Visually Guided Robotic Hand / Eye Coordination

The term “robot,” coined by Karel Capek in the play R.U.R., implies “compulsory labor,” yet most mobile robots in existence today are only capable of the lightest of labor. Of course, a robot is just a pile of parts without the advanced perception, planning, and control systems needed to make it perform useful work reliably in an unstructured environment. When done correctly, however, it will yield the “Universal Worker” that Capek envisioned 90 years ago. The need for such a universal worker robot is compelling and the opportunities for application of the technology are endless, from exploring and manipulating hazardous environments to sorting inventory, or eventually even construction. Vecna proposes a prototype robotic system based on numerous innovations from ongoing research in hydraulics, perception, planning and controls that will be able to adequately perform the specified tasks (type, drum, juggle, use tools, and thread a needle). The hypothesis to be tested is that a hydraulics-based robotic system can achieve the strength, dexterity, maneuverability, speed, and precision that are called for in this solicitation when integrated with an advanced robotic vision and planning control system.