Learning Manipulation by Sequencing Motor Primitives with a Two-Armed Robot

Learning to perform complex tasks out of a sequence of simple small demonstrations is a key ability for more flexible robots. In this paper, we present a system that allows for the acquisition of such task executions based on dynamical movement primitives (DMPs). DMPs are a successful approach to encode and generalize robot movements. However, current applications involving DMPs mainly explore movements that, although challenging in terms of dexterity and dimensionality, usually comprise a single continuous movement. This article describes the implementation of a novel system that allows sequencing of simple demonstrations, each one encoded by its own DMP, to achieve a bimanual manipulation task that is too complex to be demonstrated with a single teaching action. As the experimental results show, the resulting system can successfully accomplish a sequenced task of grasping, placing and cutting a vegetable using a setup of a bimanual robot.