The stability of heavy objects with multiple contacts
Richard J. Mason, Elon Rimon, Joel W. Burdick · 2002
In both robot grasping and robot locomotion, we wish to hold objects stably in the presence of gravity. We present a derivation of second-order stability conditions for a supported heavy object, employing the tool of Stratified Morse theory. We then apply these general results to the case of objects in the plane.