Picking by Tilting: In-Hand Manipulation for Object Picking using Effector with Curved Form

Abstract: This paper presents a robotic in-hand manipulation technique that can be applied to pick an object too large to grasp in a prehensile manner, by taking advantage of its contact interactions with a curved, passive end-effector, and two flat support surfaces. First, the object is tilted up while being held between the end-effector and the supports. Then, the end-effector is tucked into the gap underneath the object, which is formed by tilting, in order to obtain a grasp against gravity. In this paper, we first examine the mechanics of tilting to understand the different ways in which the object can be initially tilted. We then present a strategy to tilt up the object in a secure manner. Finally, we demonstrate successful picking of objects of various size and geometry using our technique through a set of experiments performed with a custom-made robotic device and a conventional robot arm. Our experiment results show that object picking can be performed reliably with our method using simple hardware and control, and when possible, with appropriate fixture design.