A topology-based object representation for clasping, latching and hooking

We present a loop-based topological object representation for objects with holes. The representation is used to model object parts suitable for grasping, e.g. handles, and it incorporates local volume information about these. Furthermore, we present a grasp synthesis framework that utilizes this representation for synthesizing caging grasps that are robust under measurement noise. The approach is complementary to a local contact-based force-closure analysis as it depends on global topological features of the object. We perform an extensive evaluation with four robotic hands on synthetic data. Additionally, we provide real world experiments using a Kinect sensor on two robotic platforms: a Schunk dexterous hand attached to a Kuka robot arm as well as a Nao humanoid robot. In the case of the Nao platform, we provide initial experiments showing that our approach can be used to plan whole arm hooking as well as caging grasps involving only one hand.