Estimation and Exploitation of Objects' Inertial Parameters in Robotic\n Grasping and Manipulation: A Survey

Abstract

Inertial parameters characterise an object's motion under applied forces, and\ncan provide strong priors for planning and control of robotic actions to\nmanipulate the object. However, these parameters are not available a-priori in\nsituations where a robot encounters new objects. In this paper, we describe and\ncategorise the ways that a robot can identify an object's inertial parameters.\nWe also discuss grasping and manipulation methods in which knowledge of\ninertial parameters is exploited in various ways. We begin with a discussion of\nliterature which investigates how humans estimate the inertial parameters of\nobjects, to provide background and motivation for this area of robotics\nresearch. We frame our discussion of the robotics literature in terms of three\ncategories of estimation methods, according to the amount of interaction with\nthe object: purely visual, exploratory, and fixed-object. Each category is\nanalysed and discussed. To demonstrate the usefulness of inertial estimation\nresearch, we describe a number of grasping and manipulation applications that\nmake use of the inertial parameters of objects. The aim of the paper is to\nthoroughly review and categorise existing work in an important, but\nunder-explored, area of robotics research, present its background and\napplications, and suggest future directions. Note that this paper does not\nexamine methods of identification of the robot's inertial parameters, but\nrather the identification of inertial parameters of other objects which the\nrobot is tasked with manipulating.\n