Talk title:
Getting a grip to the real world: Robotic Hands

ABSTRACT of the TALK
Robotics has made amazing progress over the last decades. From the pattering first steps of the first humanoids to Boston Dynamics' Atlas, from early optical navigation of slow planar vehicles in well lightened, clutter free rooms to autonomous drones flying at frightening speeds in woods. But when it comes to grasping and dextereous manipulation of objects times appear to be frozen. Fluid inhand manipulation as seen in humans still is not achieved. Is it the robotic hands that lack capabilities? The planning algorithms? Is it occlusions limiting perception? Is it grasping force control?

This task gives a personal point of view of a robotic hands developer, as well as a (pretty) short overview of methods for hand design as well as some hypothesis about the biggest challenges in dexterous manipulation and grasping.


BIO
Markus Grebenstein received the Dipl. Ing. degree in mechanical engineering in 1997 from the Technical University in Munich, Germany, and the Doctor of Science degree from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, in 2013. Engaged at DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics in 1996, he worked on the development of electromechanical passenger vehicle brake systems until 1998. Since then, his focus has turned to the research and development of anthropomorphic robotic hands and he developed DLR Hand II and DAVID’s antagonistically driven Awiwi- hand. He was leading the development of the DLR Hand Arm System until 2012, starting from 2018 he is project lead at DLR for the MMX Rover mission to the Martian moon Phobos.

Starting in 2000, he served as the head of Mechanical Development. Starting 2010 he has been serving as the head of the Department of Mechatronic Components and Systems. He is the Deputy Director of the DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics since 2015.