  This paper presents a new type of distributed dexterous manipulator: delta
arrays. Our delta array setup consists of 64 linearly-actuated delta robots
with 3D-printed compliant linkages. Through the design of the individual delta
robots, the modular array structure, and distributed communication and control,
we study a wide range of in-plane and out-of-plane manipulations, as well as
prehensile manipulations among subsets of neighboring delta robots. We also
demonstrate dexterous manipulation capabilities of the delta array using
reinforcement learning while leveraging the compliance to not break the
end-effectors. Our evaluations show that the resulting 192 DoF compliant robot
is capable of performing various coordinated distributed manipulations of a
variety of objects, including translation, alignment, prehensile squeezing,
lifting, and grasping.
