Push planning for object placement on cluttered table surfaces

Abstract

We present a novel planning algorithm for the problem of placing objects on a cluttered surface such as a table, counter or floor. The planner (1) selects a placement for the target object and (2) constructs a sequence of manipulation actions that create space for the object. When no continuous space is large enough for direct placement, the planner leverages means-end analysis and dynamic simulation to find a sequence of linear pushes that clears the necessary space. Our heuristic for determining candidate placement poses for the target object is used to guide the manipulation search. We show successful results for our algorithm in simulation.