# Exploring How Non-Prehensile Manipulation Expands Capability in Robots Experiencing Multi-Joint Failure

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.01102 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.01102/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 1 Oct 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Moving On, Even When You're Broken: Fail-Active Trajectory Generation via Diffusion Policies Conditioned on Embodiment and Task](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.02895/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This work explores non-prehensile manipulation (NPM) and whole-body interaction as strategies for enabling robotic manipulators to conduct manipulation tasks despite experiencing locked multi-joint (LMJ) failures. LMJs are critical system faults where two or more joints become inoperable; they impose constraints on the robot's configuration and control spaces, consequently limiting the capability and reach of a prehensile-only approach. This approach involves three components: i) modeling the failure-constrained workspace of the robot, ii) generating a kinodynamic map of NPM actions within this workspace, and iii) a manipulation action planner that uses a sim-in-the-loop approach to select the best actions to take from the kinodynamic map. The experimental evaluation shows that our approach can increase the failure-constrained reachable area in LMJ cases by 79%. Further, it demonstrates the ability to complete real-world manipulation with up to 88.9% success when the end-effector is unusable and up to 100% success when it is usable.