Algorithms and Systems for Manipulating Multiple Objects
Zherong Pan, Andy Zeng, Yunzhu Li, Jingjin Yu, Kris Hauser
Abstract
Robot manipulation of multiple objects is an important topic for applications including warehouse automation, service robots performing cleaning, and large-scale object sorting. Although problems can range in complexity from a few objects to large disordered piles, autonomy remains a significant technical challenge due to the high-dimensional joint configuration space of the robot and all objects, the complex dynamics of object interaction, and the ambiguity and occlusion caused by clutter. This article surveys a broad range of classical and state-of-the-art research in multiobject manipulation and categorizes them along the dimensions of tasks, perception, predictive models, and decision-making algorithms. It also covers emerging trends and open problems faced in the ongoing effort to realize robust multiobject manipulation systems in practice.