Transferring Manipulative Skills to Robots: Representation and Acquisition of Tool Manipulative Skills Using a Process Dynamics Model

A new method based on task process models for acquiring manipulative skills from human experts is presented. In performing manipulative tasks such as deburring, a human expert moves a tool at an optimal feedrate and cutting force as well as with an appropriate compliance for holding the tool. An experienced worker can select the correct strategy for performing a task and change it dynamically in accordance with the task process state. In this paper, the human expertise for selecting a task strategy that accords with the process characteristics is modeled as an associative mapping, and represented and generated by using a neural network. First, the control strategy for manipulating a tool is described in terms of feedforward inputs and tool holding dynamics. The parameters and variables representing the control strategy are then identified by using teaching data taken from demonstrations by an expert. The task process is also modeled and characterized by a set of parameters, which are identified by using this same teaching data. Combining the two sets of identified parameters, we can derive an associative mapping from the task process characteristics to the task strategy parameters. The consistency of the mapping and the transferability of human skills are analyzed by using Lipschitz’s condition. The method is applied to deburring, and implemented on a direct-drive robot. It is shown that the robot is able to associate a correct control strategy with process characteristics in a manner similar to that of the human expert.