Robots for Real Life

News

Research Interest

My research interests are in robotics, machine learning and applied nonlinear control. They encompass robot learning, robot object grasping and manipulation, human robot interaction, robotic hand and tactile sensing, and neuroscience. I am particularly interested in finding the deep connections between dynamics of intelligent systems and learning algorithms (learning from humans or from optimizations), which enables adaptive, efficient and robust control design for complex systems. The goal of my research is to enable robots to perform skills with the level of dexterity and flexibility that human demonstrates in similar tasks.

Research Experience

Jan 2017 Visiting Researcher Human-Centered Robotics Laboratory (Prof. Kenji Tahara), Kyushu University, Japan.

2016 Postdoctoral fellow Learning Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory (Prof. Aude Billard), EPFL, Switzerland.

2013-2015 Lecturer Robotic Practicals (Master Course), EPFL Topic: Teaching robots to accomplish a manipulation task.

2011-2015 Research Assistant LASA (Prof. Aude Billard), working on EU project RoboHow, EPFL, Switzerland.

June 2008 Research Intern HUAHENG WELDING, China Topic: Stiffness identification for an industrial manipulator (3 months).

Education

  • 2011-2015.12 Ph.D Student, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.
    • Research interests: Learning from demonstration, robot manipulation and control, tactile sensing.
    • Thesis: Dynamic grasp adaptation -- from humans to robots. Supervisor: Prof. Aude Billard
    • Jury member: Alberto Rodriguez (MIT), Kenji Tahara (Kyushu University), Jose del R. Millan (EPFL), Jamie Paik (EPFL).
  • 2008-2011 M.S. ME, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
    • Thesis: Grasping force distribution and uncertainty analysis, Supervisor: Prof. Wenyu Yang
  • 2004-2008 B.S. ME, Huazhong University of Science and Technology(HUST), China
    • Thesis: A compliant end-effector for robot polishing, Supervisor: Prof. Wenyu Yang

Publications

Google Scholar

Video of my research: YouTube

Journal Articles

  1. M. Li, K. Tahara, A. Billard, Learning task manifold for constrained object manipulation, Autonomous Robots, 2016, In press.
  2. K. Hang， M. Li, J. A. Stork, Y. Bekiroglu, F. T. Pokorny, A. Billard and D. Kragic. Hierarchical fingertip space: a unified framework for grasp planning and in-hand grasp adaptation. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 32(4), 960-972, 2016.
  3. M. Li, K. Hang, D. Kragic, A. Billard. Dexterous grasping under shape uncertainty. Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 2016.
  4. B. Huang, M. Li, R. D. Souza, J. J. Bryson and A. Billard. A modular approach to learning manipulation strategies from human demonstration. Autonomous Robots, 2015.
  5. S. El-Khoury, M. Li, A. Billard. On the generation of a variety of grasps. Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 61(12), 1335-1349, 2013.
  6. M. Li, W. Yang, X. Zhang. Robust actuator force Analysis of a heavy-duty manipulator using GMM/GMR. International Journal of Robotics and Automation, 28(4), 349-356, 2013.

Conference Proceedings

  1. M. Li, Learning partial power grasp with task-specific contact, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO), 2016. Finalist of T. J. Tarn Best Paper
  2. K. Hang, J.A. Haustein, M. Li, A. Billard, C. Smith and D. Kragic, On the evolution of fingertip grasping manifolds, In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2016.
  3. M. Li, Y. Bekiroglu, D. Kragic, A. Billard. Learning of grasp adaptation through experience and tactile sensing. In IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2014.
  4. M. Li, H. Yin, K. Tahara, A. Billard. Learning object-level impedance control for robust grasping and dexterous manipulation. In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2014.
  5. N. Sommer, M. Li, A. Billard. Bimanual compliant tactile exploration for grasping unknown objects. In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2014.
  6. B. Huang, S. El-Khoury, M. Li, J. J Bryson, A. Billard. Learning a real time grasping strategy. In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2013.
  7. S. El Khoury, M. Li, A. Billard. Bridging the gap: one shot grasp synthesis approach. In IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2012.
  8. M. Li, W. Yang, X. Zhang. Analysis of indeterminate force in multi-contact friction grasp based on potential energy minimization. In International Conference on Modelling, Identification and Control (ICMIC), 2010.
  9. W. Yang, M. Li, X. Zhang. Robust robotic grasping force optimization with uncertainty. In International conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications (ICIRA), 2010.
  10. M. Li, W. Yang, X. Zhang. Projection on convex set and its application in testing force closure properties of robotic grasping. In International conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications (ICIRA), 2010.
  11. X. Zhang, W. Yang, M. Li. An uncertainty approach for fixture layout optimization using Monte Carlo method. In International conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications (ICIRA), 2010.
  12. X. Zhang, W. Yang, M. Li. Fixture layout and clamping force optimization for large-scale workpiece using augmented Lagrangian method. Applied Mechanics and Materials, page 560--565, 2010.

Workshop

  1. Y. Zhou, M. Li, A. Billard, Learning to Organise Objects in Cluttered Environments, Workshop on Dynamic Locomotion and Manipulation With Complex Robotic Systems in the Real World, 2016.
  2. K. Hang, M. Li, J. A Stork, Y. Bekiroglu, A. Billard, D. Kragic. Hierarchical fingertip space for synthesizing adaptable fingertip grasps. Autonomous Grasping and Manipulation: An Open Challenge. ICRA, 2014.
  3. M. Li, S. El Khoury, A. Billard. Synergy-level grasp synthesis learning. Hand synergies - how to tame the complexity of grasping. ICRA, 2013.

Organized Workshops

  1. Sensor-Based Object Manipulation for Collaborative Assembly, workshop at ICRA, Singapore, 2017 (Miao Li, Hao Ding, Qiang Li, Zhaopeng Chen).
  2. Closed-loop Grasping and Manipulation: Challenges and Progress, workshop at IROS, Korea, 2016 (Yasemin Bekiroglu, Miao Li, Robert Krug, Florian Pokorny, Aude Billard ).

3. The 1st Collaborative Robots Workshop, Guangzhou, China, August, 2016.

Invited Talks

  1. Dynamic Grasp Adaptation - From Humans To Robots, Tsinghua University, Beijing, Oct. 2016.
  2. Machine Intelligence in Manufacturing, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Host by Huasong Min, Wuhan, Oct. 2016.
  3. Sensor-Based Object Manipulation for Collaborative Applications, workshop of Safety-Related Sensing for Collaborative Applications, Korea, IROS 2016 .
  4. Dynamic Grasp Adaptation - From Humans To Robots, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, Oct. 2016.
  5. Next Generation Robots - Advance and Challenges, Hubei Robot Innovation Forum, Wuhan, Sept. 2016.
  6. Dynamic Grasp Adaptation - From Humans To Robots, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Sept. 2016.
  7. Collaborative Robots and Flexible Manufacturing, Huawei Automation Department, Dongguan, August 2016.
  8. A Learning-Based Approach for Dynamic Grasp Adaptation, workshop on Robotic Hand Technologies and Performance Benchmarking, organized by NIST, CASE, USA, August 2016.
  9. Dynamic Grasp Adaptation with Simulated Database and Human-guided Demonstration, The 1st China-Germany Robotics Forum, Bad Herrenalb, Germany, 2016.
  10. Sensor-based Object Manipulation for Collaborative Tasks -- Design, Control and Learning, The 1st Collaborative Robots Workshop, Guangzhou, China, August 2016.
  11. Robotic Grasping and Manipulation in Human-centered Environments, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, December, 2015.
  12. Vision and Haptic-Guided Fine Manipulation of Objects, Bath University, UK, July, 2014.
  13. Vision and Haptic-Guided Fine Manipulation of Objects, workshop of the British Machine Vision Association (BMVA) on Vision for Language and Manipulation, UK, July, 2014.

Award and Honors

  1. 2016 IROS Competition on Grasping and Manipulation, Team: Dorabot & Cobot, Autonomous Track: 2nd, Simulation Track: 2nd
  2. 2015 PhD thesis, nominated for EPFL prize.
  3. 2010 Excellent Master Paper Award, HUST.
  4. 2008 Scholarship for Distinguished Graduate Student, HUST.
  5. 2008 Outstanding Graduation of HUST.
  6. 2005, 2006 Scholarship for Distinguished Students.

Professional Service

Student supervised (master semester project)

  1. Yiming Liu, Robotized data collection for deep learning, 2016.
  2. Vermot Bertrand Claude Daniel, Learning tactile signals in object manipulation task, 2014.
  3. Zijin Yu, Object shape estimation with active touch sensing, 2012.


Reviewer:

IEEE Transactions on Robotics, Autonomous Robots, RSS, ICRA, RAL, IROS, Humanoids, IEEE Sensors Journal, Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems, International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, Information Science

Membership

IEEE student member, IEEE RAS Technical Committee of Robot Hand, Grasping and Manipulation, British Machine Vision Association (BMVA)

Skills

  • Robotics: robot manipulation and control, robotic hand, tactile sensing, human robot interaction, signal processing, optimal control;
  • Machine Learning: GP, SVM, Kernel methods, deep learning;
  • Programming: C++, MATLAB, Python
  • Language: Chinese(native), English(fluent)
  • Robots used: KUKA LWR, iiwa, Yaskawa, iCub, Katana, UR3, Barrett hand, Allegro hand;
  • Other robotics related experience: ROS, OptiTrack, OpenRAVE, RobotToolKit, AMPL, ATI, OptoForce, BioTac;
  • Courses: machine learning, applied machine learning, optimal control, statistical sequence processing, model predictive control (attend);