Impulsive manipulation

Abstract

Examines a little-studied method of manipulation-manipulation by striking an object and letting it slide. There are two parts to this problem: The inverse sliding problem, determining the velocities required to send an object to a desired configuration, and the impact problem, determining how to strike the object in order to achieve those velocities. The authors present a solution to these two problems for the class of rotationally symmetric objects and conclude with some observations about this method of manipulation.