Latest / The Robotics Podcast with Fexingo: Autonomous Systems, Industrial Robots, and Hardware
Why Robot Arms Cant Handle a Deflated Ball
In this episode of The Robotics Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore why robot arms struggle with deformable objects like a deflated ball. They dive into the physics of non-rigid materials, the limitations of traditional force sensors, and a case study from Disney Research's 2023 work on soft-object manipulation. Lucas explains how the lack of a stable geometric model makes gripping and rolling a collapsed sphere nearly impossible for current industrial arms, while Luna points out how human hands use real-time tactile feedback that robots still lack. The hosts discuss implications for…
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