# Implicit Physics-aware Policy for Dynamic Manipulation of Rigid Objects via Soft Body Tools

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.05696 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.05696/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 8 Feb 2025.

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

- [PPGuide: Steering Diffusion Policies with Performance Predictive Guidance](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.10980/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Recent advancements in robot tool use have unlocked their usage for novel tasks, yet the predominant focus is on rigid-body tools, while the investigation of soft-body tools and their dynamic interaction with rigid bodies remains unexplored. This paper takes a pioneering step towards dynamic one-shot soft tool use for manipulating rigid objects, a challenging problem posed by complex interactions and unobservable physical properties. To address these problems, we propose the Implicit Physics-aware (IPA) policy, designed to facilitate effective soft tool use across various environmental configurations. The IPA policy conducts system identification to implicitly identify physics information and predict goal-conditioned, one-shot actions accordingly. We validate our approach through a challenging task, i.e., transporting rigid objects using soft tools such as ropes to distant target positions in a single attempt under unknown environment physics parameters. Our experimental results indicate the effectiveness of our method in efficiently identifying physical properties, accurately predicting actions, and smoothly generalizing to real-world environments. The related video is available at: https://youtu.be/4hPrUDTc4Rg?si=WUZrT2vjLMt8qRWA