Grasping objects from a user’s hand using time-of-flight camera data

Abstract

For a robotic platform to be able to assist/interact in human environments, the platform must be able to perform some fundamental tasks. This includes interacting with humans by grasping or releasing objects as or when required by the human. This paper presents a system which allows a robotic arm manipulator to grasp any moving object from a user’s hand and releases the object when indicated to do so. Data from a Time-of-Flight camera is fused with an ordinary laboratory camera to create a robust method of rapidly tracking a target object and providing data of possible obstacles. A basic experiment is used to illustrate to the system.