Mobility and manipulation describe two fields of robotics which, in the past, had grown virtually independently of one another. Classic industrial robotics focuses on controlling robots with up to six axes in a three-dimensional space. In terms of handling and manipulation, payloads to be moved, the precision of the movements, repeat accuracy, velocity, and safety all play an exceptional role. With respect to mobile platforms, both localisation and navigation are of primary concern. Here, the demands on precise movements are far less significant than in the case of robotic arms. For innovative service robots with two redundant arms, two multi-finger hands, a body, head and mobile platform, for example, the different developments and control algorithms for mobility and manipulation need to be combined. Consequently, the complexity of such a system rises considerably, which is also due to the diversity of drives for platforms and arms that need to be controlled. Another challenge facing the project is that only information gained autonomously from sensors for manipulation tasks should be used. The aim is to combine the different developments in the areas of mobility and manipulation to match the requirements for enabling robust, mobile manipulation.

• " Manipulation is concerned with the handling and dexterous treatment of objects. Methods for the safe, adaptive and dexterous grasping of everyday objects using multi-finger artificial hands will be developed.
• " Complex service robots require flexible controllers in order to operate various mechatronic components. Therefore, a control system will be developed and equipped with suitable interfaces at a number of different abstraction levels.
• " Highly redundant, partially loosely coupled systems will be coordinated reliably and safely to avoid them colliding with one another or with the environment. Where mobile manipulation tasks are concerned, the mobile platform, one or two arms and, respectively, one or two hands, will be coordinated in such a way that they resolve a common task cooperatively: opening a door, for example.

• Safe and adaptive grasping and manipulation of everyday items
• Robust, collision-free control of highly complex kinematics