mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

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

arXiv 2606.14188 ↗First posted 12 Jun 2026cs.RO cs.AI cs.LGcited by 3

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Abstract (arXiv)

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.

Key facts. Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Builds on 38 of its 60 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 12 Jun 2026.

Builds on

38 of 60 references.

References · 38

  1. 2017Proximal Policy Optimization Algorithmscited by 15,215
  2. 2025SAM 3: Segment Anything with Conceptscited by 906
  3. 2022Do Differentiable Simulators Give Better Policy Gradients?cited by 89
  4. 2020Learning to Rearrange Deformable Cables, Fabrics, and Bags with Goal-Conditioned Transporter Networkscited by 78
  5. 2020Learning Predictive Representations for Deformable Objects Using Contrastive Estimationcited by 72
  6. 2021DiffCloth: Differentiable Cloth Simulation with Dry Frictional Contactcited by 65
  7. 2020Latent Space Roadmap for Visual Action Planning of Deformable and Rigid Object Manipulationcited by 25
  8. 2021Bundled Gradients through Contact via Randomized Smoothingcited by 24
  9. 2022ACID: Action-Conditional Implicit Visual Dynamics for Deformable Object Manipulationcited by 24
  10. 2022DaXBench: Benchmarking Deformable Object Manipulation with Differentiable Physicscited by 24
  11. 2022Safe Output Feedback Motion Planning from Images via Learned Perception Modules and Contraction Theorycited by 19
  12. 2022Learning Deformable Object Manipulation from Expert Demonstrationscited by 19
26 more
  1. 2021Learning Latent Graph Dynamics for Visual Manipulation of Deformable Objectscited by 17
  2. 2023Benchmarking the Sim-to-Real Gap in Cloth Manipulationcited by 17
  3. 2023Safe Perception-Based Control under Stochastic Sensor Uncertainty using Conformal Predictioncited by 16
  4. 2024Differentiable Particles for General-Purpose Deformable Object Manipulationcited by 11
  5. 2022Planning with Spatial-Temporal Abstraction from Point Clouds for Deformable Object Manipulationcited by 10
  6. 2024DeformNet: Latent Space Modeling and Dynamics Prediction for Deformable Object Manipulationcited by 10
  7. 2024Differentiable Discrete Elastic Rods for Real-Time Modeling of Deformable Linear Objectscited by 10
  8. 2020Manipulating Deformable Objects by Interleaving Prediction, Planning, and Controlcited by 9
  9. 2023Robust Nonlinear Optimal Control via System Level Synthesiscited by 7
  10. 2023Synthesizing Stable Reduced-Order Visuomotor Policies for Nonlinear Systems via Sums-of-Squares Optimizationcited by 7
  11. 2026Safety Beyond the Training Data: Robust Out-of-Distribution MPC via Conformalized System Level Synthesiscited by 7
  12. 2026Safe Large-Scale Robust Nonlinear MPC in Milliseconds via Reachability-Constrained System Level Synthesis on the GPUcited by 7
  13. 2026TAPNext++: What's Next for Tracking Any Point (TAP)?cited by 6
  14. 2025Robustly Constrained Dynamic Games for Uncertain Nonlinear Dynamicscited by 5
  15. 2024D-Cubed: Latent Diffusion Trajectory Optimisation for Dexterous Deformable Manipulationcited by 4
  16. 2025Planning and Control for Deformable Linear Object Manipulationcited by 4
  17. 2025Robot Deformable Object Manipulation via NMPC-generated Demonstrations in Deep Reinforcement Learningcited by 3
  18. 2025Guaranteed Robust Nonlinear MPC via Disturbance Feedbackcited by 3
  19. 2026VISION-SLS: Safe Perception-Based Control from Learned Visual Representations via System Level Synthesiscited by 3
  20. 2022Differentiable Robotic Manipulation of Deformable Rope-like Objects Using Compliant Position-based Dynamicscited by 2
  21. 2024Deformable Object Manipulation With Constraints Using Path Set Planning and Trackingcited by 2
  22. 2025Manipulating Elasto-Plastic Objects With 3D Occupancy and Learning-Based Predictive Controlcited by 2
  23. 2026Certified Gradient-Based Contact-Rich Manipulation via Smoothing-Error Reachable Tubescited by 2
  24. 2023Achieving Autonomous Cloth Manipulation with Optimal Control via Differentiable Physics-Aware Regularization and Safety Constraintscited by 1
  25. 2025Certifiably Safe Manipulation of Deformable Linear Objects via Joint Shape and Tension Predictioncited by 1
  26. 2025A Convex Formulation of Compliant Contact between Filaments and Rigid Bodiescited by 1

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Cited by year (2026 to 14 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2026: 3.

3 papers.

  1. 2026Certified World Models as Sensing Clocks: Drift-Aware Deadlines for Active Perceptioncited by 1
  2. 2026GPU-Parallel Linearization Error Bounds for Real-Time Robust Optimal Control of Nonlinear and Neural Network Dynamicscited by 0
  3. 2026DreamLedger: Where to Refuse World-Model Imagination Using Execution-Settled Creditcited by 0