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Publications

Search Publications by Joseph A. Falco

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Displaying 1 - 25 of 50

Benchmarking Protocols for Evaluating Small Parts Robotic Assembly Systems

April 1, 2020
Author(s)
Kenneth E. Kimble, Joseph A. Falco, Elena R. Messina, Karl Van Wyk , Yu Sun, Mizuho Shibata, Wataru Uemura, Yasuyoshi Yokokohji
This paper presents a set of performance metrics, test methods, and associated artifacts to help progress the development and deployment of robotic assembly systems. The designs for three task board artifacts that replicate small part insertions and

Benchmarking Protocols for Evaluating Grasp Strength, Grasp Cycle Time, Finger Strength, and Finger Repeatability of Robot End-effectors

April 1, 2020
Author(s)
Joseph A. Falco, Daniel Hemphill, Kenneth E. Kimble, Elena R. Messina, Adam Norton, Rafael F. Ropelato, Holly A. Yanco
This paper describes a set of metrics and supporting benchmarking protocols for determining the performance characteristics of robot end-effectors. In the short-term, these tools are proving useful as a common ground for assessing and comparing end

Efficiently Improving and Quantifying Robot Accuracy In Situ

August 20, 2019
Author(s)
Karl Van Wyk, Joseph A. Falco, Geraldine S. Cheok
The advancement of simulation-assisted robot programming, automation of high-tolerance assembly operations, and improvement of real-world performance engender a need for positionally accurate robots. Despite tight machining tolerances, good mechanical

Performance Metrics and Test Methods for Robotic Hands (Draft)

October 31, 2018
Author(s)
Joseph A. Falco, Karl Van Wyk, Elena R. Messina
Increasing the flexibility and general-purpose applicability of robots is a longstanding goal. Several avenues of research are addressing these goals, ranging from integration of multiple sensors to allow robots to perceive their surroundings and adapt

Guest Editorial Open Discussion of Robot Grasping Benchmarks, Protocols and Metrics

October 15, 2018
Author(s)
Jeffrey Mahler, Rob Platt, Alberto Rodriguez, Matei Ciocarlie, Aaron Dollar, Renaud Detry, Maximo Roa, Holly A. Yanco, Adam Norton, Joseph A. Falco, Karl Van Wyk, Elena R. Messina, Jurgen Leitner, Oliver Brock, Odhner Lael, Andrey Kurenkov, Matthew Matl, Ken Goldberg
Automated grasping has a long history of research that is increasing due to interest from industry. One Grand Challenge for robotics is Universal Picking: the ability to robustly grasp a broad variety of objects in diverse environments for applications

Calibration and Analysis of Tactile Sensors as Slip Detectors

September 13, 2018
Author(s)
Karl Van Wyk, Joseph A. Falco
The existence of tactile afferents sensitive to slip-related mechanical transients in the human hand augments the robustness of grasping through secondary force modulation protocols. Despite this knowledge and the fact that tactile-based slip detection has

Robotic Grasping and Manipulation Competition: Task Pool

July 15, 2018
Author(s)
Yu Sun, Joseph A. Falco, Nadia Cheng, Hyouk Ryeol Choi, Erik Engeberg, Nancy Pollard, Maximo Roa, Zeyang Xia
A Robot Grasping and Manipulation Competition was held during IROS 2016. The competition provided a common set of robot tasks for researchers focused on the application of robot systems to compare the performance of hand designs as well as autonomous

Slip Detection: Analysis and Calibration of Univariate Tactile Signals

June 27, 2018
Author(s)
Karl Van Wyk, Joseph A. Falco
he existence of tactile afferents sensitive to slip-related mechanical transients in the human hand augments the robustness of grasping through secondary force modulation protocols. Despite this knowledge and the fact that tactile-based slip detection has

Multi-Robot Assembly Strategies and Metrics

January 26, 2018
Author(s)
Jeremy A. Marvel, Roger V. Bostelman, Joseph A. Falco
We present a survey of multi-robot assembly applications and methods, and describe trends and general insights into the multi-robot assembly problem for industrial applications. We focus on fixtureless assembly strategies featuring two or more robotic

Multi-Fingered Robotic Grasping: A Primer

July 22, 2016
Author(s)
Stefano Carpin, Shuo Liu, Joseph A. Falco, Karl Van Wyk
Grasping and manipulation has generated significant interest in the robotics community, and robotic grasping emerged as an autonomous area of research since the development of the first robotic hands. Notwithstanding, robotic grasping continues to be one

Benchmarking Robot Force Control Capabilities: Experimental Results

January 7, 2016
Author(s)
Joseph A. Falco, Jeremy A. Marvel, Richard J. Norcross, Karl Van Wyk
Metrics and test methods are needed to characterize the control capabilities of robots with both intrinsic and extrinsic force sensing. The availability of these benchmarks will motivate research product development, and provide a mechanism for reporting

Measuring and Representing the Performance of Manufacturing Assembly Robots

December 10, 2015
Author(s)
Michael O. Shneier, Elena R. Messina, Craig I. Schlenoff, Frederick M. Proctor, Thomas R. Kramer, Joseph A. Falco
With the growth of robotic technology, there is a need for performance measures to characterize and compare robots and to help determine which features are most suited to a particular application. Robot systems are complex and involve a wide range of

Automated Guided Vehicle Bumper Test Method Development

June 2, 2015
Author(s)
Richard J. Norcross, Roger V. Bostelman, Joseph A. Falco
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is developing test methods for contact bumpers used on Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) as basis for safety standards. This paper describes proposed test methods, force measurements for contact

Characterizing Task-Based Human-Robot Collaboration Safety in Manufacturing

February 27, 2015
Author(s)
Jeremy A. Marvel, Joseph A. Falco, Ilari Marstio
A new methodology for describing the safety of human-robot collaborations is presented. Taking a task-based perspective, a risk assessment of a collaborative robot system safety can be evaluated offline during the initial design stages. This risk

A Roadmap to Advance Measurement Science in Robot Dexterity and Manipulation

May 1, 2014
Author(s)
Joseph A. Falco, Jeremy A. Marvel, Elena R. Messina
In order for robots to expand their applicability within manufacturing operations, their dexterity needs to advance considerably. There is active research in many areas that is contributing to creating a new generation of much more dexterous arms and hands

Measurement Science for 6DOF object pose ground truth

June 28, 2013
Author(s)
Roger D. Eastman, Jeremy A. Marvel, Joseph A. Falco, Tsai Hong Hong
Users of perception systems in industrial manufacturing applications need standardized, third party ground truth procedures to validate system performance before deployment. Many manufacturing robotic applications require parts and assemblies to be

Dexterous Manipulation for Manufacturing Applications Workshop

June 21, 2013
Author(s)
Joseph A. Falco, Jeremy A. Marvel, Elena R. Messina
The National Institute of Standards and Technology organized a free workshop in conjunction with the 2013 Automate and ProMat trade shows in Chicago, IL. The workshop addressed the application of dexterous robot technologies to meet the application needs