# DextAIRity: Deformable Manipulation Can be a Breeze

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.01197 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.01197/

## Key facts

- Cited by 18 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 2 Mar 2022.

## Built on by (most cited first, 18 of 18)

- [RoboCraft: Learning to See, Simulate, and Shape Elasto-Plastic Objects with Graph Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.02909/) (2022)
- [Multi-Stage Cable Routing through Hierarchical Imitation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.08927/) (2023)
- [Understanding 3D Object Interaction from a Single Image](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.09664/) (2023)
- [UniGarmentManip: A Unified Framework for Category-Level Garment Manipulation via Dense Visual Correspondence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.06903/) (2024)
- [Learning Bimanual Scooping Policies for Food Acquisition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.14652/) (2022)
- [UniFolding: Towards Sample-efficient, Scalable, and Generalizable Robotic Garment Folding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.01267/) (2023)
- [TraKDis: A Transformer-based Knowledge Distillation Approach for Visual Reinforcement Learning with Application to Cloth Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.13362/) (2024)
- [Cloth-Splatting: 3D Cloth State Estimation from RGB Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.01715/) (2025)
- [Learning Fabric Manipulation in the Real World with Human Videos](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.02832/) (2022)
- [Visual Haptic Reasoning: Estimating Contact Forces by Observing Deformable Object Interactions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.05632/) (2022)
- [General-purpose Clothes Manipulation with Semantic Keypoints](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.08160/) (2024)
- [Push Past Green: Learning to Look Behind Plant Foliage by Moving It](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.03175/) (2023)
- [Learning Pneumatic Non-Prehensile Manipulation with a Mobile Blower](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.02390/) (2022)
- [Non-rigid Relative Placement through 3D Dense Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.19247/) (2024)
- [PlaNet-ClothPick: Effective Fabric Flattening Based on Latent Dynamic Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.01345/) (2023)
- [CLASP: General-Purpose Clothes Manipulation with Semantic Keypoints](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.19983/) (2025)
- [Dynamic Manipulation of Deformable Objects using Imitation Learning with Adaptation to Hardware Constraints](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.12685/) (2024)
- [DexKnot: Generalizable Visuomotor Policy Learning for Dexterous Bag-Knotting Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.07136/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper introduces DextAIRity, an approach to manipulate deformable objects using active airflow. In contrast to conventional contact-based quasi-static manipulations, DextAIRity allows the system to apply dense forces on out-of-contact surfaces, expands the system's reach range, and provides safe high-speed interactions. These properties are particularly advantageous when manipulating under-actuated deformable objects with large surface areas or volumes. We demonstrate the effectiveness of DextAIRity through two challenging deformable object manipulation tasks: cloth unfolding and bag opening. We present a self-supervised learning framework that learns to effectively perform a target task through a sequence of grasping or air-based blowing actions. By using a closed-loop formulation for blowing, the system continuously adjusts its blowing direction based on visual feedback in a way that is robust to the highly stochastic dynamics. We deploy our algorithm on a real-world three-arm system and present evidence suggesting that DextAIRity can improve system efficiency for challenging deformable manipulation tasks, such as cloth unfolding, and enable new applications that are impractical to solve with quasi-static contact-based manipulations (e.g., bag opening). Video is available at https://youtu.be/_B0TpAa5tVo