2023-08-30 15:15:05
Holding between a finger of one hand and a finger of the other a very fragile object, which can break if we squeeze it too much and fall if we squeeze it too little, is something that humans can do easily. However, for robots this has historically been a challenge. A new system, based on artificial intelligence, will now completely change this situation.
The new system to coordinately control the two arms of a robot shows manual dexterity and tactile sensitivity close to that of a human being, thanks to the use of artificial intelligence.
The breakthrough is the work of the team of Yijiong Lin and Nathan Lepora, both from the University of Bristol in the UK.
The new system, called Bi-Touch, uses an artificial intelligence agent so that the robots perform manual tasks knowing what to do at all times, without having to meditate for a long time on each action to be taken.
This artificial intelligence agent interprets its environment through tactile and proprioceptive feedback, and then controls the behavior of the robots, enabling accurate detection, smooth interaction, and effective object manipulation while performing the task at hand.
This robot, thanks to the new artificial intelligence system, holds a potato chip between its two limbs, without dropping it or breaking it by pressing too hard, despite how brittle it is. (Photo: Yijing Lin)
This development could revolutionize commercial sectors such as fruit picking, lighten housework and perhaps even recreate to some extent the sense of touch in artificial limbs.
Lin and Lepora’s team discuss the technical details of their new artificial intelligence system in the academic journal IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, under the title “Bi-Touch: Bimanual Tactile Manipulation With Sim-to-Real Deep Reinforcement Learning.” (Source: NCYT from Amazings)
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