Robustness without Wrinkles: Parallel Simulation and Robust MPC for Certified Deformable Manipulation

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2606.14188v1
• Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2026 07:10:56 GMT
• Title: Robustness without Wrinkles: Parallel Simulation and Robust MPC for Certified Deformable Manipulation
• Abstract summary: We present CORD-SLS, a real-time control method for safe deformable object manipulation, with a focus on ropes and cloth.<n>At its core is a GPU-parallel differentiable simulator with contact smoothing which enables efficient gradient-based planning.<n>We develop a real-time, GPU-parallel output-feedback robust model predictive control (MPC) algorithm that plans with this simulator.
• Score: 3.88671418022057
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: We present CORD-SLS, a real-time control method for safe deformable object manipulation, with a focus on ropes and cloth. At its core is a GPU-parallel differentiable simulator with contact smoothing which enables efficient gradient-based planning through intermittent contact. To robustly satisfy constraints under model and sensing uncertainty, we develop a real-time, GPU-parallel output-feedback robust model predictive control (MPC) algorithm that plans with this simulator. We further show that the simulator accelerates model-based RL for training neural manipulation policies. To improve real-world robustness, we use conformal prediction to calibrate visual-feedback and perception-error bounds for MPC, producing reachable tubes that enable high-probability safe control. We evaluate CORD-SLS on high-dimensional, contact-rich rope and cloth manipulation tasks in simulation and hardware, including obstacle avoidance, routing, folding, and smoothing. Across settings, CORD-SLS achieves millisecond-speed planning, exceeding baselines in safety, speed, and task success.

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