Coarse-to-fine imitation learning: robot manipulation from a single demonstration
OA Location
Author(s)
Johns, Edward
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
We introduce a simple new method for visual imitation learning, which allows a novel robot manipulation task to be learned from a single human demonstration, without requiring any prior knowledge of the object being interacted with. Our method models imitation learning as a state estimation problem, with the state defined as the end-effector's pose at the point where object interaction begins, as observed from the demonstration. By then modelling a manipulation task as a coarse, approach trajectory followed by a fine, interaction trajectory, this state estimator can be trained in a self-supervised manner, by automatically moving the end-effector's camera around the object. At test time, the end-effector moves to the estimated state through a linear path, at which point the original demonstration's end-effector velocities are simply replayed. This enables convenient acquisition of a complex interaction trajectory, without actually needing to explicitly learn a policy. Real-world experiments on 8 everyday tasks show that our method can learn a diverse range of skills from a single human demonstration, whilst also yielding a stable and interpretable controller.
Date Acceptance
2021-02-28
Citation
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
ISSN
1050-4729
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Journal / Book Title
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
Copyright Statement
Copyright reserved
Sponsor
Royal Academy of Engineering
Source
2021 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)
Publication Status
Accepted
Start Date
2021-05-30
Finish Date
2021-06-05
Coverage Spatial
Hybrid Event
Date Publish Online
2021-06-10