Distributed multi-arm systems for complex pushing tasks

Distributed robot systems using autonomous manipulators are widely employed in complex tasks such as object pushing, handling, tumbling, or combinations of them. In such cases, the problem of arm reconfiguration is encountered if the object has to be moved into another orientation. In the paper, we describe an object-pushing robot system in which emphasis is placed on efficient planning on the changing of pushing positions, which we call arm repositioning. A new algorithm is proposed for the repositioning mainly based on an evaluation of the object stability and load distribution. The applicability of the algorithm is illustrated by results of experiments using simulated or real arm systems