MCE Ph.D. Thesis Seminar

Abstract  

  Multi-finger caging offers a rigorous and robust approach to robot grasping.  This thesis provides several novel algorithms for caging polygons and polyhedra in two and three dimensions.  Caging refers to a robotic grasps which does not necessarily immobilize and object, but prevent it from escaping to infinity. 

   This thesis describes an algorithm for finding all two-finger cage formations of planar polygonal objects based on a contact-space formulation, and uses Stratified Morse Theory to show that a search in lower-dimensional contact space yields the same results as a search of free space. This algorithm is then extended to caging 3D polytopes, with correctness shown using straightforward geometric arguments.  Finally, an algorithm for finding three-finger cages of convex polygons where are robust to variation in relative position of the fingers is presented.  All algorithms are implemented, with examples validating the approach.