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.