Collaborative Manipulation of Spherical-Shape Objects with a Deformable Sheet Held by a Mobile Robotic Team

Abstract

In this paper, we present a method to model and manipulate a spherical object using a deformable sheet held by a team of mobile robots. The proposed modeling method captures the dynamic behavior of the spherical object on the deformable sheet. By strategically changing the position of the robots, the resulting sheet deformation is used to manipulate the motion of the spherical object. The control system uses the model to track the desired position and orientation simultaneously. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the control design’s performance and verify the successful manipulation of the object.