Harvard College

Righthand Robotics, Inc.

Leif Jentoft

Yaroslav Tenzer

Robert Howe

Lael Odhner

Mark Keck

Methods and systems for assessing a robotic grasping technique. The system in accordance with various embodiments may include a warehouse management system for retrieving and storing items, a robotic manipulator for grasping an item, and analysis module configured to receive data regarding a first grasp attempt by the robotic manipulator and analyze the received data to determine whether the robotic manipulator successfully grasped the item.

Assessing robotic grasping

Methods and systems for training a robotic manipulator. The system may include one or more sensor devices and a robotic manipulator for executing an item grasping strategy to grasp an item. The system may further evaluate the item grasping strategy to determine whether the strategy was successful.

Training robotic manipulators

A tactile sensor includes a pressure transducer encapsulated in an elastic material that defines a contact surface and provides a transmission path that transmits contact forces or pressure distributions applied to the contact surface to the pressure transducer. The pressure transducer can be enclosed in a protective housing that defines a chamber around the transducer. The housing can include one or more openings that expose the chamber to the exterior pressure. The tactile sensor can be made by applying the elastic material in liquid form and exposing the housing to a vacuum that removes air inside the chamber allowing the liquid elastic material to flow into the chamber. Once cured, the elastic material defines a contact surface of the tactile sensor and serves to transfer contact forces applied to the contact surface to the transducer.

Method of making a contact pressure sensor

A compliant adaptive robot grasper comprises a multi-bar finger linkage, including a fingertip link, at least one base link, and front and rear links joining the base link via a first set of joints with the fingertip links via a second set of joints. The base link includes a mounting structure, allowing it to be mounted on a mounting block for rotary actuation. Linear connections between the joints form a shape substantially in the form of a parallelogram allowing the linear connections across the front and rear links to remain substantially parallel to one another as the front and rear links pivot about the base link without substantially changing the orientation of the fingertip link until and unless the multi-bar finger linkage contacts an external object.

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Cambridge, MA, United States of America

Leif Jentoft