Learning throwing and catching skills

Abstract

In this video, we present approaches for learning throwing and catching skills. We first show how a hitting skill (i.e., table tennis) can be learned using a combination of imitation and reinforcement learning. This hitting skill is subsequently generalized to a catching skill. Secondly, we show how a robot can adapt a throwing skill to new targets. Finally, we demonstrate that a BioRob and a Barrett WAM can play catch together using the previously acquired skills.