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First-Author Conference Paper, Award Finalist for Best Paper on Robot Manipulation and Locomotion, Award Winner for Best Student Paper at ICRA 2026
This research was conducted with co-workers from RAI with the goal of exploring how passive rollers on robotic fingertips could act as constraints to enable more dexterous manipulation with low-dexterity grippers. By leveraging the contrast between rolling and non-rolling directions, controlling friction becomes more predictable, enabling controlled sliding for in-hand manipulation, adaptation to uncertain environments, and manipulation involving multiple bodies at once.
Paper Link: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2603.27452
Two motors are used, one to control the roller pivot DoF and one to engage and disengage the brake. The use of crown gears enables a more compact package, and the addition of the decoupling bearing (2-6) allows the pivoting DoF to be unaffected by the brake engagement. Natural latex rubber tubing provides a high friction coefficient in the non-rolling direction, while needle roller bearings allow low friction motion in the rolling direction.
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