Robotic Arm Manipulation to Perform Rock Skipping in Simulation
This is an incremental study applying existing robotic manipulation methods to a novel, dynamic task in simulation, with no real-world application yet.
The project tackled robotic rock skipping in simulation by varying release velocity to identify key factors for maximizing skips, but faced limitations with gripping inefficiencies and release height trajectories.
Rock skipping is a highly dynamic and relatively complex task that can easily be performed by humans. This project aims to bring rock skipping into a robotic setting, utilizing the lessons we learned in Robotic Manipulation. Specifically, this project implements a system consisting of a robotic arm and dynamic environment to perform rock skipping in simulation. By varying important parameters such as release velocity, we hope to use our system to gain insight into the most important factors for maximizing the total number of skips. In addition, by implementing the system in simulation, we have a more rigorous and precise testing approach over these varied test parameters. However, this project experienced some limitations due to gripping inefficiencies and problems with release height trajectories which is further discussed in our report.