Modeling of flexible deformable object for robotic manipulation

Abstract

This paper presents an approach to apply the different flexible deformable model for robotic application. This approach is to simulate the different kind of flexible deformable object such as cloth, shirt and pant from specific initial condition through modeling system. The three-dimensional flexible deformable object is modeled as a two-dimensional quadrangular mesh and the particles inside the model are connected with different type of springs. Difference external forces such as handling action and gravity force will applying to the deformable model. The deformation can be estimated by using integration method to compute the change of the particle position in the model and the state of the deformable model can be tracked after simulation. Currently, the developed deformable model is integrated with two robotic arms in the simulation. To test the robustness of the developed deformable model, different handling process such as hanging, spreading and folding are applied to the flexible deformable model. The best possible path can be estimated from the simulation and utilize it in robotic control later. This approach can be used as an assisting tool to estimate the state for a flexible deformable model in vision recognition and also can be extended to path optimization for different unknown flexible deformable object. © 2016 IEEE.