Publication

TORNADO: Foundation models for robots that handle small, soft and deformable objects

Conference Article

Conference

International Conference in Electronic Engineering and Information Technology (EEITE)

Edition

6th

Pages

1--13

Doc link

https://doi.org/10.1109/EEITE65381.2025.11166473

File

Download the digital copy of the doc pdf document

Authors

  • Moutousi, Maria

  • El Saer, Andreas

  • Nikolaou, Nikos

  • Sanfeliu Cortés, Alberto

  • Garrell Zulueta, Anaís

  • Bláha, Lukáš

  • Čech, Martin

  • Markakis, Evangelos K.

  • Kefaloukos, Ioannis

  • Lagomarsino, Marta

  • Margetis, George

  • Adamakis, Emmanouil

  • Poulakidas, Athanasios

  • Lykokanellos, Filopoimin

  • Stefanidou, Artemis

  • Cani, Jorgen

  • Radoglou-Grammatikis, Panagiotis

  • Siganos, Marios

  • Ajoudani, Arash

  • Papadopoulos, Georgios Th.

Abstract

This paper introduces TORNADO, a cloud-integrated robotics platform designed to tackle the challenges of autonomous manipulation in dynamic indoor environments, particularly those involving small, soft, or deformable objects. TORNADO integrates large-scale foundation models for perception, language comprehension, and high-level reasoning, to achieve strong zero-shot generalization across a wide range of tasks. At its core, the platform features an adaptive cognitive pipeline capable of dynamically reconfiguring its modules—including semantic 3D SLAM, people-aware navigation, dexterous manipulation, and human-in-the-loop learning—to manage uncertainty and adapt to changing conditions. Additionally, TORNADO incorporates a multi-modal Learning-from-Demonstration interface and an Explainable AI engine, enhancing transparency and easing the burden of teaching new tasks. The system is validated through three industry-relevant scenarios: (1) flexible gear and ply-sheet handling in a mechanical parts factory, (2) patient support in a hospital palliative ward, and (3) product sampling and waste management in a distribution center. TORNADO aims to significantly improve the agility, safety, and overall task performance of mobile manipulators operating in dynamic, human-centric environments.

Categories

manipulators, mobile robots, service robots.

Scientific reference

M. Moutousi, A. El Saer, N. Nikolaou, A. Sanfeliu, A. Garrell Zulueta, L. Bláha, M. Čech, E.K. Markakis, I. Kefaloukos, M. Lagomarsino, G. Margetis, E. Adamakis, A. Poulakidas, F. Lykokanellos, A. Stefanidou, J. Cani, P. Radoglou-Grammatikis, M. Siganos, A. Ajoudani and G.T. Papadopoulos. TORNADO: Foundation models for robots that handle small, soft and deformable objects, 6th International Conference in Electronic Engineering and Information Technology, 2025, Chania (Greece), pp. 1--13.