Learning Object-level Impedance Control for Robust Grasping and Dexterous Manipulation

Object-level impedance control is of great importance for object-centric tasks, such as robust grasping and dexterous manipulation. Despite the recent progress on this topic, how to specify the desired object impedance for a given task remains an open issue. In this paper, we decompose the object’s impedance into two complementary components– the impedance for stable grasping and impedance for object manipulation. Then, we present a method to learn the desired object’s manipulation impedance (stiffness) using data obtained from human demonstration. The approach is validated in two tasks, for robust grasping of a wine glass and for inserting a bulb, using the 16 degrees of freedom Allegro Hand mounted with the SynTouch tactile sensors