Multi-Modular MANTA-RAY: A Modular Soft Surface Platform for Distributed Multi-Object Manipulation

Manipulation surfaces control objects by actively deforming their shape rather than directly grasping them. While dense actuator arrays can generate complex deformations, they also introduce high degrees of freedom (DOF), increasing system complexity and limiting scalability. The MANTA-RAY (Manipulation with Adaptive Non-rigid Textile Actuation with Reduced Actuation densitY) platform addresses these challenges by leveraging a soft, fabric-based surface with reduced actuator density to manipulate fragile and heterogeneous objects. Previous studies focused on single-module implementations supported by four actuators, whereas the feasibility and benefits of a scalable, multi-module configuration remain unexplored. In this work, we present a distributed, modular, and scalable variant of the MANTA-RAY platform that maintains manipulation performance with a reduced actuator density. The proposed multi-module MANTA-RAY platform and control strategy employs object passing between modules and a geometric transformation driven PID controller that directly maps tilt-angle control outputs to actuator commands, eliminating the need for extensive data-driven or black-box training. We evaluate system performance in simulation across surface configurations of varying modules (3x3 and 4x4) and validate its feasibility through experiments on a physical 2x2 hardware prototype. The system successfully manipulates objects with diverse geometries, masses, and textures including fragile items such as eggs and apples as well as enabling parallel manipulation. The results demonstrate that the multi-module MANTA-RAY improves scalability and enables coordinated manipulation of multiple objects across larger areas, highlighting its potential for practical, real-world applications.