MIT develops a way for robots to grasp and manipulate objects much faster

MIT has developed a new way to speed up the planning involved in a robot grasping an object, making it "significantly" faster -- reducing the total time from as much as 10 or more minutes to less than a second. This could have big practical benefits to settings where robotics are already in use, including industrial environments. The research team's method involves having the robot push the object against a surface that doesn't move, which allows it to shortcut a bunch of the decision-making process about how to manipulate it.