Autonomous Mobile Manipulator Integration (AIST, Japan)

CALL-M autonomous mobile manipulator system

Professional System Integration | Integrated Research Center for Advanced Manufacturing (IRCAM)

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tokyo, Japan

Project Summary

Designed and implemented a comprehensive integration system for autonomous mobile manipulators, combining vision, navigation, and manipulation capabilities for advanced research applications. The project focused on creating a unified ROS2-based platform that enables seamless coordination between multiple robotic subsystems.

Key Achievements

✅ Full System Integration: Successfully integrated multiple robotic components into a cohesive autonomous system

✅ Advanced Autonomy: Implemented autonomous pick-and-place operations with real-time navigation

✅ Research Impact: Contributed to cutting-edge robotics research at Japan’s premier industrial research institute

✅ Production-Ready: Delivered containerized, documented system ready for research deployment

Technical Stack

Hardware Components:

  • UR5e Robotic Arm - 6-DOF collaborative robot for precision manipulation

  • TriOrb Mobile Base - Omnidirectional mobile platform for navigation

  • Intel RealSense D435i - RGB-D camera for visual perception

  • Robotiq 2F-85 Gripper - Adaptive gripper for object manipulation

  • RPLidar A1M8 - 360° laser scanner for SLAM and obstacle detection

Software Architecture:

  • ROS2 Humble - Core robotics middleware with custom integration wrappers

  • MoveIt2 - Motion planning and manipulation framework

  • Navigation2 - Autonomous navigation stack

  • SLAM Toolbox - Simultaneous localization and mapping

  • PCL & OpenCV - Point cloud processing and computer vision

  • Docker - Containerized deployment and environment management

Development & Documentation:

  • Custom server nodes for system orchestration and control

  • Comprehensive documentation using Sphinx and Doxygen

  • Modular architecture for research flexibility

Core Capabilities

Autonomous Navigation

Complete mapping and path planning in dynamic environments

Precision Manipulation

Object detection, grasping, and placement with sub-centimeter accuracy

Visual Perception

Real-time object recognition and 3D scene understanding

System Integration

Seamless coordination between mobile base and robotic arm

Impact & Applications

This integration enables researchers to:

  • Conduct advanced human-robot interaction studies

  • Develop and test autonomous manufacturing processes

  • Advance mobile manipulation algorithms in real-world scenarios

  • Accelerate robotics research through a ready-to-use platform