Controllability of pushing

Abstract

This paper addresses the question "Can the object be pushed from here to there?" The authors characterize the set of objects that are controllable (can be positioned arbitrarily), with and without obstacles, for the cases of point and line pushing contact. For the case of line contact, the authors find a set of pushing directions that keep the object fixed to the pusher and they use these pushing directions to find sensorless plans to reposition the object among obstacles.