Precision Pouring into Unknown Containers by Service Robots

Service robots have developed considerably in recent years. This study aims to propose two approaches for controlling the motion of a service robot as it pours liquid precisely from an unknown container into another unknown container without the need of any external tools. To realize this task, we must resolve two sub-tasks, which are determining the poured volume and controlling the pouring action. Our first proposal concentrates on the target container. The poured volume is calculated using a model of target container and the height of liquid in the target container. The action is controlled using a proportional-derivative controller, which considers the angular speed of the pouring container as a process variable and the poured volume as a control variable. Our second method concentrates on the pouring container. The poured volume is calculated using the relation between the angle of the pouring container and poured volume. The action is controlled with a simple proportional controller that takes the angular speed of the pouring container as a process variable and target angle as a control variable. A point cloud is used to model the two containers. These two methods were implemented in a dualarm robot system for testing, and the results show that both methods are effective for controlling precise pouring tasks.