Reactive Correction of Object Placement Errors for Robotic Arrangement Tasks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a robotic method for detecting and correcting object placement errors during arrangement tasks, significantly improving accuracy by autonomously pushing misplaced objects to desired positions.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel autonomous correction approach using pushing actions to improve placement accuracy in robotic object arrangement tasks.

Findings

Successful correction of placement errors in simulation and real hardware

Achieved millimeter-range placement accuracy

Demonstrated robustness across different object shapes

Abstract

When arranging objects with robotic arms, the quality of the end result strongly depends on the achievable placement accuracy. However, even the most advanced robotic systems are prone to positioning errors that can occur at different steps of the manipulation process. Ignoring such errors can lead to the partial or complete failure of the arrangement. In this paper, we present a novel approach to autonomously detect and correct misplaced objects by pushing them with a robotic arm. We thoroughly tested our approach both in simulation and on real hardware using a Robotiq two-finger gripper mounted on a UR5 robotic arm. In our evaluation, we demonstrate the successful compensation for different errors injected during the manipulation of regular shaped objects. Consequently, we achieve a highly reliable object placement accuracy in the millimeter range.