Robotic Cutting: Mechanics and Control of Knife Motion

Effectiveness of cutting is measured by the ability to achieve material fracture with smooth knife movements. The work performed by a knife overcomes the material toughness, acts against the blade-material friction, and generates shape deformation. This paper studies how to control a 2-DOF robotic arm equipped with a force/torque sensor to cut through an object in a sequence of three moves: press, push, and slice. For each move, a separate control strategy in the Cartesian space is designed to incorporate contact and/or force constraints while following some prescribed trajectory. Experiments conducted over several types of natural foods have demonstrated smooth motions like would be commanded by a human hand.