In this paper we address the problem of generating input plans to steer complex dynamical systems in an obstacle-free environment. Plans considered admit a finite description length and are constructed by words on an alphabet of input symbols, which could be e.g. transmitted through a limited capacity channel to a remote system, where they can be decoded in suitable control actions. We show that, by suitable choice of the control encoding, finite plans can be efficiently built for a wide class of dynamical systems, computing arbitrarily close approximations of a desired equilibrium in polynomial time. Moreover, we illustrate by simulations the power of the proposed method, solving the steering problem for an example in the class of underactuated systems, which have attracted wide attention in the recent literature

Robotic manipulation by rolling contacts is an appealing method for achieving dexterity with relatively simple hardware. While there exist techniques for planning motions of rigid bodies in rolling contact under nominal conditions, an inescapable challenge is the design of robust controllers of provable performance in the presence of model perturbations. As a preliminary step in this direction, we present in this paper an iterative robust planner of arbitrary accuracy for the plate-ball manipulation system subject to perturbations on the sphere radius. The basic tool is an exact geometric planner for the nominal system, whose repeated application guarantees the desired robustness property on the basis of the iterative steering paradigm. Simulation results under perturbed conditions show the effectiveness of the method.

In this paper, we consider planning motions of objects of regular shape rolling on a plane among obstacles. Theoretical foundations and applications of this type of operations in robotic manipulation and locomotion have been discussed elsewhere. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm that improves upon existing techniques in that: i) it is finitely computable and predictable (an upper bound on the computations necessary to reach a given goal within a tolerance can be given), and ii) it possesses a topological (local-local) property which enables obstacles and workspace limitations to be dealt with in an effective way.

We consider the problem of maximizing the localization accuracy of a mobile vehicle, based on triangulation measurements derived from optical data. The problem is intrinsically nonlinear, as the linear approximation of the system is not observable. This implies that the choice of inputs (i.e., the path followed) may affect the quality of observations made, and ultimately the localization accuracy. We consider the problem of finding the most informative exploratory path of the given length for a rover (modeled as a point in the plane) with optical triangulation information.

In this paper we consider a particular technique for achieving dexterity in manipulation with robot hands, which intentionally exploits rolling contacts. We report in some detail on modelling rolling contacts, and provide a result on the analysis of controllability of rolling pairs of bodies, which serves as a theoretical basis for the exploitation of rolling for dexterity enhancement. We conclude by illustrating some aspects of the problem that could not be touched upon in the paper, and open problems that still remain to be solved.

The nonholonomy exhibited by kinematic systems consisting of bodies rolling on top of each other can be used for the purpose of building dexterous mechanisms with a minimum hardware complication. Such a desirable engineering feature can be fully exploited, however, only if the capability of planning and controlling the rolling motions of arbitrary objects is achieved. In this paper we present recent advances of both theoretical and experimental natures towards realizing a robot gripper for manipulation of objects whose shape is not known a priori, but is reconstructed as manipulation proceeds.

The nonholonomy exhibited by kinematic systems consisting of bodies rolling on top of each other can be used to the purpose of building dexterous mechanism with a minimum hardware complication. Previous work concentrated on manipulation of objects possessing a regular surface. On the other hand, industrial parts are most often irregular, possessing vertices and edges. In this paper we present some results on the description of the set of positions and orientations that polyhedral objects can reach when manipulated by rolling without slipping. An algorithm for planning the manipulation of a polyhedral part from a given configuration to another reachable one, is also presented.