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From Reach to Insert: Tactile-Augmented Precision Assembly under Sub-Millimeter Tolerances

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This paper proposes a tactile-augmented two-stage method combining Imitation Learning and Reinforcement Learning for precision insertion tasks. First stage learns reaching policy, second stage executes insertion with failure recovery. Tactile group sampling and tactile critic enhance performance. Under 0.05 mm clearance, 67% success rate, 60% force reduction, 44% torque reduction.

SourcearXiv RoboticsAuthor: Xinpan Meng, Siyao Huang, JingPu Yang, Muyuan Ma, Zhenghua Ma, Lijun Han, Gao Yuan, Houcheng Li, Long Cheng
From Reach to Insert: Tactile-Augmented Precision Assembly under Sub-Millimeter Tolerances
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[2605.04649] From Reach to Insert: Tactile-Augmented Precision Assembly under Sub-Millimeter Tolerances

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Computer Science > Robotics

arXiv:2605.04649 (cs)

[Submitted on 6 May 2026]

Title:From Reach to Insert: Tactile-Augmented Precision Assembly under Sub-Millimeter Tolerances

Authors:Xinpan Meng, Siyao Huang, JingPu Yang, Muyuan Ma, Zhenghua Ma, Lijun Han, Gao Yuan, Houcheng Li, Long Cheng

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Abstract:High-precision assembly frequently involves tight-tolerance insertions, where even slight pose errors can cause jamming or excessive interaction forces, making robust and safe insertion policies difficult to obtain. This paper proposes a tactile-augmented two-stage method that combines Imitation Learning (IL) and Reinforcement Learning (RL) for precision insertion tasks. In the first stage, IL learns a reaching policy with position generalization that grasps the peg and brings it to the vicinity of the target region. In the second stage, RL executes the insertion and enables recovery from failures during contact-rich interactions. To better exploit tactile feedback, we introduce tactile group sampling to increase coverage of critical contact segments during training, and design a tactile critic to more accurately evaluate policy values, improving insertion performance while maintaining low contact forces. We conduct systematic experiments across five hole geometries and three clearance settings. Results show that our method substantially improves insertion performance across all settings; under the most challenging 0.05\,mm clearance, it achieves a 67\% success rate while keeping contact forces low, reducing the maximum interaction force by 60\% and torque by 44\%, thereby validating both effectiveness and safety for precision assembly.

Comments: 8 pages, 9 figures

Subjects:

Robotics (cs.RO)

Cite as: arXiv:2605.04649 [cs.RO]

(or arXiv:2605.04649v1 [cs.RO] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2605.04649

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arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

Submission history

From: Xinpan Meng [view email] [v1] Wed, 6 May 2026 08:56:20 UTC (5,532 KB)

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Key points and analysis

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Key points

  • Two-stage method: Imitation Learning for reaching, Reinforcement Learning for insertion and recovery.
  • Introduces tactile group sampling and tactile critic to better exploit tactile feedback.
  • Achieves 67% success rate at 0.05 mm clearance while significantly reducing forces and torques.

Highlights and analysis are generated automatically and may contain errors. Check the original source.