In this paper we describe a control methodology for
catching a fast moving object with a robot manipulator,
where visual information is employed to track the
trajectory of the target. Sensing, planning and control
are performed in real-time to cope with possible
unpredictable trajectory changes of the moving target,
and prediction techniques are adopted to compensate the
time delays introduced by visual processing and by the
robot controller. A simple but reliable model of the
robot controller has been taken into account in the
control architecture for improving the performance of the
system. Experimental results have shown that the robot
system is capable of tracking and catching an object
moving on a plane at velocities of up to 700 mm/s and
accelerations of up to 1500 mm/s2.
