Hardware & control
Robot manipulation
Robot manipulation is a robot's controlled physical interaction with objects or its environment to change or maintain their state. It includes grasping, carrying, pushing, pulling, inserting, wiping, folding, tool use, and other tasks performed through selective contact. Manipulation can use a gripper, hand, tool, arm, or another part of the robot.
Also known as: robotic manipulation
Updated
Manipulation changes the world through contact
Matthew Mason's broad definition describes manipulation as control of the environment through selective contact. That includes more than picking and placing rigid objects. A robot can push, pour, wipe, fasten, fold, open, cut or hold something in place.
The definition centres the interaction rather than one device. An arm with a parallel gripper is common, but manipulation may use a dexterous hand, suction cup, tool, mobile base, forearm or whole body. Grasping is one manipulation primitive, not a synonym for the entire field.
Perception, planning and control meet at contact
A manipulation system must identify relevant objects and geometry, choose a sequence of contacts and motions, and regulate the resulting forces. The MIT manipulation notes emphasise the combination of perception, task and motion planning, and feedback control required beyond a simple pick-and-place abstraction.
Contact makes the problem discontinuous. An object may stick, slide, roll, deform or lose contact after a small change in pose or force. A policy that succeeds visually can still fail because friction, compliance or object state differs from training.
A manipulation episode needs causes and outcomes
Useful data aligns observations, robot state, actions, contact signals, object state, task instruction and outcome. Camera video alone may show that an object moved without revealing the command, force or failed contact that caused the change.
The record should also identify the end effector, coordinate frames, control mode, action space, task success criteria and reset procedure. These details allow buyers and researchers to distinguish reusable manipulation experience from footage that documents only the final appearance.
Sources
Related terms
Hardware & control
Gripper
A gripper is a robot end effector designed to seize and hold an object. It may use fingers, jaws, suction, magnetism, adhesion, or another grasping mechanism. A gripper can open and close with one command or expose several independently controlled joints, but it is not synonymous with every end effector or with a complete robot hand.
Hardware & control
End effector
An end effector is a task-specific device attached to a robot manipulator’s mechanical interface so the robot can act on its environment, such as a gripper, hand or welding tool. It is distinct from the wrist or mounting flange, and from the tool centre point, which is only a coordinate frame used to plan the device’s motion.
Hardware & control
Bimanual manipulation
Bimanual manipulation is the use of two hands or robot manipulators to carry out one manipulation task with spatial, temporal, or force coordination between them. The two sides may play symmetric roles, such as lifting a large object together, or asymmetric roles, such as one hand holding an object while the other operates a tool.
Hardware & control
Dexterous manipulation
Dexterous manipulation is the controlled, skillful reconfiguration of an object through coordinated motion and contact, often using multiple fingers. It can involve changing an object's pose within a hand, regrasping, sliding, rolling, finger gaiting, or making precise contact with the environment. The term describes capability, not a fixed minimum number of fingers or joints.
Hardware & control
Mobile manipulation
Mobile manipulation is the coordinated use of locomotion and manipulation by a robot that combines a mobile base or body with one or more arms or other manipulators. Mobility expands the robot's reachable workspace, while the manipulator grasps, pushes, operates tools or makes contact; the base and arm may move separately or at the same time.