Extrinsic Contact

Extrinsic contact, referring to interactions between a grasped object and the external environment, is a crucial area of robotics research focused on enabling robots to perform complex manipulation tasks. Current research emphasizes developing robust methods for perceiving and controlling these contacts, often leveraging tactile sensing and advanced algorithms like neural contact fields and factor graph-based approaches to estimate contact location, type, and force, even in the presence of uncertainty. This work is significant because accurate extrinsic contact perception and control are essential for achieving dexterous manipulation in unstructured environments, improving robotic performance in tasks such as assembly, tool use, and object placement.