Systems, methods and associated components for robotic manipulation of physical objects

A robotic manipulation system, comprising:

• a first physical object and a second physical object having different sizes and/or different shapes and including three-dimensional gripping features of identical construction, each gripping feature including a cavity defined by an interior surface of a corresponding one of the physical objects, the cavity being a tubular, conical, or frusto-conical blind cavity recessed from an exterior surface of the corresponding physical object, the cavity being open on one side of the cavity only;
• a robotic arm, the robotic arm including:
• an end effector configured to selectively grip each three-dimensional gripping feature when the corresponding physical object is positioned in a three-dimensional reference space;
• and
• a plurality of actuators configured to cause the end effector to translate and rotate within the three-dimensional reference space;
• an optics system configured to locate the three-dimensional gripping feature relative to the three-dimensional reference space and provide position output of the three-dimensional gripping feature;
• and
• a controller configured to, based on the position output, control the actuators to:
• i) move the end effector such that the end effector is aligned with each three-dimensional gripping feature;
• and
• ii) insert the end effector into the cavity through the one side to grip each three-dimensional gripping feature with the end effector.