Agarwal, an assistant professor in MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). New Scientist. „But for a robot, it becomes challenging.”
There are some failure modes in the current system. First, because the controller doesn’t use any vision information, the object may slip out of the hand. Second, the controller may fail if the vegetables are small because the fingers cannot make contact with the object.
About the editor
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Prabhat is a technology and security journalist. While he enjoys writing about modern weapons and emerging technology, he has also reported on global politics and business. He was previously associated with well-known media houses including International Business Times (Singapore Edition) and ANI.