HOLDeR: a layered system for vision-guided robotics

HOLDeR (Hierarchical, Object-centered, Learning Dextrous Robotics) is a new approach to the problem of object-centered task execution. It balances stored object knowledge with flexibility to produce a system that is capable of manipulating a wide variety of known and unknown objects. HOLDeR utilizes a layered approach to sensory-motor coordination that enables a robot to use as much object-specific data as possible, given time and computational constraints. The architecture also incorporates learning to allow the system to adapt to new objects and new classes of objects that it encounters. HOLDeR is based upon a modification of an active deformable model technique called dynamic pressure snakes. The techniques can be adapted to a variety of robotic tasks.