2021/06/14 by Andrew R. Barkan, Barkan, Andrew R., Akhil Padmanabha +11
Computer Science · Engineering · #Architecture and Computational Design #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Interactive and Immersive Displays #Robotics (cs.RO) #Structural Analysis and Optimization
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2106.07838
openalex publication_date 2021/06/14 · openalex created_date 2022/07/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Advancements in the domain of physical human-robot interaction (pHRI) have\ntremendously improved the ability of humans and robots to communicate,\ncollaborate, and coexist. In particular, compliant robotic systems offer many\ncharacteristics that can be leveraged towards enabling physical interactions\nthat more efficiently and intuitively communicate intent, making compliant\nsystems potentially useful in more physically demanding subsets of human-robot\ncollaborative scenarios. Tensegrity robots are an example of compliant systems\nthat are well-suited to physical interactions while still retaining useful\nrigid properties that make them practical for a variety of applications. In\nthis paper, we present the design and preliminary testing of a 6-bar spherical\ntensegrity with force-sensing capabilities. Using this prototype, we\ndemonstrate the ability of its force-sensor array to detect a variety of\nphysical interaction types that might arise in a human context. We then train\nand test a series of classifiers using data from unique and representative\ninteractions in order to demonstrate the feasibility of using this physical\nmodality of sensing to reliably communicate goals and intents from a human\noperator in a human-robot collaborative setting.\n