System Lets Robots Grasp Tools with Correct Force

Robots with enhanced fine motor skills? Learn how researchers from MIT's CSAIL created a system that lets robots grasp tools with the right amount of force for a given task.

“We've been heavily relying on the work of Mason, Raibert, and Craig on what we call a hybrid force position controller,” says Hyung Ju Suh , a PhD student in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, CSAIL affiliate, and lead author on a new paper about SEED. “That’s the idea, that if you actually had three dimensions to move in when you're writing on a chalkboard, you want to be able to control position on some of the axes, while controlling force on the other axis.”