Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Qian Feng

Publications and source records attributed to Qian Feng.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

LensDFF: Language-enhanced Sparse Feature Distillation for Efficient Few-Shot Dexterous Manipulation

Learning dexterous manipulation from few-shot demonstrations is a significant yet challenging problem for advanced, human-like robotic systems. Dense distilled feature fields have addressed this challenge by distilling rich semantic features from 2D visual foundation models into the 3D domain. However, their reliance on neural rendering models such as Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) or Gaussian Splatting results in high computational costs. In contrast, previous approaches based on sparse feature fields either suffer from inefficiencies due to multi-view dependencies and extensive training or lack sufficient grasp dexterity. To overcome these limitations, we propose Language-ENhanced Sparse Distilled Feature Field (LensDFF), which efficiently distills view-consistent 2D features onto 3D points using our novel language-enhanced feature fusion strategy, thereby enabling single-view few-shot generalization. Based on LensDFF, we further introduce a few-shot dexterous manipulation framework that integrates grasp primitives into the demonstrations to generate stable and highly dexterous grasps. Moreover, we present a real2sim grasp evaluation pipeline for efficient grasp assessment and hyperparameter tuning. Through extensive simulation experiments based on the real2sim pipeline and real-world experiments, our approach achieves competitive grasping performance, outperforming state-of-the-art approaches.

cs.RO↗

DexGANGrasp: Dexterous Generative Adversarial Grasping Synthesis for Task-Oriented Manipulation

We introduce DexGanGrasp, a dexterous grasping synthesis method that generates and evaluates grasps with single view in real time. DexGanGrasp comprises a Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (cGANs)-based DexGenerator to generate dexterous grasps and a discriminator-like DexEvalautor to assess the stability of these grasps. Extensive simulation and real-world expriments showcases the effectiveness of our proposed method, outperforming the baseline FFHNet with an 18.57% higher success rate in real-world evaluation. We further extend DexGanGrasp to DexAfford-Prompt, an open-vocabulary affordance grounding pipeline for dexterous grasping leveraging Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) and Vision Language Models (VLMs), to achieve task-oriented grasping with successful real-world deployments.

cs.RO↗

State Estimator Design: Addressing General Delay Structures with Dissipative Constraints

Dissipative estimator (observer) design for continuous time-delay systems poses a significant challenge when an unlimited number of pointwise and general distributed delays (DDs) are concerned. We propose an effective solution to this semi-open problem using the Krasovski\uı functional (KF) framework in conjunction with a quadratic supply rate function, where both the plant and the estimator can accommodate an unlimited number of pointwise and general distributed delays with an unlimited number of square-integrable kernels. A key contribution is the introduction of a control concept called Kronecker-Seuret Decomposition (KSD) for matrix-valued functions, which allows for the factorizations or approximations of any DD integral kernel without introducing conservatism. Moreover, using KSD facilitates the construction of complete-type KFs with integral kernels that can contain any number of weakly differentiable and linearly independent functions. Our proposed solution is formulated as sequential convex SDP problems and is set out in two theorems along with an off-line iterative algorithm, which eliminates the need for nonlinear numerical solvers. We show the effectiveness of our method using two challenging numerical experiments, including a system stabilized by a non-smooth controller.

math.OC↗

PECTP: Parameter-Efficient Cross-Task Prompts for Incremental Vision Transformer

Incremental Learning (IL) aims to learn deep models on sequential tasks continually, where each new task includes a batch of new classes and deep models have no access to task-ID information at the inference time. Recent vast pre-trained models (PTMs) have achieved outstanding performance by prompt technique in practical IL without the old samples (rehearsal-free) and with a memory constraint (memory-constrained): Prompt-extending and Prompt-fixed methods. However, prompt-extending methods need a large memory buffer to maintain an ever-expanding prompt pool and meet an extra challenging prompt selection problem. Prompt-fixed methods only learn a single set of prompts on one of the incremental tasks and can not handle all the incremental tasks effectively. To achieve a good balance between the memory cost and the performance on all the tasks, we propose a Parameter-Efficient Cross-Task Prompt (PECTP) framework with Prompt Retention Module (PRM) and classifier Head Retention Module (HRM). To make the final learned prompts effective on all incremental tasks, PRM constrains the evolution of cross-task prompts' parameters from Outer Prompt Granularity and Inner Prompt Granularity. Besides, we employ HRM to inherit old knowledge in the previously learned classifier heads to facilitate the cross-task prompts' generalization ability. Extensive experiments show the effectiveness of our method. The source codes will be available at \url{https://github.com/RAIAN08/PECTP}.

cs.CV↗

High Spectral-Efficiency, Ultra-low MIMO SDM Transmission over a Field-Deployed Multi-Core OAM Fiber

Few-mode multi-core fiber (FM-MCF) based Space-Division Multiplexing (SDM) systems possess the potential to maximize the number of multiplexed spatial channels per fiber by harnessing both the space (fiber cores) and mode (optical mode per core) dimensions. However, to date, no SDM transmissions over field-deployed FM-MCFs in realistic outdoor settings have been reported, which contrasts with SDM schemes demonstrated using single-mode multi-core fibers (SM-MCFs) installed in practical fiber cable ducts. In this paper, we present the successful demonstration of bidirectional SDM transmission over a 5-km field-deployed seven ring-core fiber (7-RCF) with a cladding diameter of 178 $μ$m, achieving a Spectral Efficiency (SE) of 2$\times$201.6 bit/s/Hz. This work establishes a new record for the highest SE attained in SDM demonstrations utilizing field-deployed fiber cables, achieving an approximate 10x increase compared to the SE of reported field-deployed optical fiber cable transmission systems. Notably, these results are realized through the utilization of small-scale modular 4$\times$4 multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processing with a time-domain equalization (TDE) tap number not exceeding 15, maintaining a complexity per unit capacity comparable to that of MIMO equalization in SDM demonstrations employing weakly coupled SM-MCF cables. These results underscore the significant potential for achieving heightened SE and expanding capacity per individual fiber using SDM techniques in practical applications.

cs.NI↗

Multi-fingered Dynamic Grasping for Unknown Objects

Dexterous grasping of unseen objects in dynamic environments is an essential prerequisite for the advanced manipulation of autonomous robots. Prior advances rely on several assumptions that simplify the setup, including environment stationarity, pre-defined objects, and low-dimensional end-effectors. Though easing the problem and enabling progress, it undermined the complexity of the real world. Aiming to relax these assumptions, we present a dynamic grasping framework for unknown objects in this work, which uses a five-fingered hand with visual servo control and can compensate for external disturbances. To establish such a system on real hardware, we leverage the recent advances in real-time dexterous generative grasp synthesis and introduce several techniques to secure the robustness and performance of the overall system. Our experiments on real hardware verify the ability of the proposed system to reliably grasp unknown dynamic objects in two realistic scenarios: objects on a conveyor belt and human-robot handover. Note that there has been no prior work that can achieve dynamic multi-fingered grasping for unknown objects like ours up to the time of writing this paper. We hope our pioneering work in this direction can provide inspiration to the community and pave the way for further algorithmic and engineering advances on this challenging task. A video of the experiments is available at https://youtu.be/b87zGNoKELg.

cs.RO↗

Integral Inequalities for the Analysis of Distributed Parameter Systems: A complete characterization via the Least-Squares Principle

A wide variety of integral inequalities (IIs) have been developed and studied for the stability analysis of distributed parameter systems using the Lyapunov functional approach. However, no unified mathematical framework has been proposed that could characterize the similarity and connection between these IIs, as most of them was introduced in a dispersed manner for the analysis of specific types of systems. Additionally, the extent to which the generality of these IIs can be expanded and the optimality of their lower bounds (LBs) remains open questions. In this study, we introduce two general classes of IIs that can generalize nearly all IIs in the literature. The integral kernels of the LBs of our IIs can contain an unlimited number of weighted $\mathcal{L}^2$ functions that are linearly independent in a Lebesgue sense. Moreover, we not only establish the equivalence relations between the LBs of our IIs, but also demonstrate that these LBs are guaranteed by the least squares principle, implying asymptotic convergence to the upper bound when the kernels functions constitutes a Schauder basis of the underlying Hilbert space. Owing to their general structures, our IIs are applicable in a variety of contexts, such as the stability analysis of coupled PDE-ODE systems or cybernetic systems with delay structures.

math.OC↗

OPAF: Optimized Secure Two-Party Computation Protocols for Nonlinear Activation Functions in Recurrent Neural Network

Deep neural network (DNN) typically involves convolutions, pooling, and activation function. Due to the growing concern about privacy, privacy-preserving DNN becomes a hot research topic. Generally, the convolution and pooling operations can be supported by additive homomorphic and secure comparison, but the secure implementation of activation functions is not so straightforward for the requirements of accuracy and efficiency, especially for the non-linear ones such as exponential, sigmoid, and tanh functions. This paper pays a special attention to the implementation of such non-linear functions in semi-honest model with two-party settings, for which SIRNN is the current state-of-the-art. Different from previous works, we proposed improved implementations for these functions by using their intrinsic features as well as worthy tiny tricks. At first, we propose a novel and efficient protocol for exponential function by using a divide-and-conquer strategy with most of the computations executed locally. Exponential protocol is widely used in machine learning tasks such as Poisson regression, and is also a key component of sigmoid and tanh functions. Next, we take advantage of the symmetry of sigmoid and Tanh, and fine-tune the inputs to reduce the 2PC building blocks, which helps to save overhead and improve performance. As a result, we implement these functions with fewer fundamental building blocks. The comprehensive evaluations show that our protocols achieve state-of-the-art precision while reducing run-time by approximately 57%, 44%, and 42% for exponential (with only negative inputs), sigmoid, and Tanh functions, respectively.

cs.CR↗

Stabilization of uncertain linear distributed delay systems with dissipativity constraints

This paper examines the problem of stabilizing linear distributed delay systems with nonlinear distributed delay kernels and dissipativity constraints. Specifically, the nonlinear distributed kernel includes functions such as polynomials, trigonometric and exponential functions. By constructing a Liapunov-Krasovskiǐ functional related to the distributed kernels, sufficient conditions for the existence of a state feedback controller which stabilizes the uncertain distributed delay systems with dissipativity constraints are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). In contrast to existing methods, the proposed scenario is less conservative or requires a smaller number of decision variables based on the application of a newly derived integral inequality. Finally, numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

eess.SY↗

Sim-to-Real Transfer of Robotic Assembly with Visual Inputs Using CycleGAN and Force Control

Recently, deep reinforcement learning (RL) has shown some impressive successes in robotic manipulation applications. However, training robots in the real world is nontrivial owing to sample efficiency and safety concerns. Sim-to-real transfer is proposed to address the aforementioned concerns but introduces a new issue called the reality gap. In this work, we introduce a sim-to-real learning framework for vision-based assembly tasks and perform training in a simulated environment by employing inputs from a single camera to address the aforementioned issues. We present a domain adaptation method based on cycle-consistent generative adversarial networks (CycleGAN) and a force control transfer approach to bridge the reality gap. We demonstrate that the proposed framework trained in a simulated environment can be successfully transferred to a real peg-in-hole setup.

cs.RO↗

Dissipative stabilization of linear input delay systems via dynamical state feedback controllers: an optimization based approach

In this note, we present an effective solution to the stabilization of linear input delay systems subject to dissipative constraints while all the effect of input delay is compensated by a controller with novel structure. The method is inspired by the recent development in the mathematical treatment of distributed delays and predictor controllers, which are critical for the derivation of the solution. An important conceptual innovation is the use of a parameterized dynamical state feedback controller (DSFC), where the dimension of the controller equals the dimension of the control input. A sufficient condition for the existence of a dissipative DSFC is obtained via the Krasovskii functional approach, where the condition includes a bilinear matrix inequality (BMI). To solve the BMI, we apply an inner convex approximation algorithm which can be initialized based on an explicit construction of a predictor controller gain. The proposed DSFC can be considered as an extension of the classical predictor controller, thereby capable of compensating all the effects of the pointwise input delay while satisfying dissipative constraints. A numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed methodology.

math.OC↗

Combining Learning from Demonstration with Learning by Exploration to Facilitate Contact-Rich Tasks

Collaborative robots are expected to be able to work alongside humans and in some cases directly replace existing human workers, thus effectively responding to rapid assembly line changes. Current methods for programming contact-rich tasks, especially in heavily constrained space, tend to be fairly inefficient. Therefore, faster and more intuitive approaches to robot teaching are urgently required. This work focuses on combining visual servoing based learning from demonstration (LfD) and force-based learning by exploration (LbE), to enable fast and intuitive programming of contact-rich tasks with minimal user effort required. Two learning approaches were developed and integrated into a framework, and one relying on human to robot motion mapping (the visual servoing approach) and one on force-based reinforcement learning. The developed framework implements the non-contact demonstration teaching method based on visual servoing approach and optimizes the demonstrated robot target positions according to the detected contact state. The framework has been compared with two most commonly used baseline techniques, pendant-based teaching and hand-guiding teaching. The efficiency and reliability of the framework have been validated through comparison experiments involving the teaching and execution of contact-rich tasks. The framework proposed in this paper has performed the best in terms of teaching time, execution success rate, risk of damage, and ease of use.

cs.RO↗

Dissipative Stabilization of Linear Systems with Time-Varying General Distributed Delays (Complete Version)

New methods are developed for the stabilization of a linear system with general time-varying distributed delays existing at the system's states, inputs and outputs. In contrast to most existing literature where the function of time-varying delay is continuous and bounded, we assume it to be bounded and measurable. Furthermore, the distributed delay kernels can be any square-integrable function over a bounded interval, where the kernels are handled directly by using a decomposition scenario without using approximations. By constructing a Krasovskiĭ functional via the application of a novel integral inequality, sufficient conditions for the existence of a dissipative state feedback controller are derived in terms of matrix inequalities without utilizing the existing reciprocally convex combination lemmas. The proposed synthesis (stability) conditions, which take dissipativity into account, can be either solved directly by a standard numerical solver of semidefinite programming if they are convex, or reshaped into linear matrix inequalities, or solved via a proposed iterative algorithm. To the best of our knowledge, no existing methods can handle the synthesis problem investigated in this paper. Finally, numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodologies.

eess.SY↗

Degradiation of $β$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ Schottky barrier diode under swift heavy ion irradiation

The electrical characteristics and microstructures of $β$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ Schottky barrier diode (SBD) devices irradiated with swift heavy ions (2096 MeV Ta ions) have been studied. It was found that $β$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ SBD devices showed the reliability degradation after irradiation, including turn-on voltage Von, on-resistance Ron, ideality factor n and the reverse leakage current density Jr. In addition, the carrier concentration of the drift layer was decreased significantly and the calculated carrier removal rates were 5*106 - 1.3*107 cm-1. Latent tracks induced by swift heavy ions were observed visually in the whole $β$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ matrix. Furthermore, crystal structure of tracks was amorphized completely. The latent tracks induced by Ta ions bombardments were found to be the reason for the decrease in carrier mobility and carrier concentration. Eventually, these defects caused the degradation of electrical characteristics of the devices. By comparing the carrier removal rates, the $β$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ SBD devices were more sensitive to swift heavy ions irradiation than SiC and GaN devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Proactive Action Visual Residual Reinforcement Learning for Contact-Rich Tasks Using a Torque-Controlled Robot

Contact-rich manipulation tasks are commonly found in modern manufacturing settings. However, manually designing a robot controller is considered hard for traditional control methods as the controller requires an effective combination of modalities and vastly different characteristics. In this paper, we firstly consider incorporating operational space visual and haptic information into reinforcement learning(RL) methods to solve the target uncertainty problem in unstructured environments. Moreover, we propose a novel idea of introducing a proactive action to solve the partially observable Markov decision process problem. Together with these two ideas, our method can either adapt to reasonable variations in unstructured environments and improve the sample efficiency of policy learning. We evaluated our method on a task that involved inserting a random-access memory using a torque-controlled robot, and we tested the success rates of the different baselines used in the traditional methods. We proved that our method is robust and can tolerate environmental variations very well.

cs.RO↗

Center-of-Mass-based Robust Grasp Planning for Unknown Objects Using Tactile-Visual Sensors

An unstable grasp pose can lead to slip, thus an unstable grasp pose can be predicted by slip detection. A regrasp is required afterwards to correct the grasp pose in order to finish the task. In this work, we propose a novel regrasp planner with multi-sensor modules to plan grasp adjustments with the feedback from a slip detector. Then a regrasp planner is trained to estimate the location of center of mass, which helps robots find an optimal grasp pose. The dataset in this work consists of 1 025 slip experiments and 1 347 regrasps collected by one pair of tactile sensors, an RGB-D camera and one Franka Emika robot arm equipped with joint force/torque sensors. We show that our algorithm can successfully detect and classify the slip for 5 unknown test objects with an accuracy of 76.88% and a regrasp planner increases the grasp success rate by 31.0% compared to the state-of-the-art vision-based grasping algorithm.

cs.RO↗

Towards Memory Safe Python Enclave for Security Sensitive Computation

Intel SGX Guard eXtensions (SGX), a hardware-supported trusted execution environment (TEE), is designed to protect security-sensitive applications. However, since enclave applications are developed with memory unsafe languages such as C/C++, traditional memory corruption is not eliminated in SGX. Rust-SGX is the first toolkit providing enclave developers with a memory-language. However, Rust is considered a Systems language and has become the right choice for concurrent applications and web browsers. Many application domains such as Big Data, Machine Learning, Robotics, Computer Vision are more commonly developed in the python programming language. Therefore, Python application developers cannot benefit from secure enclaves like Intel SGX and rust-SGX. To fill this gap, we propose Python-SGX, which is a memory-safe SGX SDK providing enclave developers a memory-safe Python development environment. The key idea is to enable memory-safe Python language in SGX by solving the following key challenges: (1) defining a memory-safe Python interpreter (2)replacing unsafe elements of Python interpreter with safe ones,(3) achieving comparable performance to non-enclave Python applications, and (4) not introducing any unsafe new code or libraries into SGX. We propose to build Python-SGX with PyPy, a Python interpreter written by RPython, which is a subset of Python, and tame unsafe parts in PyPy by formal verification, security hardening, and memory safe language. We have implemented python-SGX and tested it with a series of benchmarks programs. Our evaluation results show that Python-SGX does not cause significant overhead.

cs.CR↗