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Accurate Pouring with an Autonomous Robot Using an RGB-D Camera

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Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 867))

Abstract

Robotic assistants in a home environment are expected to perform various complex tasks for their users. One particularly challenging task is pouring drinks into cups, which for successful completion, requires the detection and tracking of the liquid level during a pour to determine when to stop. In this paper, we present a novel approach to autonomous pouring that tracks the liquid level using an RGB-D camera and adapts the rate of pouring based on the liquid level feedback. We thoroughly evaluate our system on various types of liquids and under different conditions, conducting over 250 pours with a PR2 robot. The results demonstrate that our approach is able to pour liquids to a target height with an accuracy of a few millimeters.

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Correspondence to Chau Do .

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Do, C., Burgard, W. (2019). Accurate Pouring with an Autonomous Robot Using an RGB-D Camera. In: Strand, M., Dillmann, R., Menegatti, E., Ghidoni, S. (eds) Intelligent Autonomous Systems 15. IAS 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 867. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01370-7_17

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