Predicting Contact Surfaces in Repetitive Robotic Tasks

Luis Hernán Campos, José Luis Reyes Ramos, Marcelo Fajardo-Pruna, Christian Tutivén, Carlos Saldarriaga, Carlos Saldarriaga

2025

Abstract

Modern industrial robotics increasingly demands adaptive interaction with diverse materials in repetitive tasks, where traditional model-based control struggles to accommodate surface variability. This study introduces a novel framework that integrates impedance control with a machine learning-based surface classification system to enhance robotic adaptability in contact-rich environments. Using a 7-DOF Franka Emika Panda manipulator, we simulated repetitive trajectories over six material types and collected comprehensive dynamic interaction data. A CatBoostClassifier was trained on this dataset to predict surface type based on features such as joint torques, contact forces, and end-effector kinematics. The classifier achieved an overall accuracy of 99%, with F1-scores exceeding 0.98 across all classes, demonstrating robust discrimination, even between materials with similar frictional properties like brass and Teflon. Results show that our approach reduces manual tuning effort and maintains stable impedance responses under perturbations up to 50 N. This fusion of data-driven inference and classical control lays the groundwork for real-time parameter adaptation in robotic systems, offering new pathways toward safer, more efficient operation in unstructured industrial settings. Future work will expand the framework with multimodal sensing and evaluate its generalization on novel surfaces in physical deployments.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Campos L., Reyes Ramos J., Fajardo-Pruna M., Tutivén C. and Saldarriaga C. (2025). Predicting Contact Surfaces in Repetitive Robotic Tasks. In Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 2: ICINCO; ISBN 978-989-758-770-2, SciTePress, pages 275-282. DOI: 10.5220/0013714400003982

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icinco25,
author={Luis Campos and José Reyes Ramos and Marcelo Fajardo-Pruna and Christian Tutivén and Carlos Saldarriaga},
title={Predicting Contact Surfaces in Repetitive Robotic Tasks},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 2: ICINCO},
year={2025},
pages={275-282},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013714400003982},
isbn={978-989-758-770-2},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 2: ICINCO
TI - Predicting Contact Surfaces in Repetitive Robotic Tasks
SN - 978-989-758-770-2
AU - Campos L.
AU - Reyes Ramos J.
AU - Fajardo-Pruna M.
AU - Tutivén C.
AU - Saldarriaga C.
PY - 2025
SP - 275
EP - 282
DO - 10.5220/0013714400003982
PB - SciTePress