In‐Hand Singulation, Scooping, and Cable Untangling with a 5‐Dof Tactile‐Reactive Gripper

Abstract

Manipulation tasks often require a high degree of dexterity, typically necessitating grippers with multiple degrees of freedom (DOF). While a robotic hand equipped with multiple fingers can execute precise and intricate manipulation tasks, the inherent redundancy stemming from its high‐DOF often adds complexity that may not be required. In this paper, we introduce the design of a tactile sensor‐equipped gripper with two fingers and five‐DOF. We present a novel design integrating a GelSight tactile sensor, enhancing sensing capabilities and enabling finer control during specific manipulation tasks. To evaluate the gripper's performance, we conduct experiments involving three challenging tasks: 1) retrieving, singularizing, and classification of various objects buried within granular media, 2) executing scooping manipulations of a 3D‐printed credit card in confined environments to achieve precise insertion, and 3) sensing entangled cable states with only tactile perception and executing manipulations to achieve two‐cable untangling. Our results demonstrate the versatility of the proposed gripper across these tasks, with a high success rate of 84% for singulation task, a 100% success rate for scooping and inserting credit cards, and successful cable untangling. Videos are available at https://yuhochau.github.io/5_dof_gripper/ .