Grasping is an action perfected long ago in nature but one which represents the cutting-edge of robotics research.Most factory-based machines are dumb, blindly picking up familiar objects that appear in pre-determined places at just the right moment. Getting a machine to pick up unfamiliar objects, randomly presented, requires the seamless interaction of multiple, complex technologies.These include vision systems and advanced AI so the machine can see the target and determine its properties (for example, is it rigid or flexible?); and potentially, sensors in the gripper are required so the robot does not inadvertently crush an object it has been told to pick up.Even when all this is accomplished, researchers in the National Centre for Nuclear Robotics highlighted a fundamental issue: what has traditionally counted as a successful grasp for a robot might actually be a real-world failure, because the machine does not take into China socks knitting machine Suppliers account what the goal is and why it is picking an object up.

The study cited the example of a robot in a factory picking up an object for delivery to a customer. It successfully executes the task, holding the package securely without causing damage.Unfortunately, the robots gripper obscures a crucial barcode, which means the object cant be tracked and the firm has no idea if the item has been picked up or not; the whole delivery system breaks down because the robot does not know the consequences of holding a box the wrong way.Dr. Ortenzi and his co-authors give other examples, involving robots working alongside people.Imagine asking a robot to pass you a screwdriver in a workshop. Based on current conventions the best way for a robot to pick up the tool is by the handle.Unfortunately, that could mean that a hugely powerful machine then thrusts a potentially lethal blade towards you, at speed. Instead, the robot needs to know what the end goal is, i.e., to pass the screwdriver safely to its human colleague, in order to rethink its actions.Another scenario envisages a robot passing a glass of water to a resident in a care home.