Entries |
Document | Title | Date |
20080221733 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF LOCATING RELATIVE POSITIONS OF OBJECTS - An apparatus and method for performing manufacturing operations using position sensing for robotic arms that efficiently and accurately finds the location of a workpiece or features on a workpiece. | 09-11-2008 |
20080234865 | Patient Positioning Device - The invention relates to a patient-positioning device for positioning a patient in an irradiation position in a radiation therapy arrangement, in particular in a particle radiation therapy arrangement comprising a patient supporting module, which is provided with a patient supporting device for holding the patient in a body holder where the irradiation is to be carried out, wherein, said patient supporting device is mounted on a base unit in such a way that it is rotatable about an axis by means of a bearing, said base unit is provided with a coupling element, the inventive device is also provided with a positioning arm, which comprises several joints and a coupling point for coupling the coupling element and for freely positioning the patient in any predefined irradiation position by adjusting the angle of rotation of the patient supporting module. | 09-25-2008 |
20080243308 | Method and Apparatus for Using an Optical Mouse Scanning Assembly in Mobile Robot Applications - A method and apparatus of using an optical mouse scanning assembly for mobile robot platforms is disclosed. The optical mouse scanning assembly is disposed on a portion of the body of the robot platform that faces a propagation surface. In relation to this propagation surface various parameters, such as propagation velocity, slippage of limbs and relative displacement are determinable for the mobile robot in relation to a propagation surfaces. | 10-02-2008 |
20080294288 | Autonomous Mobile Robot - A mobile robot is equipped with a range finder and a stereo vision system. The mobile robot is capable of autonomously navigating through urban terrain, generating a map based on data from the range finder and transmitting the map to the operator, as part of several reconnaissance operations selectable by the operator. The mobile robot employs a Hough transform technique to identify linear features in its environment, and then aligns itself with the identified linear features in order to navigate through the urban terrain; while at the same time, a scaled vector field histogram technique is applied to the combination of range finder and stereo vision data to detect and avoid obstacles the mobile robot encounters when navigating autonomously. Also, the missions performed by the mobile robot may include limitation parameters based on distance or time elapsed, to ensure completion of the autonomous operations. | 11-27-2008 |
20080300722 | AMPHIBIOUS ROBOTIC DEVICE - A robotic device for navigating in at least a liquid medium, includes a legged propulsion system having a series of legs external of a body of the robotic device, each of the legs being independently driven and mounted to the body for pivotal movement about a respective transverse axis. The legs oscillating relative to the body about the respective transverse axis such that interaction between the legs and the liquid medium produces propulsive forces that displace the robotic device within the liquid medium. A control system is operatively connected to the legged propulsion system for autonomous control and operation of the robotic device based on information received from at least one sensor providing data about an environment of the device. | 12-04-2008 |
20090030552 | Robotics visual and auditory system - It is a robotics visual and auditory system provided with an auditory module ( | 01-29-2009 |
20090037023 | INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM, ROBOT APPARATUS, AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR - Provided is an information processing system including a display device for displaying an image on a display screen, and a robot apparatus for performing input/output of information from/to a user. The information processing system acquires a position of the display screen in a real space, and moves the robot apparatus based on the acquired position of the display screen. | 02-05-2009 |
20090055022 | OBSTACLE FOLLOWING SENSOR SCHEME FOR A MOBILE ROBOT - A robot obstacle detection system including a robot housing which navigates with respect to a surface and a sensor subsystem aimed at the surface for detecting the surface. The sensor subsystem includes an emitter which emits a signal having a field of emission and a photon detector having a field of view which intersects the field of emission at a region. The subsystem detects the presence of an object proximate the mobile robot and determines a value of a signal corresponding to the object. It compares the value to a predetermined value, moves the mobile robot in response to the comparison, and updates the predetermined value upon the occurrence of an event. | 02-26-2009 |
20090062960 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ROBOT CALIBRATIONS WITH A CAMERA - Described herein is a method and system for performing calibrations on robotic components. In one embodiment, a method for performing robotic calibrations includes manually calibrating a center of a robot blade aligned with respect to a target. The method further includes recording a first positional value of the center of the robot blade aligned with respect to a camera. The method further includes automatically determining a second positional value of the center of the robot blade aligned with respect to the camera. The method further includes automatically recalibrating the robot blade based on an offset between the second positional value and the first positional value exceeding a tolerance offset from the first positional value. | 03-05-2009 |
20090069939 | ROBOT PROGRAMMING DEVICE FOR PALLETIZING OPERATION BY ROBOT - A robot programming device capable of reducing the operation of a robot in the field required for generating a program for palletizing operation, and shortening a time to generate the palletizing program. The robot programming device includes a storing part for storing three-dimensional models of the plurality kinds of units, a conveyor, a recognition device, a robot and a plurality of pallets; a layout making part for making a layout, in a virtual space, of the three-dimensional models stored in the storing part; a displaying part for displaying the layout made by the layout making part; an information setting part for setting information regarding each component displayed on the displaying part; and a program generating part for generating a palletizing program for the robot based on the layout of the three-dimensional models and the information set by the information setting part. | 03-12-2009 |
20090069940 | LEGGED ROBOT AND ITS CONTROL METHOD - There is provided a legged robot that performs motion by changing a joint angle, which includes a section of generating a center-of-gravity trajectory of the legged robot based on a trinomial equation obtained by discretizing a ZMP equation and a target ZMP, a section of calculating time-varying data of a target value of the joint angle based on the generated center-of-gravity trajectory, and a section of rotating a joint of the legged robot based on the calculated time-varying data of a target value of the joint angle, wherein the ZMP equation involves an angular momentum according to a center-of-gravity velocity. | 03-12-2009 |
20090069941 | LEGGED ROBOT AND ITS CONTROL METHOD - There is provided a legged robot that performs motion by changing a joint angle, which includes a trajectory generating section to calculate a center-of-gravity trajectory in designated stepping motion from the stepping motion including at least one of walking motion, running motion and stopping motion, and generate a center-of-gravity trajectory by superimposing a designated travel velocity onto a travel velocity of a center of gravity in the calculated center-of-gravity trajectory in stepping motion, and a trajectory updating section to store the generated center-of-gravity trajectory and update all the stored center-of-gravity trajectories so as to be continuous, and a trajectory reproducing section to calculate time-varying data of a target value of the joint angle based on the updated center-of-gravity trajectory, and a joint driving section to rotate a joint of the legged robot based on the calculated time-varying data of a target value of the joint angle. | 03-12-2009 |
20090088899 | Industrial robot - An industrial robot including a tool flange at an end of an outer arm of the robot. A tool is secured to the tool flange. A sensor is configured to sense forces and/or torques applied to a tool secured to the tool flange. The sensor is built into the structure of the robot in the region of the tool flange. | 04-02-2009 |
20090088900 | Ultrasonic distance sensor and robot cleaner using the same - Disclosed herein are an ultrasonic distance sensor that is capable of extending an ultrasonic wave transmitted from a wave transmitter to sense the distance between an object located in a wide region and an installation body having the sensor installed therein and a robot cleaner using the same. The ultrasonic distance sensor includes a wave transmitter to transmit an ultrasonic wave, an ultrasonic wave extender to extend the ultrasonic wave, and a wave receiver to receive the ultrasonic wave reflected from an object. | 04-02-2009 |
20090093908 | Target Position detection apparatus for robot - A target position detection apparatus for a robot includes: a robot including an arm configured to be freely moved in at least two directions of X and Y axes, the arm having a wrist axis provided at a distal end of the arm and configured to be freely moved in a horizontal direction, and the wrist axis being provided with an end effector; and a control unit adapted for driving a memory to store a teaching point therein and controlling an operation of the robot such that the end effector will be moved toward the teaching point stored in the memory. The control unit is further adapted for changing a pressing force of the end effector against a target by changing a control loop gain, and bringing the end effector into contact with the target, while setting the control loop gain of the wrist axis lower than a predetermined value at least from a position adjacent to the teaching point at which the target is located, so as to capture a position in a state in which the end effector is in contact with the target, thereby detecting the position of the target. | 04-09-2009 |
20090099693 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROL OF EMOTIONAL ACTION EXPRESSION - A system for control of emotional action expression including an emotion engine for creating an emotion according to information provided from a plurality of sensors, and an emotional action expression/actuation control unit for detecting an emotion platform profile and an emotion property from the created emotion and determining the action expression corresponding to the created emotion to control a target actuator. A control unit controls the motion of the target actuator under the control of the emotional action expression/actuation control unit. | 04-16-2009 |
20090105880 | Device and method for controlling robot arm, robot and program - In a robot arm controlling device, a mechanical impedance set value of the arm is set by an object property-concordant impedance setting device based on information of an object property database in which information associated with properties of an object being gripped by the arm is recorded, and a mechanical impedance value of the arm is controlled to the set mechanical impedance set value by an impedance controlling device. | 04-23-2009 |
20090132087 | Learning Capture Points for Humanoid Push Recovery - A system and method is disclosed for controlling a robot having at least two legs, the robot subjected to an event such as a push that requires the robot to take a step to prevent a fall. In one embodiment, a current capture point is determined, where the current capture point indicates a location on a ground surface that is the current best estimate of a stepping location for avoiding a fall and for reaching a stopped state. The robot is controlled to take a step toward the current capture point. After taking the step, if the robot fails to reach a stopped state without taking any additional steps, an updated current capture point is determined based on the state of the robot after taking the step. The current capture points can be stored in a capture point memory and initialized based on a model of the robot. | 05-21-2009 |
20090149994 | Method, medium, and apparatus for correcting pose of moving robot - A method, apparatus, and medium for correcting a pose of a moving robot are provided. The method includes sensing an entrance using a distance-sensing sensor mounted on the moving robot, storing first distance data of the sensed entrance, after the moving robot travels, newly sensing the entrance using the distance-sensing sensor, and correcting the pose of the moving robot using the first distance data and second distance data corresponding to the entrance newly sensed after the moving robot travels. | 06-11-2009 |
20090149995 | CHARGING APPARATUS FOR MOBILE ROBOT - A charging apparatus for a mobile robot enabling the mobile robot to move relatively freely even during charging using a wiring member, while preventing occurrence of an inconvenience such as damage to the wiring member, is provided. The charging apparatus includes a charging power source, a control board which controls the charging power source, and a wiring members for use in supplying electric power from the charging power source to a battery mounted on the mobile robot. The wiring member connected to the mobile robot to follow the movement of the robot. The charging apparatus further includes a detector which detects tension applied to the wiring member. When the wiring members is pulled, an appropriate measure to stop the mobile robot or disconnect the wiring member from the robot is taken in accordance with a signal from the tension detector. | 06-11-2009 |
20090157227 | Apparatus, method, and medium for sensing slip in mobile robot - An apparatus, method, and medium for sensing a slip in a mobile robot is provided. The apparatus for sensing a slip in a mobile robot includes a driving motor control unit to control a driving motor that rotates a plurality of driving wheels of the mobile robot, a first rotation sensor to sense a first rotation angle of the mobile robot by using the difference between traveling distances of the plurality of driving wheels, a second rotation sensor to sense a second rotation angle of the mobile robot by sensing a rotation of the mobile robot, and a slip-sensing unit to sense the slip of the mobile robot by comparing the first rotation angle with the second rotation angle. The driving motor control unit controls the driving motor to travel straight in a specified pattern. | 06-18-2009 |
20090171505 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING ROBOT ARM, ROBOT, AND ROBOT ARM CONTROL PROGRAM - A control device ( | 07-02-2009 |
20090177322 | ROBOTIC PLATFORM FOR AUTONOMOUS AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT - A robotic platform for autonomous automotive vehicle development. The platform includes a frame having a plurality of wheels rotatably mounted to the frame. A motor mechanism is associated with at least one of the wheels and the motor mechanism is responsive to drive signals to rotatably drive its associated wheel. At least one sensor is mounted to the vehicle which provides an output signal representative of a parameter relevant to the position of the robotic platform. A programmable control circuit is programmed to generate drive signals in response to the sensor output(s) to simulate the operation of an automotive vehicle for vehicle development. | 07-09-2009 |
20090216373 | Mobile Device for Irradiation and Detection of Radiation - A mobile equipment endowed with a neutrons source possibly in combination with other radiation sources including a robot system that, moving on a controlled trajectory, realize the conditions to observe from different positions the radiation emerging from a specimen either mobile or fixed, properly irradiated, is described. | 08-27-2009 |
20090216374 | MITIGATING EFFECTS OF BIODYNAMIC FEEDTHROUGH ON AN ELECTRONIC CONTROL DEVICE - Biodynamic feedthrough in a master control system can be mitigated. An accelerometer is used to measure the acceleration of an environment. In one embodiment, mitigation damping forces can then be determined based on the velocity of an effector of a haptic manipulator and the measured accelerations. The haptic manipulator applies the mitigation damping forces as force feedback. In another embodiment, biodynamic feedthrough can be filtered from the input signal. Parameters for a model can be accessed based on the position of the effector, and the model can be used to predict biodynamic feedthrough from the measured accelerations. | 08-27-2009 |
20090254218 | ROBOT CONFINEMENT - A robot lawmnower includes a body, a drive system carried by the body, at least one caster wheel supporting the body, a grass cutter carried by the body, a controller in communication with the drive system, and a bump sensor in communication with the controller. The controller is configured to maneuver the robot to turn in place and to redirect the robot in response to the bump sensor sensing contact with an obstacle. The drive system is configured to maneuver the robot across a lawn and includes differentially driven right and left drive wheels positioned rearward of a transverse center axis defined by the body. The at least one caster wheel is positioned substantially forward of the right and left drive wheels, and the grass cutter is positioned at least partially forward of the right and left drive wheels and at least partially behind the at least one caster wheel. | 10-08-2009 |
20090259338 | ROBOTIC SYSTEM AND TRAINING METHOD FOR REHABILITATION USING EMG SIGNALS TO PROVIDE MECHANICAL HELP - A robotic system for rehabilitation using EMG signals to provide mechanical help includes EMG electrodes ( | 10-15-2009 |
20090281660 | Gunshot detection stabilized turret robot - A mobile, remotely controlled robot comprising a robot drive subsystem for maneuvering the robot, a turret on the robot, a turret drive for moving the turret, a noise detection subsystem for detecting the probable origin of a noise, a robot position and movement sensor subsystem, a turret position sensor subsystem, and one or more processors, responsive to the noise detection subsystem, the robot position and movement sensor subsystem. The turret position sensor subsystem is configured to control the turret drive to orient the turret to aim a device mounted thereto at the origin of the noise and to maintain said aim as the robot moves. | 11-12-2009 |
20090281661 | APPLICATION OF LOCALIZATION, POSITIONING & NAVIGATION SYSTEMS FOR ROBOTIC ENABLED MOBILE PRODUCTS - A robotic cleaner includes a cleaning assembly for cleaning a surface and a main robot body. The main robot body houses a drive system to cause movement of the robotic cleaner and a microcontroller to control the movement of the robotic cleaner. The cleaning assembly is located in front of the drive system and a width of the cleaning assembly is greater than a width of the main robot body. A robotic cleaning system includes a main robot body and a plurality of cleaning assemblies for cleaning a surface. The main robot body houses a drive system to cause movement of the robotic cleaner and a microcontroller to control the movement of the robotic cleaner. The cleaning assembly is located in front of the drive system and each of the cleaning assemblies is detachable from the main robot body and each of the cleaning assemblies has a unique cleaning function. | 11-12-2009 |
20090299525 | AUTONOMOUS MOVING BODY AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING MOVEMENT THEREOF - An autonomous moving body includes: an omnidirectional moving mechanism for moving the moving body; a detecting unit for detecting an obstacle; and a movement control unit for generating a movement instruction signal for avoiding the obstacle detected by the detecting unit while maintaining a frontal direction of the moving body to be substantially constant and transmitting the generated signal to the omnidirectional moving mechanism. | 12-03-2009 |
20090312870 | MANIPULATOR, MANIPULATOR COLLISION DETECTING METHOD AND MANIPULATOR CONTROL METHOD - A manipulator is provided with a first link, a second link, first and second differential input shafts rotatably supported on the first link, a differential output shaft rotatably supported on the second link, a differential gear mechanism for rotating the differential output shaft about two axes orthogonal to each other in accordance with the sum or difference of rotating speeds of the first and second differential input shafts, a first transmitting portion for transmitting a driving force to the first differential input shaft, a second transmitting portion for transmitting a driving force to the second differential input shaft, a first shaft rotational angle sensor for detecting rotational angle information of the first differential input shaft, a second shaft rotational angle sensor for detecting rotational angle information of the second differential input shaft, and a controller for detecting the reception of an external force by the first or second link based on an output signal of the first or second shaft rotational angle sensor. Each of the first and second transmitting portions includes a rotatable worm elastically held at a specified position in such a manner as to be movable in a translation direction of a rotation axis and a worm wheel engaged with the worm. The worm makes a translational movement in accordance with the external force received by the first or second link. | 12-17-2009 |
20090326714 | Robotic Arms - A robotic arm of the “top following” type, which can advance into an environment is covered is covered by a sensorised skin. The arm can thus detect a parameter of the environment, and the shape can be adjusted accordingly. | 12-31-2009 |
20100017033 | ROBOTIC SYSTEMS WITH USER OPERABLE ROBOT CONTROL TERMINALS - Robotic systems and methods employ at least some communications between peripheral controllers, for example vision controller, conveyor controller, camera controller and/or inspection controller, that is independent of a robot controller or robot motion controller. Such may include a parallel communications path. | 01-21-2010 |
20100017034 | BEAT TRACKING APPARATUS, BEAT TRACKING METHOD, RECORDING MEDIUM, BEAT TRACKING PROGRAM, AND ROBOT - A beat tracking apparatus includes: a filtering unit configured to perform a filtering process on an input acoustic signal and to accentuate an onset; a beat interval reliability calculating unit configured to perform a time-frequency pattern matching process employing a mutual correlation function on the acoustic signal of which the onset is accentuated and to calculate a beat interval reliability; and a beat interval estimating unit configured to estimate a beat interval on the basis of the calculated beat interval reliability. | 01-21-2010 |
20100030380 | DISTANCE SENSOR SYSTEM AND METHOD - A distance measuring system and method employing a laser distance sensor may have utility in various applications. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a laser distance sensor may acquire accurate distance measurements with a short baseline. | 02-04-2010 |
20100030381 | SERVO MOTOR MONITORING AND HOOD/DECK EXCHANGE TO ENHANCE THE INTERIOR COATING PROCESS - A method and system for handling a swing metal panel using a robot's drive axis servo motor feedback to eliminate the need for the sensors and breakaway devices is provided. Using the servo motor feedback for this function reduces cost and improves reliability. The method also applies the servo motor feedback to hold a panel in position and exchange the panel between robots during the painting or coating process. | 02-04-2010 |
20100030382 | INHALABLE PARTICULATE ENVIRONMENTAL ROBOTIC SAMPLER - A robotic sensor measures air quality characteristics as experienced by a toddler, such as a child of six to twelve months in age. The robot includes an air quality sensor, a terrain drive train, a sensor drive train and a control circuit that controls the terrain drive train and the sensor drive train. The control circuit directs the terrain drive train to traverse an area at a speed and a start and stop rate consistent with that of a child and directs the sensor drive train to control the monitoring height at which the air quality sensor measures the air quality characteristic in a manner consistent with that of the child. | 02-04-2010 |
20100042258 | Manipulation of objects - A system for manipulation of objects. The system includes N objects, where N is greater than or equal to 2 and is an integer; and a mechanism for controlling and 2D locating of the N objects. A method for manipulating objects. The method includes the steps of receiving information from N objects, where N is greater than or equal to 2 and is an integer, at a centrally controlling and 2D locating controller; determining 2D locations by the controller of the N objects; and transmitting from the controller directions to the N objects for the N objects to move. An apparatus for tracking. The apparatus includes N objects, where N is greater than or equal to 2 and is an integer, each object having an emitter which emits light; and a mechanism for 2D sensing of the N objects over time from the light emitted by each emitter. The present invention pertains to a method for tracking. The method includes the steps of emitting light from N objects, where N is greater than or equal to 2 and is an integer; and sensing 2D locations of the N objects over time from the emitted light from the N objects. | 02-18-2010 |
20100049366 | SURROUNDINGS MAPPING APPARATUS CAPABLE OF APPLYING QUICKLY CHANGED SURROUNDINGS INFORMATION IN MOBILE ROBOT AND METHOD THEREOF - A method of responding to environmental change to build an environment map of a mobile apparatus and an apparatus thereof are disclosed. The apparatus includes a traveling unit traveling a mobile apparatus according to a command, a distance measuring unit measuring a distance from the mobile apparatus to a moving object, an environment map-generating unit generating an environment map based on a measured distance, a moving object detecting unit detecting the moving object moved after generating the environment map by comparing a distance from the mobile apparatus to the moving object with the newly measured distance, and a controlling unit updating the environment map according to the command by selectively applying changed environment information containing the moving object to the built environment map when the moving object is detected. Thus, the changed environmental information can be rapidly and precisely applied to build the environment map. | 02-25-2010 |
20100057256 | FITTING DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING STATE OF CLOGGING CAUSED IN FIT - A fitting device for fitting a fitting workpiece, which is held by a robot, to a workpiece to be fitted by force control, comprises: a force detecting portion for detecting a force and moment acting on a control point of the fitting workpiece; a judging portion for judging whether or not clogging is caused between the fitting workpiece and the workpiece to be fitted at the time of fitting; and a changing portion for changing a position of the control point according to a distance by which the fitting workpiece enters the workpiece to be fitted and for pressing the fitting workpiece against the workpiece to be fitted in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction so as to adjust a posture of the fitting workpiece on the basis of the control point that has been changed, in the case where it is judged by the judging portion that clogging is caused. Due to the foregoing, posture of the fitting workpiece can be appropriately adjusted in a short period of time so that the fitting workpiece can be fitted into the workpiece to be fitted. | 03-04-2010 |
20100063628 | NAVIGATIONAL CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A ROBOTIC DEVICE - An autonomous cleaning apparatus includes a chassis, a drive system disposed on the chassis and operable to enable movement of the cleaning apparatus, and a controller in communication with the drive system. The controller includes a processor operable to control the drive system to steer movement of the cleaning apparatus. The autonomous cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning head system disposed on the chassis and a sensor system in communication with the controller. The sensor system includes a debris sensor for generating a debris signal, a bump sensor for generating a bump signal, and an obstacle following sensor disposed on a side of the autonomous cleaning apparatus for generating an obstacle signal. The processor executes a prioritized arbitration scheme to identify and implement one or more dominant behavioral modes based upon at least one signal received from the sensor system. | 03-11-2010 |
20100076599 | MANUALLY DRIVEN DETERMINATION OF A REGION OF INTEREST (ROI) OR A PATH OF INTEREST (POI) FOR A ROBOTIC DEVICE - A robotic device is manually driven along a perimeter of a Region Of Interest (ROI) or along a Path Of Interest (POI) for future autonomous operation. An Initial Point (IP) is established by identifying a unique machine recognizable feature, for example, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag located at the IP. The robotic device is then manually driven along the perimeter or along the path and sensors carried by the robotic device collects data to characterize the ROI or POI. The sensors may include sonar, vision systems, laser, or radar devices for measuring relative positions of a wall, stairs, or obstacles. Wheel odometry may be used to track distances traveled and data fusion exercised to combine the odometry data with the sonar and/or laser measurements to model the ROI or POI. Characterization is performed by collecting points along a wall, fitting a line to the points, and finding the intersections of consecutive lines. | 03-25-2010 |
20100094462 | Robot Control System - Communication is performed between a sensor unit ( | 04-15-2010 |
20100100239 | ROBOT MECHANISM FOR INSPECTION OF LIVE-LINE SUSPENSION INSULATOR STRING - Disclosed herein is a robot mechanism for inspection of a live-line suspension insulator string. A robot body of the robot mechanism reciprocates along the live-line suspension insulator string and includes upper and lower robot frames configured to encircle the insulator string, a battery module provided to either end of the robot body, an actuation module for moving the robot body along the insulator string, an inspection module for electrically inspecting an insulator, a connection module for coupling the robot body to an installation/dismantlement mechanism, a wing opening/closing module for manually separating the robot body from the insulator string, a measurement module for measuring electrical properties of the insulator, a controller for controlling operation of the robot body, and a crack detection unit for detecting cracks formed in the insulator. | 04-22-2010 |
20100114373 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SCANNING A WORKSPACE VOLUME FOR OBJECTS - A representative robotic machine includes an end-of-arm that is located in a work area; and a safety scanner system that scans for objects in a workspace volume around the end-of-arm. The safety scanner system determines whether to stop operations of the robotic machine based on the presence of the objects in the workspace volume. | 05-06-2010 |
20100131100 | Robot Hand for Industrial Robot - (Problem) A pair of finger bodies should be able to easily sandwich a workpiece without being interfered by other adjacent workpieces, and should be able to easily and rapidly change a standby open clearance depending on an external diameter of multiple workpieces in various sizes. | 05-27-2010 |
20100131101 | Signal Modulator for Visual Indicator - An apparatus in an example comprises a manipulator, a force sensor, a signal modulator, and a visual indicator. The manipulator is employed by a user. The force sensor determines a force signal from a force applied by the manipulator on a part of an environment of the user. The signal modulator is adjustable by the user to select a switch point for the visual indicator based on relative fragility of the part of the environment. The signal modulator employs the force signal and the switch point to control the visual indicator for the user. | 05-27-2010 |
20100145516 | HIGH VOLTAGE MONITORING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SPRAY COATING SYSTEMS - In accordance with one embodiment, a system may include a high voltage coating applicator, a voltage sensor, and a coating system controller configured to automate a voltage measurement of the high voltage coating applicator by the voltage sensor. In another embodiment, a system may include a non-contact sensor and a controller coupled to the non-contact sensor, wherein the controller is configured to obtain a measurement indicative of voltage at a distance between an electrostatic spray device and the non-contact sensor. In the embodiment, the controller is also configured to adjust voltage, fluid flow, distance, or a combination thereof, of the electrostatic spray device in response to the measurement. | 06-10-2010 |
20100145517 | ROBOT MECHANISM FOR NONDESTRUCTIVE AGING EVALUATION OF CABLE - The present disclosure relates to a robot mechanism for nondestructive aging evaluation of a cable. The robot mechanism includes at least two inspection modules, and a coupler disposed between the at least two inspection modules and connected to each of the inspection modules to adjust a separation between the inspection modules. Each of the inspection modules approaches a cable and automatically inspects an aged state of the cable. The robot mechanism automatically measures an aged state of a cable in a nondestructive manner and establishes a database of cable aging, so that normal operation of the cable can be ensured through stable management of the cable by evaluating a replacement time and the aged state of the cable based on the database. | 06-10-2010 |
20100145518 | ROBOT AND METHOD THEREOF - Disclosed herein are a robot generating a message using a robot hand, and a control method thereof. When a user types characters using a robot hand, a hand body part and a finger part of the robot hand output displacement signals and a command reading unit accordingly generates a message corresponding to the displacement signals. The message is transmitted to a robot controlling unit. In addition, the message is outputted by sound or displayed to be easily checked by the user. | 06-10-2010 |
20100145519 | INDUSTRIAL ROBOT AND METHOD TO OPERATE AN INDUSTRIAL ROBOT - In an industrial robot and a method for operating an industrial robot, a robot arm is pivotable with respect to multiple axes. At least one of the axes has an drive associated therewith for controlling movement of the robot arm with respect to that axis. The electrical drive includes a three-phase synchronous motor that is operated with associated electrical currents and electrical voltages. A signal representing at least one of said electrical currents and electrical voltages is supplied to a computerized control unit that determines, from the signal, the position of the axis associated with the electrical drive. The computerized control unit controls operation of the electrical drive dependent on this determined position. | 06-10-2010 |
20100152896 | ROBOT, CONTROLLING DEVICE AND CONTROLLING METHOD FOR ROBOT, AND CONTROLLING PROGRAM FOR ROBOT-CONTROLLING DEVICE - Based upon a force in a vertical direction exerted between an object and a hand and an angle made by the hand relative to a horizontal face, a transporting force estimation unit estimates a transporting force applied in the vertical direction by a person, and based upon the estimated force, a force controlling operation is carried out so as to set a force in the vertical direction of the robot arm of a robot system to a predetermined force. | 06-17-2010 |
20100161127 | MULTIPLE PRIORITY OPERATIONAL SPACE IMPEDANCE CONTROL - A system and method for providing multiple priority impedance control for a robot manipulator where impedance laws are realized simultaneously and with a given order of priority. The method includes a control scheme for realizing a Cartesian space impedance objective as a first priority while also realizing a joint space impedance objective as a second priority. The method also includes a control scheme for realizing two Cartesian space impedance objectives with different levels of priority. The method includes instances of the control schemes that use feedback from force sensors mounted at an end-effector and other instances of the control schemes that do not use this feedback. | 06-24-2010 |
20100161128 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AUTOMATIC PARKING - An automatic parking control system includes a movable parking robot to load and carry a vehicle to be parked, a parking guide server for providing the parking robot with a moving path to the target parking space, and one or more posts, installed nearby an accessible parking area, for controlling a moving path of the parking robot in real time through communications with the parking robot. | 06-24-2010 |
20100168916 | TOUCH SENSITIVE ROBOT WITH TOUCH SENSOR BELT - An exemplary touch sensitive robot includes a body, a touch sensor, a driver, and a controller. The body includes a control panel. The touch sensor includes a first conductive belt wrapped on the body, a second conductive belt provided around but spaced away from the first conductive belt, a power source applying a voltage to two distal ends of the first conductive voltage, and a voltage sensor interconnected between an end of the first conductive belt and an end of the second conductive belt. The second conductive belt is electrically deformable and contacts the first conductive belt when touched by a user so that a measured voltage of the voltage sensor change dependently of the location of the touch. The controller is for controlling the driver to spin the body based upon the measured voltage to orient the control panel to the user. | 07-01-2010 |
20100168917 | Walking robot and method of controlling the same - Disclosed is a method of absorbing an impact generated when a foot of a walking robot lands on the ground to perform the walking of the walking robot. When the foot of the walking robot lands on the ground, an F/T sensor installed on the sole or the ankle of the foot measures external force and the posture of the sole of the foot is adjusted in a direction of complying with the external force, and thus an impact transmitted to the walking robot in landing is absorbed. Further, the posture adjusting speed of the sole of the foot is adjusted according to walking speeds (stopped, walking, running). | 07-01-2010 |
20100185326 | Robot - Disclosed is a robot setting a display unit corresponding to an eye level of the user. The robot includes a body unit, a display unit, and at least one sliding section. The display unit is provided with a detection unit, which detects a position of a user, to rotate together with the body unit according to an eye level of the user. The sliding section connects the body unit with the display unit such that the body unit and the display unit rotate longitudinally and transversely according to a detection result of the detection unit. | 07-22-2010 |
20100191374 | SECONDARY POSITION FEEDBACK CONTROL OF A ROBOT - A method of and apparatus for achieving dynamic robot accuracy includes a control system utilizing a dual position loop control. An outer position loop uses secondary encoders on the output side of the gear train of a robot joint axis, while the inner position loop uses the primary encoder attached to the motor. Both single and dual loop control can be used on the same robot and tooling axes. | 07-29-2010 |
20100198406 | ELECTRONIC PET SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD OF AN ELECTRONIC PET - An electronic pet system includes an electronic pet and a glove. The electronic pet includes a first central processing unit (CPU) and a wireless receiver. The glove includes a plurality of accelerometers, a wireless transmitter, and a second CPU. When the glove is moved, acceleration of the accelerometers will be measured. If the measurements of acceleration match a predetermined instruction, the electronic pet will be directed to make a move according to the predetermined instruction. | 08-05-2010 |
20100217439 | Map building apparatus and method - Disclosed are a map building apparatus and method using a distance measurement. According to an aspect, by creating a first map and a second map respectively using the characteristics of different characteristic areas based on a distance-voltage characteristics of a distance measurement sensor, and combining the first map with the second map, a grid map is created. Accordingly, since a map regarding a peripheral environment is created using plural areas of the distance-voltage characteristics, a more accurate map may be created. | 08-26-2010 |
20100228395 | TOUCH SENSITIVE ROBOT - A touch sensitive robot includes a body having a control panel, a touch sensor, a driver, and a controller. The touch sensor includes a first conductive belt, a second conductive belt, a power source, and a current sensor. The first conductive belt is wrapped on the body. The second conductive belt is wrapped around but spaced away from the first conductive belt. The power source and the current sensor are connected in series between the first conductive belt and the second conductive belt to form a closed circuit when a point of the second conductive belt is touched to contact the first conductive belt. The current sensor is for measuring the flow of the electrical current of the close loop. The controller is for controlling the driver to turn the body based upon the measurement of the current sensor to orient the control panel to the touch point. | 09-09-2010 |
20100234994 | METHOD FOR DYNAMICALLY CONTROLLING A ROBOTIC ARM - A method for maneuvering an articulable robotic arm includes monitoring a position of a dynamically moveable workpiece. Individual motion segments are iteratively executed to control the articulable robotic arm to position the end-of-arm tool contiguous to the workpiece and corresponding to an initial position of the end-of-arm tool, an initial position of the workpiece and an iteratively determined updated position of the workpiece. | 09-16-2010 |
20100234995 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SECURELY TRANSPORTING AN ITEM - A system. The system includes an apparatus and a server. The apparatus is configured for securely transporting an item from a first location to a second location, and includes a mobile robot and a cart. The cart is coupled to the mobile robot and includes at least one secure storage area. The server is communicably connected to the apparatus and includes a module. The module is configured to maintain a chain of custody record for the item. | 09-16-2010 |
20100234996 | Manipulator, Particularly Industrial Robot, Having A Redundant Sensor Arrangement, And Method For The Control Thereof - The invention relates to an industrial robot ( | 09-16-2010 |
20100234997 | TACTILE SENSOR ARRANGEMENT AND CORRESPONDING SENSORY SYSTEM - A sensory system for a robot comprises a plurality of tactile sensor arrangements ( | 09-16-2010 |
20100250000 | OPTIC FIBER CONNECTION FOR A FORCE SENSING INSTRUMENT - In one embodiment, a surgical instrument includes a housing linkable with a manipulator arm of a robotic surgical system, a shaft operably coupled to the housing, a force transducer on a distal end of the shaft, and a plurality of fiber optic strain gauges on the force transducer. In one example, the plurality of strain gauges are operably coupled to a fiber optic splitter or an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) multiplexer. A fiber optic connector is operably coupled to the fiber optic splitter or the AWG multiplexer. A wrist joint is operably coupled to a distal end of the force transducer, and an end effector is operably coupled to the wrist joint. In another embodiment, a robotic surgical manipulator includes a base link operably coupled to a distal end of a manipulator positioning system, and a distal link movably coupled to the base link, wherein the distal link includes an instrument interface and a fiber optic connector optically linkable to a surgical instrument. A method of passing data between an instrument and a manipulator via optical connectors is also provided. | 09-30-2010 |
20100274389 | Device Comprising A Robot, Medical Work Station, And Method For Registering An Object - The invention relates to a medical device, a medical work station, and a method for registering an object (P). The medical device comprises a navigation system ( | 10-28-2010 |
20100324733 | Robot And Method For Monitoring The Torque On Such A Robot - In order to increase the safety of a robot that may come into contact with other robots, objects or humans, the invention provides that said robot comprises at least two joints and parts that are moveable in relation to each other via at least one joint. At least one sensor ( | 12-23-2010 |
20100324734 | ROBOT CLEANER AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING TRAVEL OF THE SAME - A robot cleaner that travels straight through alignment of drive wheels to move the robot cleaner and a method of controlling travel of the same. Information related to a movement angle of the robot cleaner is detected from angle information of a caster wheel rotating depending upon a state of a floor, such as a carpet in a state in which texture of the carpet occurs in one direction, and, when the movement angle of the robot cleaner deviates due to slippages of the drive wheels, rates of rotation of the drive wheels are adjusted to correct the slippages of the drive wheels such that the robot cleaner easily travels straight. | 12-23-2010 |
20100332032 | Displacement correcting method and displacement correcting program in automatic operation system - In an automatic operation system including: a positioning robot having a holding tool and an inertial sensor at a tip end portion of an arm thereof; a working robot having an operation tool at a tip end portion of an arm thereof; and a robot control device, a positioning correcting method of the present invention includes: conveying and positioning the holding tool, which holds a work, by the positioning robot at a positioning reference position of the holding tool corresponding to an operation position of the work; detecting a displacement amount of the holding tool from the positioning reference position by the robot control device based on an inertial force of the inertial sensor when the working robot carries out a predetermined operation with respect to the work; and correcting based on the detected displacement amount the positioning reference position of the holding tool to a position of the holding tool before the holding tool is displaced. | 12-30-2010 |
20110010011 | ROBOT - A robot includes an arm including a plurality of joints, arm members that form the arm, each arm member supporting a load, actuators that drive the joints and that are supported by the arm members, a load sensor embedded in at least one of the arm members to measure the load applied to the at least one of the arm members, a controller that controls movements of the actuators on the basis of a result of the measurement performed by the load sensor, and a wire hole through which a sensor line extend from a space inside the at least one of the arm members to a space inside the arm, the sensor line connecting the load sensor to the controller. | 01-13-2011 |
20110029133 | ROBOT, AND CONTROL APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD, AND CONTROL PROGRAM FOR ROBOT - A robot arm provided with a body unit shifting mechanism that connects a base unit and a body unit so as to be relatively shifted, and joint lock mechanisms that are capable of mechanically securing respective joints is disposed on the body unit, and a robot operation control unit controls to switch between a robot arm operation mode in which the robot arm is operated with one of the joints of the robot arm brought into a free state, and a body unit shift mode in which the body unit is shifted with the joint being brought into a locked state. | 02-03-2011 |
20110035054 | System for Extending The Observation, Surveillance, and Navigational Capabilities of a Robot - The invention is a system that is integrated with an existing robotic system in order to extend its observation, surveillance, and navigational capabilities. The system comprises: a sensor module comprising imaging and other types of sensors that is attached to the robotic device of the robotic system and a system control station comprising a communication link to the robot control station of the existing robotic system. Both the system control station and the sensor module comprise processing units that are configured to work in complete harmony. These processing units are each supplied with software that enables using information supplied by the sensors and other components in the sensor module to provide the robotic systems with many advanced capabilities that could not be achieves prior to attachment of the sensor module to the robot. | 02-10-2011 |
20110040408 | ROBOTIC HAND - A robotic hand assembly comprising: a hand section comprising: at least one digit provided with at least one actuatable joint; and a control section comprising: at least one actuation device, the at least one actuation device comprising: a sensing module configured to sense a force applied to a tendon coupled at a first end to the at least one actuatable joint; and an actuation module configured to actuate the at least one actuatable joint. | 02-17-2011 |
20110054689 | ROBOTS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR HAZARD EVALUATION AND VISUALIZATION - A robot includes a hazard sensor, a locomotor, and a system controller. The robot senses a hazard intensity at a location of the robot, moves to a new location in response to the hazard intensity, and autonomously repeats the sensing and moving to determine multiple hazard levels at multiple locations. The robot may also include a communicator to communicate the multiple hazard levels to a remote controller. The remote controller includes a communicator for sending user commands to the robot and receiving the hazard levels from the robot. A graphical user interface displays an environment map of the environment proximate the robot and a scale for indicating a hazard intensity. A hazard indicator corresponds to a robot position in the environment map and graphically indicates the hazard intensity at the robot position relative to the scale. | 03-03-2011 |
20110054690 | ELECTRO-MECHANISM FOR EXTENDING THE CAPABILITIES OF BILATERAL ROBOTIC PLATFORMS AND A METHOD FOR PERFORMING THE SAME - The present invention discloses an electro-mechanism for extending the capabilities of a bilateral robotic platforms and a method for performing the same. The electro-mechanism includes an attitude sensor to provide indication of the side over which a bilateral robotic platform operates and an actuator to tilt a mast to an upright position with respect to the ground in order to maximize the performance of the components integrated therewith. The electro-mechanism also provides means to elevate an environmental sensor to provide a superior position for information gathering with respect to the bilateral robotic platform. | 03-03-2011 |
20110071678 | TENDON DRIVEN FINGER ACTUATION SYSTEM - A humanoid robot includes a robotic hand having at least one finger. An actuation system for the robotic finger includes an actuator assembly which is supported by the robot and is spaced apart from the finger. A tendon extends from the actuator assembly to the at least one finger and ends in a tendon terminator. The actuator assembly is operable to actuate the tendon to move the tendon terminator and, thus, the finger. | 03-24-2011 |
20110125323 | LOCALIZATION BY LEARNING OF WAVE-SIGNAL DISTRIBUTIONS - A robot having a signal sensor configured to measure a signal, a motion sensor configured to measure a relative change in pose, a local correlation component configured to correlate the signal with the position and/or orientation of the robot in a local region including the robot's current position, and a localization component configured to apply a filter to estimate the position and optionally the orientation of the robot based at least on a location reported by the motion sensor, a signal detected by the signal sensor, and the signal predicted by the local correlation component. The local correlation component and/or the localization component may take into account rotational variability of the signal sensor and other parameters related to time and pose dependent variability in how the signal and motion sensor perform. Each estimated pose may be used to formulate new or updated navigational or operational instructions for the robot. | 05-26-2011 |
20110125324 | ROBOT CLEANER AND CONTROLLING METHOD OF THE SAME - A robot cleaner and a method of controlling a robot cleaner are provided. The robot cleaner is capable of automatically compensating for and adjusting a moving angle and a position using an appropriate sensor and control algorithm while performing a cleaning operation in a relatively large space. This may reduce a position error, allow a cleaning region to be effectively identified as a region to be cleaned or a region having already been cleaned, thus improving cleaning performance and efficiency. | 05-26-2011 |
20110130876 | HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTIVE SYSTEM HAVING A HUMAN STIFFNESS ESTIMATION CONTROL ALGORITHM - A robotic system includes a robot adapted for moving a payload in proportional response to an input force from an operator, sensors adapted for measuring a predetermined set of operator input values, including the input force, and a controller. The controller determines a changing stiffness value of the operator using set of operator input values, and automatically adjusts a level of control sensitivity over the robot using the stiffness value. The input values include the input force, a muscle activation level of the operator, and a position of the operator. A method of controlling the robot includes measuring the operator input values using the plurality of sensors, processing the input values using the controller to thereby calculate the stiffness value, and automatically adjusting the level of control sensitivity over the robot using the stiffness value. A specific operator may be identified, with control sensitivity being adjusted based on the identity. | 06-02-2011 |
20110130877 | Mobile Fragrance Delivery System - A fragrance delivery system for a mobile robot. A fragrance containment and attachment device for a mobile robot allowing the robot to expel a fragrance in the space or region in which the robot is in operation. | 06-02-2011 |
20110130878 | HEAD FOR POSITIONING A TOOL ON IRREGULAR SURFACES - The invention relates to a head for positioning a tool on irregular surfaces, formed by a tool-holder assembly which is coupled to a robot arm ( | 06-02-2011 |
20110160905 | WORKPIECE MOUNTING SYSTEM, WORKPIECE MOUNTING METHOD, SUNROOF UNIT HOLDING DEVICE, AND SUNROOF UNIT HOLDING METHOD - A workpiece mounting system which is highly versatile and can reduce a cycle time. A workpiece mounting system ( | 06-30-2011 |
20110166708 | PAINTING DEVICE AND ASSOCIATED METHOD - Exemplary painting devices for painting components, e.g., motor vehicle bodies or parts thereof, and associated exemplary methods are disclosed. An exemplary painting device may include a multi-axis painting robot positioning an atomizer, a robot controller for controlling the painting robot, and a controls enclosure comprising the robot controller. An exemplary controls enclosure may be a load-bearing column that mechanically supports the painting robot. | 07-07-2011 |
20110184557 | PRESSURE DETECTION DEVICE AND PRESSURE DETECTION METHOD - A pressure detection device includes a buffer member and a sensor assembly. The buffer member is deformable by a pressure change, and includes a plurality of magnets in an evenly dispersed arrangement. The sensor assembly includes at least one magnetic sensor to detect a variation of a magnetic field accompanied by deformation of the buffer member. | 07-28-2011 |
20110190933 | Robotic Vehicle - A mobile robot that includes a chassis, a drive system disposed on the chassis and configured to maneuver the robot over a work surface, a deck system, and a control system connected to the drive system and the deck system. The deck system includes a payload deck configured to receive a removable payload and a deck shifter configured to move the payload deck relative to the chassis. The control system includes a control arbitration system and a behavior system in communication with each other. The behavior system executes a behavior that evaluates and provides an outcome evaluation on a predicted outcome of a robot command. The control arbitration system selects and executes a robot command based at least in part on the outcome evaluation. | 08-04-2011 |
20110190934 | ARCHITECTURE FOR ROBUST FORCE AND IMPEDANCE CONTROL OF SERIES ELASTIC ACTUATORS - An SEA architecture for controlling the torque applied by an SEA that has particular application for controlling the position of a robot link. The SEA architecture includes a motor coupled to one end of an elastic spring and a load coupled to an opposite end of the elastic spring, where the motor drives the load through the spring. The orientation of the shaft of the motor and the load are measured by position sensors. Position signals from the position sensors are sent to an embedded processor that determines the orientation of the load relative to the motor shaft to determine the torque on the spring. The embedded processor receives reference torque signals from a remote controller, and the embedded processor operates a high-speed servo loop about the desired joint torque. The remote controller determines the desired joint torque based on higher order objectives by their impedance or positioning objectives. | 08-04-2011 |
20110190935 | RECONFIGURABLE BALANCING ROBOT AND METHOD FOR MOVING OVER LARGE OBSTACLES - An apparatus and a method for robotic control that allows an unbalanced pendulum robot to raise its Center of Mass and balance on two motorized wheels. The robot includes a pair of arms that are connected to the upper body of the robot through motorized joints. The method consists of a series of movements employing the arms of the robot to raise the robot to the upright position. The method comprises a control loop in which the motorized drives are included for dynamic balance of the robot and the control of the arm apparatus. The robot is first configured as a low Center of Mass four-wheeled vehicle, then its Center of Mass is raised using a combination of its wheels and the joint located at the attachment point of the arm apparatus and the robot body, between the rear and front wheels; the method then applies accelerations to the rear wheels to dynamically pivot and further raise the Center of Mass up and over the main drive wheels bringing the robot into a balancing pendulum configuration. | 08-04-2011 |
20110208357 | Autonomous Mobile Robot - A mobile robot is equipped with a range finder and a stereo vision system. The mobile robot is capable of autonomously navigating through urban terrain, generating a map based on data from the range finder and transmitting the map to the operator, as part of several reconnaissance operations selectable by the operator. The mobile robot employs a Hough transform technique to identify linear features in its environment, and then aligns itself with the identified linear features in order to navigate through the urban terrain; while at the same time, a scaled vector field histogram technique is applied to the combination of range finder and stereo vision data to detect and avoid obstacles the mobile robot encounters when navigating autonomously. Also, the missions performed by the mobile robot may include limitation parameters based on distance or time elapsed, to ensure completion of the autonomous operations. | 08-25-2011 |
20110224827 | ROBOT CONTROLLER, ROBOT CONTROL METHOD, AND LEGGED ROBOT - A robot controller in accordance with the present invention is a robot controller that makes a robot including a plurality of legs walk by driving joints of the robot, the robot controller being configured to determine a permissible range for a trunk vertical position of the robot based on measured environmental parameters, the measured environmental parameters being information of an environment around the robot, and to make the robot walk based on measured posture parameters representing a posture of the robot so that the trunk vertical position remains within the permissible range. In this way, a legged robot with high robustness as well as its controller and control method can be provided. | 09-15-2011 |
20110238214 | Robot cleaner, docking station, robot cleaner system including robot cleaner and docking station, and method of controlling robot cleaner - A robot cleaner system is described including a docking station to form a docking area within a predetermined angle range of a front side thereof, to form docking guide areas which do not overlap each other on the left and right sides of the docking area, and to transmit a docking guide signal such that the docking guide areas are distinguished as a first docking guide area and a second docking guide area according to an arrival distance of the docking guide signal. The robot cleaner system also includes a robot cleaner to move to the docking area along a boundary between the first docking guide area and the second docking guide area when the docking guide signal is sensed and to move along the docking area so as to perform docking when reaching the docking area. | 09-29-2011 |
20110238215 | PROGRAMMING METHOD FOR A ROBOT, PROGRAMMING APPARATUS FOR A ROBOT, AND ROBOT CONTROL SYSTEM - An operator inputs a sensing instruction at a sensing point, which is a rough taught point, in a teaching mode (S | 09-29-2011 |
20110245972 | Sensing escape device of automatic cleaner - A sensing escape device of an automatic cleaner includes a control module, a motion module and an inclination limitation sensing module. The control module controls the motion module to drive the movement of the automatic cleaner in mode between a forward mode with head portion as a head and a backward mode with tail portion as a head. The inclination limitation sensing module coupled to the control module includes a critical inclination angle sensing unit outward disposed on a rear bottom of the main body. When the critical inclination angle sensing unit is externally contacted, the inclination limitation sensing module generates a signal and transfers the signal to the control module, to make the control module drive the motion module to switch into the backward mode. The automatic cleaner moves backward immediately when climbing a ramp, to avoid misjudging actions such as a suspension of the motor-driven wheel unit. | 10-06-2011 |
20110257786 | PORTABLE ROBOTIC ARM - A portable robotic arm comprises a base, a plurality of motorized joints, a plurality of body members and a manipulator. Each motorized joint is operative to rotate in its respective rotation plane and on its respective joint axis, which is normal to the respective rotating plane. Each body member is sequentially connected to one other body member through one of the motorized joints. A last body member is connected to the base through a last motorized joint. A manipulator is connected to a first body member through a first motorized joint. At least two consecutive rotation planes are placed at an angle from each other that is greater than 0 degrees and smaller than 90 degrees. Optionally, the manipulator comprises three fingers and a tool port centered between the three fingers. A tool connected in the manipulator's tool port may be gripped with the three fingers. The robotic arm and a wheelchair support for the robotic arm may also be provided as a kit. | 10-20-2011 |
20110257787 | ROBOT CONTROL APPARATUS FOR FORCE CONTROL - A robot control apparatus includes a force measuring unit for acquiring the force data required for the control operation, a calculating unit for calculating the force exerted by gravity on the force measuring unit and the dynamic terms generated by the motion of the robot arm, of all the forces exerted on the force measuring unit from the working tool, a compensation unit for compensating the force measured by the force measuring unit using the force exerted by gravity and the dynamic terms calculated by the calculating unit, and a command adjusting unit for adjusting the operation command for the robot arm in accordance with the force exerted on the force measuring unit by the dynamic terms and gravity in the case where each of the dynamic terms is larger than a predetermined threshold value. | 10-20-2011 |
20110270444 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR JUDGING SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF WORK OF ROBOT - A system for judging success or failure of a work of a robot includes a position command generating unit, a contact position detecting unit, and a work success/failure judging unit. The position command generating unit generates a position command enabling movement of a fingertip of the robot so that a position and posture detecting unit, which is attached to the fingertip of the robot and has an elastic transformation area, is brought into contact with a predetermined position relating to a work target after the predetermined work is performed for the work target by the robot. The contact position detecting unit calculates a contact position that is a position of a tip end of the position and posture detecting unit at the time of being in contact with the predetermined position based on a value of an external force applied to the fingertip and the position of the tip end of the position and posture detecting unit. The work success/failure judging unit judges the predetermined work to be successful when the calculated contact position is within a predetermined range and judges the predetermined work to be failed when the calculated contact position is not within the predetermined range. | 11-03-2011 |
20110270445 | INSTRUMENT TURNTABLE AND METHOD FOR USE - An instrument turntable is presented which allows an instrument to be installed into an automated system, yet that will still allow an operator to use the instrument manually, even while the automated system is running, without ever removing the instrument from the automated system. | 11-03-2011 |
20110282491 | DRIVE FORCE CONTROL IN MEDICAL INSTRUMENT PROVIDING POSITION MEASUREMENTS - Control systems and methods for a remote joint use position measurements to determine and control the force that an actuator applies to the joint through a linkage. The use of force and feedback allows control of a medical instrument having a linkage that provides non-negligible compliance between the joint and a proximal actuator and particularly allows precise instrument operation even when the position of the distal joint cannot be directly related to the proximal motor position. | 11-17-2011 |
20110295426 | ROBOTIC SNAKES FOR USE IN NON-DESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION AND MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS - At least one serpentine body is provided for maintenance operations on an object. At least one serpentine body is coupled to at least one sensor, and at least one serpentine body is coupled to at least one tool. The at least one sensor is configured to inspect the object, and the at least one tool is configured to modify the object. | 12-01-2011 |
20110295427 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR INSPECTION SENSOR PLACEMENT - Methods and systems are provided for positioning a remote sensor within a target object. An articulated robotic system is coupled to the remote sensor. A positioning system determines a position of the target object to be inspected and determines a first position of the remote sensor. A control system calibrates a virtual representation of the target object with respect to the position of the target object, and tracks movement of the remote sensor relative to the target object. | 12-01-2011 |
20110301757 | ADAPTABLE CONTAINER HANDLING ROBOT WITH BOUNDARY SENSING SUBSYSTEM - An adaptable container handling robot includes a chassis, a container transport mechanism, a drive subsystem for maneuvering the chassis, a boundary sensing subsystem configured to reduce adverse effects of outdoor deployment, and a controller subsystem responsive to the boundary sensing subsystem. The controller subsystem is configured to detect a boundary, control the drive subsystem to turn in a given direction to align the robot with the boundary, and control the drive subsystem to follow the boundary. | 12-08-2011 |
20110313571 | ROBOT SYSTEM - The present invention provides a robot system including a robot having a plurality of move axes and a safeguard apparatus provided independently of a control system of the robot and adapted for limiting a movable range of the robot. The safeguard apparatus includes at least two individual-axis-detection external sensors configured to be respectively turned ON/OFF in response to a rotational position or a transfer position of respective at least two move axes among the plurality of move axes of the robot, and an apparatus body configured to limit a move of the robot based on a combination of ON/OFF conditions of at least two output signals obtained from the at least two individual-axis-detection external sensors. | 12-22-2011 |
20120016520 | RECONFIGURABLE BALANCING ROBOT AND METHOD FOR DYNAMICALLY TRANSITIONING BETWEEN STATICALLY STABLE MODE AND DYNAMICALLY BALANCED MODE - An apparatus and a method for robotic control that allows an unbalanced pendulum robot to raise its Center of Mass and balance on two motorized wheels. The robot includes a pair of arms that are connected to the upper body of the robot through motorized joints. The method consists of a series of movements employing the arms of the robot to raise the robot to the upright position. The method comprises a control loop in which the motorized drives are included for dynamic balance of the robot and the control of the arm apparatus. The robot is first configured as a low Center of Mass four-wheeled vehicle, then its Center of Mass is raised using a combination of its wheels and the joint located at the attachment point of the arm apparatus and the robot body, between the rear and front wheels; the method then applies accelerations to the rear wheels to dynamically pivot and further raise the Center of Mass up and over the main drive wheels bringing the robot into a balancing pendulum configuration. | 01-19-2012 |
20120016521 | AUTOMATION EQUIPMENT CONTROL SYSTEM - A automation equipment control system comprises a general purpose computer with a general purpose operating system in electronic communication with a real-time computer subsystem. The general purpose computer includes a program execution module to selectively start and stop processing of a program of equipment instructions and to generate a plurality of move commands. The real-time computer subsystem includes a move command data buffer for storing the plurality of move commands, a move module linked to the data buffer for sequentially processing the moves and calculating a required position for a mechanical joint. The real-time computer subsystem also includes a dynamic control algorithm in software communication with the move module to repeatedly calculate a required actuator activation signal from a joint position feedback signal. | 01-19-2012 |
20120022690 | ROBOT CONTROL APPARATUS - In an embodiment of the present invention, with the purpose of more accurately calculating a disturbance torque generated by an external force acting on a robot, friction parameters contained in algorithms, such as a friction coefficient and a dead-zone threshold value, are dynamically changed based on the mode of operation, the operation speed, and the like. In this manner, a drive torque is estimated with high accuracy. | 01-26-2012 |
20120035763 | ROBOTIC DEVICE, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING ROBOTIC DEVICE, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM - A robotic device includes a first calculation section adapted to calculate a first angular velocity of a first arm operating due to a first actuator provided with a first angle sensor based on rotational angle detection data of the first angle sensor of the fist actuator, a second calculation section adapted to calculate a second angular velocity of the first arm taking an arm linkage device as an axis based on angular velocity detection data of an inertial sensor provided to the first arm linked via the arm linkage device including the first actuator, which is a calculation object of the first calculation section, and a third calculation section adapted to calculate a torsional angular velocity between the first actuator and the first arm with a low-frequency component eliminated. | 02-09-2012 |
20120041593 | ELEVATOR SYSTEM THAT AUTONOMOUS MOBILE ROBOT TAKES TOGETHER WITH PERSON - An elevator system which an autonomous mobile robot and human user can utilize safely and efficiently. The system has an available area detection unit to detect an available area in a cage, and a riding possibility/impossibility determination unit to determine whether or not the autonomous mobile robot can get on the cage based on information on size and position of the available area detected by the available area detection unit. The autonomous mobile robot gets on the cage only when the riding possibility/impossibility determination unit determines that riding is possible. | 02-16-2012 |
20120041594 | System and Method for Determining the Location of a Machine - A system is employed for defining a position (location) of a receiving element inside an area surrounded by a wire loop, along the perimeter (a perimeter wire loop), of a work area or other bounded area. In particular, the system can determine whether the receiver is inside or outside the loop, and evaluate its distance from the perimeter wire. | 02-16-2012 |
20120046789 | WALKING ROBOT AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A torque-based walking robot and a control method thereof which stably controls walking of the robot. In the control method, in which high rigidity, equal to that achieved through a position-based control method, is achieved using a torque-based control method without switching between the position-based control method and the torque-based control method while the robot is in motion, a difference between a target torque and a measured torque is forcibly generated by limiting a torque range measurable by each torque sensor, thereby increasing voltage applied to each actuator, and thus achieving high rigidity, equal to that achieved through the position-based control method, using the torque-based control method without switching between the position-based control method and the torque-based control method. | 02-23-2012 |
20120059516 | DAMAGE-PREVENTING SYSTEM FOR MANIPULATOR - An industrial robot with a manipulator arm including at least one manipulator element and an electric motor driving the at least one manipulator element. An energy reservoir supplies the electric motor with electricity when a power failure or power loss occurs to move the manipulator element from a working position to a safe parking position. Also a method of parking a manipulator arm of an industrial robot. | 03-08-2012 |
20120083924 | ROBOT HAVING ADDITIONAL COMPUTING DEVICE - A modular robot development kit includes an extensible mobile robot platform and a programmable development module that connects to the mobile robot platform. The mobile robot platform includes a controller that executes robot behaviors concurrently and performs robot actions in accordance with robot control signals received from the development module, as modified by the concurrently running robot behaviors, as a safeguard against performing potentially damaging robot actions. Also, the user can develop software that is executed on the development module and which transmits the robot control signals to the mobile robot platform over the data communication link using a robot interface protocol. The robot interface protocol encapsulates potentially harmful user-developed software routines from the controller instructions executed by the controller of the mobile robot platform, while nonetheless enabling the user to effectively control the mobile robot platform using the robot control signals of the robot interface protocol. | 04-05-2012 |
20120089254 | Electric Manipulator Joint - A manipulator joint includes an encoder having a body and shaft. The encoder body may be fixed to a first housing and the encoder shaft may be fixed to a second housing. The second housing is separate from, distal to, and rotatable with respect to the first housing. Rotation of the second housing may be about a common axis shared with the first housing. A hollow driveshaft, rotatably coupled to the second housing, extends across the joint from the second to the first housing. A torque limiter may be fixedly coupled to the second housing and releasably coupled to the driveshaft. The encoder may be configured to output an absolute angular position of the first housing with respect to the second housing. A method of detecting an over-torque condition of the manipulator joint includes transmitting commands from a processor to the drive motor and receiving data from the encoder. | 04-12-2012 |
20120116587 | Sonar Scanner - Detecting an object using sound waves includes outputting a sound wave from a transducer, receiving an echo after outputting the sound wave, obtaining a threshold value based on the echo and plural other echoes that are within a predetermined range of the echo, and determining if the echo is a result of the sound wave based on the threshold value. | 05-10-2012 |
20120130541 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ROBOT TEACHING - A method and apparatus are disclosed for the direct and safe teaching of a robot. The apparatus consists of a plurality of tactile sensors and electronic circuitry encapsulated in a compact enclosure, and a handle protruding from the enclosure. The handle provides an easy means for an operator to apply an external force and to act on the sensors that generate electronic signals to the robot controller. The signals, proportional to the applied force, carry information that sets boundaries for safe operations, thus protecting the operator from any harm and the robot from damage. | 05-24-2012 |
20120150348 | METHOD FOR ESTIMATING CONNECTION ORDERS OF MODULES OF MODULAR ROBOT - A method for estimating a connection order of modules in a robot including the modules each having a joint as a basic unit. Since a device and a program are connected by software and thus a joint and program are connected by software, it is possible for a user to control robot joints without being aware of the connection relationship between the devices and the joints in the modular robot in which the plurality of modules each including a movable joint as a basic unit is connected. | 06-14-2012 |
20120165983 | WALKING ROBOT AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A walking robot and a control method thereof. The control method includes performing transition of a second leg to a toe-off state, when ground reaction force applied to a first leg exceeds a first set value under the condition that the first leg is in a swing state and the second leg is in a support state, performing transition of the second leg to the swing state and transition of the first leg to the support state, when ground reaction force applied to the second leg is below a second set value under the condition that the second leg is in the toe-off state, and achieving walking of the walking robot by repeating the transitions among the swing state, the support state and the toe-off state. Thereby, the control method allows the robot to more stably and naturally walk. | 06-28-2012 |
20120173021 | CONTROL APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD FOR ROBOT ARM, ROBOT, CONTROL PROGRAM FOR ROBOT ARM, AND ROBOT ARM CONTROL-PURPOSE INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT - Motion information of a robot arm stored in a motion information database is acquired. A person manipulates the robot arm, and correction motion information at the time of the motion correction is acquired. An acquiring unit acquires environment information. A motion correction unit corrects the motion information while the robot arm is in motion. A control rule generating unit generates a control rule for allowing the robot arm to automatically operate based on the corrected motion information and the acquired environment information. The motion of the robot arm is controlled based on the generated control rule. | 07-05-2012 |
20120179295 | STEERING ROBOT - A steering robot for attachment to a vehicle's steering wheel has its own steering wheel attached to a rotor of an annular motor. The latter has a stator. Fitted to the forward (in use) side of rotor is an annular mounting plate, having three tabs extending slightly inwards for receiving mounting bolts. A clamp formed of a ring having equally spaced around it three slotted radial lugs. The lugs provide attachments for three clamping fixtures, by means of which the clamp can be attached temporarily to the vehicle's steering wheel. The stator has a pair of torque reaction lugs via which steering torque exerted by the motor to effect a steering manoeuvre under test or investigation can be reacted. The steering robot is open-centred, whereby steering wheel mounted controls can be operated normally. | 07-12-2012 |
20120185092 | ROBOTIC ARM POSITION CONTROLLING DEVICE AND ROBOTIC ARM HAVING SAME - A robotic arm position controlling device includes a number of gyroscope sensors, an A/D convertor electrically connected to the gyroscope sensors, a storage connected to the A/D convertor and a processor. The gyroscope sensors each is configured for detecting and measuring movements of an arm segment and generating an analog signal associated with the detected movement of the arm segment. The A/D convertor is configured to convert the analog signal to digital signal. The storage is configured to store the converted digital signal and position information associated with predetermined positions of the arm segments. The processor is configured to determine the position of each of the arm segments based upon the converted digital, and determine of the position of each of the arm segments is deviated from the corresponding predetermined position, and control the driving motors to move the deviated arm segment to the predetermined position. | 07-19-2012 |
20120197437 | CLEANING ROBOT AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A cleaning robot including a roller unit, a sensing unit, a first control unit and a second control unit is disclosed. The roller unit includes a plurality of rollers. The sensing unit receives a reflection signal and generates a detection signal according to the reflection signal. When the detection signal is less than or equal to a reference signal, the first control unit controls the traveling direction of the rollers according to the detection signal such that a distance between the cleaning robot and a wall is equal to a first distance. When the detection signal is larger than the reference signal, the second control unit controls the traveling direction of the rollers according to the detection signal such that a distance between the cleaning robot and a wall is equal to a second distance larger then the first distance. | 08-02-2012 |
20120197438 | DUAL ARM ROBOT - The dual arm robot includes a first arm including a first hand, a first visual sensor and a first force sensor, and a second arm including a second hand, a second visual sensor and a second force sensor, uses each visual sensor to detect positions of a lens barrel and a fixed barrel to hold and convey them to a central assembling area, uses the first visual sensor to measure a position of a flexible printed circuits to insert the flexible printed circuits into the fixed barrel, and uses outputs of the force sensors to fit and assemble the fixed barrel onto the lens barrel under force control. The dual arm robot converts a position coordinate of a workpiece detected by each visual sensor to a robot coordinate to calculate a trajectory of each hand and drive each arm, to thereby realize cooperative operation of the two arms. | 08-02-2012 |
20120215355 | Multimodal Dynamic Robotic Systems - Robotic systems according to the invention include a frame or body with two or more wheels rotatably mounted on the frame or body and a motor for independently driving each wheel. A system controller generates a signal for actuating each motor based on information provided by one or more sensors in communication with the system controller for generating feedback signals for providing reactive actuation of the motors for generating one or more functions selected from the group consisting of forward motion, backward motion, climbing, hopping, balancing, throwing and catching. A power source is included for providing power to operate the drive motors, system controller and the one or more sensors. | 08-23-2012 |
20120215356 | HORIZONTAL ARTICULATED ROBOT - A robot includes an angular velocity sensor installed to a second horizontal arm and for obtaining the angular velocity of the first horizontal arm with respect to a base, and suppresses the vibration of the first horizontal arm by driving a first electric motor based on the angular velocity of the first horizontal arm. In the robot, an electric wire to be connected to a second electric motor incorporated in the second horizontal arm and electric wire to be connected to the angular velocity sensor are laid around through a wiring duct having end portions coupled respectively to the base and the second horizontal arm, disposed outside the first horizontal arm and outside the second horizontal arm, and having a passage leading to the inside of the base and the inside of the second horizontal arm. | 08-23-2012 |
20120215357 | HORIZONTAL ARTICULATED ROBOT, AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME - A robot includes a first horizontal arm coupled to a base, a second horizontal arm coupled to the base via the first horizontal arm, first and second motors adapted to rotate the respective arms, and first and second encoders adapted to calculate rotational angles and rotational velocities of the respective motors. A first motor control section subtracts first and second angular velocities based on the first and second encoders from a sensor angular velocity detected by an angular sensor, and controls the first motor so that a velocity measurement value obtained by adding a vibration velocity based on a vibration angular velocity as the subtraction result and a first rotational velocity becomes equal to a velocity command value. | 08-23-2012 |
20120232696 | Autonomous Moving Floor-Treating Robot and Control Method Thereof for Edge-Following Floor-Treating - An autonomous moving floor-treating robot and a control method thereof for edge-following floor-treating are provided. The control method includes the following steps: the floor-treating robot collides with an obstacle and is deflected toward the direction away from the obstacle by a basic angle after the collision, measures an initial signal strength value by a side-looking sensor after the deflection, and then moves on and treats the floor; a real-time signal strength value is acquired by said side-looking sensor alter the robot runs for a predetermined time; the difference value between said two signal strength values is compared, and whether the difference value is in a predetermined range is judged, if yes, the robot keeps moving and treating the floor, if not, the robot is driven to be deflected by an adjusting angle and acquires the current real-time signal strength value; the difference value between said current and the last real-time signal strength values is compared, and whether the difference value is in a predetermined range is judged, if yes, the robot keeps moving and treating the floor, if not, the steps of deflection, comparing and so on are implemented. The present invention is unaffected by the media of the obstacle, and can effectively treat the edge region of the ti obstacle. | 09-13-2012 |
20120239195 | ROBOTIC GRASPING DEVICE WITH MULTI-FORCE SENSING AT BASE OF FINGERS - A robotic grasping device ( | 09-20-2012 |
20120253516 | ROBOT CONTROL METHOD AND ROBOT - A robot control method includes gripping a work with a hand unit; transferring the work to the vicinity of a plane; dropping the work to the plane by reducing the grip force of the hand unit, and aligning the work with the plane; and re-gripping the work, which is aligned with the plane, again with the hand unit. | 10-04-2012 |
20120277911 | Variable Strength Magnetic End Effector For Lift Systems - A device and method for adjusting the magnetic strength of a magnetic end effector for lift systems is described. The magnetic end effector is capable of lifting discriminate payloads by selectively varying the strength of the magnetic forces output by the magnetic end effector. An actuator can be operatively coupled to the variable strength magnet end effector, wherein the actuator is selectively actuatable to control the adjustment of the variable strength magnet. The actuator may also be configured to maintain the variable strength magnet at a desired magnetic force output strength once achieved for any given amount of time. | 11-01-2012 |
20120277912 | ROBOT CONTROLLER, SIMPLE INSTALLATION-TYPE ROBOT, AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING SIMPLE INSTALLATION-TYPE ROBOT - A robot includes an angular velocity sensor that detects the vibration of a robot. A control device allows the robot to perform a trial operation and acquires the measurement result measured by the angular velocity sensor during the trial operation as vibration information and analyzes the acquired vibration information based on maker evaluating information that is stored in a database. In the maker evaluating information, vibration information and the operating speed appropriate to the installation situation of the robot at which the vibration information is measured are associated with each other. Then, the robot is operated at an operating speed selected based on the analysis result of the vibration information. | 11-01-2012 |
20120283875 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING A MANIPULATOR - A method according to the invention for controlling a manipulator, in particular of a robot, comprises the step of detecting a contact force between the manipulator and a workpiece ( | 11-08-2012 |
20120290133 | ROBOT HAND AND ROBOT - A robot hand has a plurality of fingers including a contact sensing finger that senses contact with an object. A base provided with the fingers detects a resultant reaction force that is the combination of reaction forces from the fingers. When no resultant reaction force is detected, the plurality of fingers are moved toward the object, and when the contact sensing finger comes into contact with the object, a force that drives the fingers is switched to a force corresponding to a grasp force. When the contact sensing finger has not come into contact with the object but a resultant reaction force is detected, the driving of the fingers is terminated and the position of the base is corrected by moving the base in a direction in which the resultant reaction force having acted thereon is not detected any more. | 11-15-2012 |
20120296472 | FORCE CONTROL ROBOT - A force control robot which controls a motion of a robotic arm based on a detection value of a force detector, the force control robot including: the robotic arm having one end as a fixed end and another end as a movable end; an end effector connected to the movable end of the arm through an elastic member, the end effector having a grip driving portion and a grip mechanism portion configured to grip a part; the force detector configured to detect an external force exerted on the grip mechanism portion of the end effector, based on a deformation amount of the elastic member; an end effector controller disposed at the movable end of the arm and configured to control the grip driving portion of the end effector; and a robotic controller configured to control the motion of the arm. | 11-22-2012 |
20120316679 | PROVIDING REMOTE GESTURAL AND VOICE INPUT TO A MOBILE ROBOT - A system, such as a robot, which responds to voice, gesture and other natural inputs from a user, is controllable when the user is out of range through use of a wireless controller. The wireless controller provides inputs that allow the user to enter commands that are a proxy for the voice and gesture inputs the robot otherwise recognizes. The controller can include, for example, a microphone for voice input, a pad for directional control, and a speaker and display devices to provide responses from the robot. | 12-13-2012 |
20120316680 | TRACKING AND FOLLOWING OF MOVING OBJECTS BY A MOBILE ROBOT - A robot tracks objects using sensory data, and follows an object selected by a user. The object can be designated by a user from a set of objects recognized by the robot. The relative positions and orientations of the robot and object are determined. The position and orientation of the robot can be used so as to maintain a desired relationship between the object and the robot. Using the navigation system of the robot, during its movement, obstacles can be avoided. If the robot loses contact with the object being tracked, the robot can continue to navigate and search the environment until the object is reacquired. | 12-13-2012 |
20120316681 | INPUT APPARATUS FOR MEDICAL MINIMALLY INVASIVE ROBOTS OR MEDICAL SIMULATORS AND MEDICAL DEVICE HAVING AN INPUT APPARATUS - The input apparatus ( | 12-13-2012 |
20130006422 | CONTROL APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD FOR ROBOT, ROBOT, AND CONTROL PROGRAM THEREFOR - There are included a desired joint torque output limiting unit for limiting operations of a desired joint torque output unit and a limit cancellation unit for canceling the limitation by the output limiting unit. An actuator of a joint of a robot is controlled in accordance with modified desired joint torque outputted from the output limiting unit, so that the robot can be controlled to be kept stopped even upon switching between dynamics parameters. | 01-03-2013 |
20130013111 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR LEGGED LOCOMOTION INTEGRATING PASSIVE DYNAMICS WITH ACTIVE FORCE CONTROL - A robot for legged locomotion incorporating passive dynamics with active force control and method are provided. | 01-10-2013 |
20130035792 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING A DEXTEROUS ROBOT EXECUTION SEQUENCE USING STATE CLASSIFICATION - A robotic system includes a dexterous robot and a controller. The robot includes a plurality of robotic joints, actuators for moving the joints, and sensors for measuring a characteristic of the joints, and for transmitting the characteristics as sensor signals. The controller receives the sensor signals, and is configured for executing instructions from memory, classifying the sensor signals into distinct classes via the state classification module, monitoring a system state of the robot using the classes, and controlling the robot in the execution of alternative work tasks based on the system state. A method for controlling the robot in the above system includes receiving the signals via the controller, classifying the signals using the state classification module, monitoring the present system state of the robot using the classes, and controlling the robot in the execution of alternative work tasks based on the present system state. | 02-07-2013 |
20130035793 | Device For Influencing Navigation Of An Autonomous Vehicle - A device for controlling the reflection of incident beams to influence navigation of an autonomous device having a navigation sensor comprising a beam emitter and a beam detector for detecting reflected emitted beams. The device comprises at least one surface having a geometry configured to direct a reflection from the emitted beam in a predetermined direction so that a suitable amount of the reflected beam can be detected by the detector. | 02-07-2013 |
20130041507 | ROBOTIC CANE DEVICES - A robotic cane may include a grip handle, a cane body extending from the grip handle at a first end, a motorized omni-directional wheel coupled to a second end of the cane body, a balance control sensor, and a controller module. The balance control sensor provides a balance signal corresponding to an orientation of the robotic cane. The controller module may receive the balance signal from the balance control sensor and calculate a balancing velocity of the motorized omni-directional wheel based at least in part on the balance signal and an inverted pendulum control algorithm. The controller module may further provide a drive signal to the motorized omni-directional wheel in accordance with the calculated balancing velocity. The calculated balancing velocity is a speed and direction of the motorized omni-directional wheel to retain the robotic cane in an substantially upright position. | 02-14-2013 |
20130046409 | ROBOT AND ROBOT SYSTEM - A robot according to embodiments includes a speed reducer, a first shaft, a rotary electric machine, a second shaft, and a brake. The speed reducer reduces and outputs rotation to be input into an input unit. The first shaft is connected to the input unit. The rotary electric machine rotates the first shaft. The second shaft is connected to the input unit. The brake regulates the rotation of the second shaft. | 02-21-2013 |
20130054026 | ROBOT CLEANER AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A robot cleaner having an improved structure which executes a cleaning operation without stoppage of travelling of the robot cleaner due to obstacles present in a space to be cleaned, and a control method thereof. The control method of the robot cleaner which is provided with a main body, driving wheels driving the main body, and driving wheel assemblies, each of which includes each driving wheel, includes detecting displacement of each driving wheel with respect to a reference position by sensing a sensed body provided on each driving wheel assembly, judging whether or not the displacement is within a predetermined reference range, and changing a travelling path of the main body, upon judging that the displacement deviates from the reference range. | 02-28-2013 |
20130054027 | FORCE CONTROL ROBOT - To realize a force control robot including a force sensor having a high sensitivity and a high rigidity, an end effector ( | 02-28-2013 |
20130060381 | PARALLEL LINK ROBOT, PARALLEL LINK ROBOT SYSTEM, AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING PARALLEL LINK ROBOT - A parallel link robot includes a base, three servo motors disposed in the base, three arms, and a robot controller. Each of the three arms includes a first link and a second link that respectively include a first joint and a second joint. Each of the three arms is driven by a corresponding one of the three servo motors. The robot controller determines whether or not any of the first and second joints of the arms is dislocated on the basis of the torques of the three servo motors. | 03-07-2013 |
20130060382 | METHOD OF ACCURATE MAPPING WITH MOBILE ROBOTS - A robotic mapping method includes scanning a robot across a surface to be mapped. Locations of a plurality of points on the surface are sensed during the scanning. A first of the sensed point locations is selected. A preceding subset of the sensed point locations is determined. The preceding subset is disposed before the first sensed point location along a path of the scanning. A following subset of the sensed point locations is determined. The following subset is disposed after the first sensed point location along the path of the scanning. The first sensed point location is represented in a map of the surface by an adjusted first sensed point location. The adjusted first sensed point location is closer to each of the preceding and following subsets of the sensed point locations than is the first sensed point location. | 03-07-2013 |
20130066468 | TELEPRESENCE ROBOT, TELEPRESENCE SYSTEM COMPRISING THE SAME AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME - A telepresence robot may include a manual navigation unit configured to move the telepresence robot according to navigation information received from a user device; an autonomous navigation unit configured to detect environment of the telepresence robot and control the movement of the telepresence robot using the detected result; a motion control unit comprising a database related to at least one motion, the motion control unit configured to receive selection information on the motion of the database and actuate the telepresence robot according to the selection information; and an output unit configured to receive expression information of a user from the user device and output the expression information. The telepresence robot may be applied to various fields such as language education by a native speaking teacher, medical diagnoses, teleconferences, or remote factory tours. | 03-14-2013 |
20130073085 | ROBOT CONTROL APPARATUS, DISTURBANCE DETERMINATION METHOD, AND ACTUATOR CONTROL METHOD - A robot control apparatus includes an actuator; a generator unit; a first detection unit; a first computation unit to compute current positional data of the arm; a second computation unit to compute an input value; a third computation unit to compute an estimation value of a driving torque for driving the actuator; a fourth computation unit to compute a difference between the estimation value of the driving torque and a true value of the driving torque; and a second detection unit to detect a disturbance applied to the arm, wherein the second detection unit includes an update unit to estimate a parameter of a time-series model and updating the time-series model of the first sampling period by applying the parameter, and a determination unit to determine whether a disturbance occurs, by comparing the time-series model of the first sampling period with a time-series model of a second sampling period. | 03-21-2013 |
20130073086 | ROBOT AND ROBOT CONTROL METHOD - An arm drive mechanism which rotates an arm, an angle sensor which detects a rotation angle of the arm drive mechanism and outputs angle information, an angular velocity sensor which is attached to the arm, detects angular velocity acting on the arm and outputs angular velocity information, a control command generating unit which outputs a control command value prescribing a rotational operation of the arm, a gain adjusting unit which incrementally or decrementally changes and thus adjusts a gain of the angular velocity information, and an arm operation control unit which controls an operation of the arm based on the control command value, the angle information and the gain-adjusted angular velocity information, are provided. | 03-21-2013 |
20130085604 | ROBOT APPARATUS, ROBOT SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A TO-BE-PROCESSED MATERIAL - A robot apparatus includes a robot arm and a held-state detector. The robot arm includes a first holder configured to hold a to-be-held object. The held-state detector is coupled to the robot arm and is configured to detect a held state of the to-be-held object held by the first holder while the robot arm is transferring the to-be-held object. | 04-04-2013 |
20130090763 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FORCE SENSING IN A ROBOT - A system for force sensing in a robot is provided. The robot includes an end disk and a plurality of backbones coupled to the end disk. A plurality of spacer disks are dispersed along the plurality of backbones, and keep the plurality of backbones separated from one another. A base disk provides an interconnection point to a lumen, and the lumen provides a channel to an actuation device. The actuation device provides actuation of the backbones. At least one sensor measures the force being applied on one of the plurality of backbones, and a processor receives force measurements from the at least one sensor and determines the displacement of at least one of the plurality of backbones. | 04-11-2013 |
20130110289 | ROBOT ARM INCLUDING FORCE SENSING APPARATUS | 05-02-2013 |
20130110290 | ROBOTIC DEVICE FOR ASSISTING HANDLING HAVING A VARIABLE FORCE INCREASE RATIO | 05-02-2013 |
20130116823 | MOBILE APPARATUS AND WALKING ROBOT - A mobile apparatus and a position recognition method thereof capable of enhancing performance in position recognition, such as accuracy and convergence in position recognition of the mobile apparatus performs the position recognition by use of a distributed filter system, which is composed of a plurality of local filters independently operating and a single fusion filter that integrates the position recognition result performed by each of the plurality of local filters. The mobile apparatus includes a plurality of sensors, a plurality of local filters configured to receive detection information from at least one of the plurality of sensors to perform a position recognition of the mobile apparatus, and a fusion filter configured to integrate the position recognition result of the plurality of local filters and to perform a position recognition of the mobile apparatus by using the integrated position recognition result. | 05-09-2013 |
20130116824 | ROBOTIC MANIPULATOR - A mechanical manipulator ( | 05-09-2013 |
20130123984 | MOBILE DEVICE FOR IRRADIATION AND DETECTION OF RADIATION - Radiation lenses including channels consisting of capillaries or fibres, polycapillaries or multilayer planar properly coupled, a central channel filled with refracting material for neutrons and an extraction channel. The channels can be bent with a graded curvature and filled with material with an increasing refracting index, such an increasing refracting index depending on the position of the channel respect the central channel. The lenses can be subdivided into sectors in which the channels have a different curvature and are filled with materials with a different refracting index to increase the combined effect of the total reflection and the refraction. The sectors can be configured in a cubic, cone or prism shape. | 05-16-2013 |
20130138248 | THOUGHT ENABLED HANDS-FREE CONTROL OF MULTIPLE DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM SYSTEMS - Systems and methods are provided for controlling a multiple degree-of-freedom system. Plural stimuli are provided to a user, and steady state visual evoked response potential (SSVEP) signals are obtained from the user. The SSVEP signals are processed to generate a system command. Component commands are generated based on the system command, the plurality of components commands causing the multiple degree-of-freedom system to implement the system command. | 05-30-2013 |
20130144437 | MODULE AND METHOD FOR MEASURING REPULSIVE FORCE FOR WALKING ROBOT - Disclosed is a module for measuring repulsive force for a walking robot. More specifically the module includes a base frame and plurality of installation units provided on the base frame and surrounded by a plurality of side surfaces configured as inclined surfaces having a predetermined angle and a top surface formed in a horizontal plane. The module also includes a 1-axis force sensor provided on each side surface and the top surface of the installation unit. A control unit calculates a sum force of the respective installation units from measurement data of the force sensor and calculates the ground reaction force (GRF) by integrating the sum force of the respective installation units. | 06-06-2013 |
20130166069 | ROBOT AND POWER CONSUMPTION ESTIMATING SYSTEM - Provided is a robot comprising a device manipulating section that turns ON and OFF a plurality of devices that operate by receiving power from a power supply; a power value acquiring section that acquires a first total power value that is a power value before one of the devices is turned ON or OFF by the device manipulating section and a second total power value that is a power value after the device is turned ON or OFF, via a power sensor that measures a total power value supplied to the plurality of devices from the power supply; and a power consumption estimating section that estimates power consumption of the device based on the first total power value and the second total power value. | 06-27-2013 |
20130173056 | Short-Range Sonar - A short-range sonar assembly. The assembly includes a local controller operably connected to a processing device and configured to receive instructions from the processing device, a first transducer operably connected to the local controller, a second transducer operably connected to the local controller; and a flared bell configured to house the local controller, first transducer, and second transducer. The flared bell includes a first enclosure configured to receive and house the first transducer and a second enclosure configured to receive and house the second transducer. The first transducer is configured to transmit one or more pulses and the second transducer is configured to receive echoed pulses. | 07-04-2013 |
20130173057 | Long-Range Sonar - A long-range sonar assembly for detecting objects approximately 2.5-9.5 meters from a robotic device. The assembly includes a printed circuit board including a local controller operably connected to a processing device and configured to receive instructions from the processing device, a transmit potentiometer operably connected to the local controller and configured to produce a first transmit frequency, and a receive potentiometer operably connected to the local controller and configured to produce a first receive sensitivity; a transducer operably connected to the receive potentiometer; and a flared bell configured to house the transducer and the printed circuit board, the flared bell comprising at least a first enclosure for receiving a sub-assembly comprising the printed circuit board and the transducer. | 07-04-2013 |
20130178982 | INTERACTIVE PERSONAL ROBOTIC APPARATUS - An interactive robotic apparatus that interacts with a user, especially an elderly individual to provide companionship and comfort. The interactive apparatus receives inputs from the user and reacts and interacts. The interactive robotic apparatus includes microphones and a phototransistor to detect sounds and movement. The interactive robotic apparatus also includes a speaker to generate sounds responsive to the interaction with the user and exhibits a breathing animation and heartbeat. | 07-11-2013 |
20130178983 | LEG MOTION TRAJECTORY GENERATION DEVICE FOR LEGGED MOBILE ROBOT | 07-11-2013 |
20130184868 | ROBOT CONTROLLER, ROBOT SYSTEM, ROBOT CONTROL METHOD - A robot controller includes a force control unit that outputs a correction value of a target track of a robot based on a detected sensor value acquired from a force sensor, a target value output unit that obtains a target value by performing correction processing on the target track based on the correction value and outputs the obtained target value, and a robot control unit that performs feedback control of the robot based on the target value. The force control unit includes an impedance processor that obtains a solution of a differential equation in force control as the correction value before the conversion processing, and a nonlinear convertor that obtains the correction value after the conversion processing by performing nonlinear conversion processing on the correction value before the conversion processing acquired from the impedance processor and outputs the obtained correction value after the conversion processing. | 07-18-2013 |
20130197695 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING MECHANICAL ARTICULATED ARM - A control method of a mechanical articulated arm, wherein at least two tilt sensors are arranged in different positions of the articulated arm, comprising: calibrating zero positions of tilt sensors when articulated arm does not have elastic deformation, setting position of tail end of articulated arm as point P and point P′ before and after elastic deformation of articulated arm, and selecting point R on the articulated arm; detecting angles of two different positions of the articulated arm with the tilt angles before and after the elastic deformation, obtaining the angle offset Δθ of the articulated arm due to the elastic deformation, and calculating the length parameter L | 08-01-2013 |
20130204435 | WEARABLE ROBOT AND TEACHING METHOD OF MOTION USING THE SAME - A wearable robot may be worn by a user to record or teach a motion, including a motion such as sign language. The wearable robot includes a mode to record sign language data in a system by a sign language expert wearing the wearable robot and a mode to teach the sign language data recorded in the system to a sign language learner wearing the wearable robot. A user who wishes to learn sign language may easily learn sign language. In particular, a disabled person, who has poor eyesight and is unable to watch a video that teaches sign language, may learn sign language very intuitively using the wearable robot. Further, a user who has normal eyesight may also learn sign language more easily than from using a video which teaches sign language or from a sign language expert. | 08-08-2013 |
20130211591 | AUTONOMOUS ROBOT AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME - Disclosed are a robot and a method of controlling the robot, and more particularly are an autonomous robot and a method of controlling the autonomous robot. The autonomous robot includes a sensor for detecting a change of a situation; an actuator; and a controller for controlling the actuator based on information input through the sensor, wherein the controller controls the actuator in accordance with mode information including an act abstraction layer which defines a unit act by combining functions of the sensor and the actuator. | 08-15-2013 |
20130211592 | TELE-OPERATION SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A tele-operation system enabling a robot arm to move by following a motion of a motion of a hand of a user without an additional mechanical apparatus, the tele-operation system including a slave robot having a robot arm, a master console configured to detect a gesture of a user, and to control the slave robot from a remote place so that the slave robot moves by following the gesture of the user. | 08-15-2013 |
20130211593 | WORKPIECE PICK-UP APPARATUS - A workpiece pick-up apparatus including: a hand for gripping a workpiece; a robot for bringing the hand into a desired gripping position or posture; a sensor for performing three-dimensional measurement of the workpiece to obtain workpiece measurement data; a storage medium for accumulating at least hand profile data; an information processing unit for calculating the gripping position or posture based on data from the sensor and data from the storage medium; and a control unit for controlling the robot based on the gripping position or posture calculated by the information processing unit. The information processing unit includes an optimum gripping candidate creating section for directly deriving the gripping position or posture based on the workpiece measurement data and the hand profile data. | 08-15-2013 |
20130226344 | Mobile Robot - A mobile robot including a robot body, a drive system supporting the robot body, and a controller in communication with the drive system. The robot also includes an actuator moving a portion of the robot body through a volume of space adjacent the mobile robot and a sensor pod in communication with the controller. The sensor pod includes a collar rotatably supported and having a curved wall formed at least partially as a surface of revolution about a vertical axis. The sensor pod also includes a volumetric point cloud sensor housed by the collar and observing the volume of space adjacent the robot from within the collar along an observation axis extending through the curved wall. A collar actuator rotates the collar and the volumetric point cloud sensor together about the collar axis. | 08-29-2013 |
20130226345 | BATTERY QUICK-CHANGE SYSTEM OF ELECTRIC PASSENGER CAR CHASSIS BASED ON THE CARTESIAN COORDINATE ROBOT - One type of battery quick-change system of electric passenger car chassis based on the Cartesian coordinate robot, including electric changing platform, and this platform, quick-change robot and charging rack along the same straight line; the quick-change robot comprises the battery tray and the Cartesian coordinate robot of four degrees of freedom, the Cartesian coordinate robot is associated with the X-axis driving motor, the Y-axis driving motor, the Z-axis up-down motor, the battery tray is connected with the R-axis driving motor; each of driving motors is connected with the corresponding encoder, and each of encoders is connected to the corresponding drive; there are equipped with a distance measuring sensor on the battery tray, and the corresponding limit switches on the both ends of each two-track rack; the drive, each limit switch and the distance measuring sensor of each driving motor are connected with the control system. | 08-29-2013 |
20130238128 | INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD - The position and orientation of a target object is obtained based on first measurement data obtained by a first sensor (first calculation). The position and orientation of the target object is obtained based on second measurement data obtained by a movable second sensor set in a position and orientation different from that of the first sensor (second calculation). When the position and orientation obtained by the first calculation and that obtained by the second calculation match each other, the position and orientation obtained by the first or second calculation or a position and orientation calculated from the position and orientation obtained by the first calculation and that obtained by the second calculation is output as the position and orientation of the target object. | 09-12-2013 |
20130238129 | TOUCH SENSITIVE ROBOTIC GRIPPER - A displacement measuring cell may be used to measure linear and/or angular displacement. The displacement measuring cell may include movable and stationary electrodes in a conductive fluid. Electrical property measurements may be used to determine how far the movable electrode has moved relative to the stationary electrode. The displacement measuring cell may include pistons and/or flexible walls. The displacement measuring cell may be used in a touch-sensitive robotic gripper. The touch-sensitive robotic gripper may include a plurality of displacement measuring cells mechanically in series and/or parallel. The touch-sensitive robotic gripper may be include a processor and/or memory configured to identify objects based on displacement measurements and/or other measurements. The processor may determine how to manipulate the object based on its identity. | 09-12-2013 |
20130253703 | MOBILE ROBOTIC ASSISTANT FOR MULTIPURPOSE APPLICATIONS - Embodiments of the present invention relate to a robotic assistant comprising a projector for projecting media on a surface, a sensor for sensing the media, and a motion control module for moving the robotic assistant. | 09-26-2013 |
20130253704 | ROBOT, CARRIAGE DEVICE, AND CONTROL METHOD USING INERTIA SENSOR - A robot includes: an arm; a driving source that pivots the arm; an angle sensor that detects a pivot angle and outputs pivot angle information; an inertia sensor that is attached to the arm and outputs inertial force information; a control command generating unit that outputs a control command defining rotational operation of the arm; a control conversion determining unit that determines whether the inertial force information is used when the driving source is controlled; and an arm operation control unit that performs a first control based on the control command, the pivot angle information, and the inertial force information, if the control conversion determining unit determines that the inertial force information should be used, and performs a second control based on the control command and the pivot angle information, if the control conversion determining unit determines that the inertial force information should not be used. | 09-26-2013 |
20130261797 | MOBILE DEVICE CONFIGURED TO PERFORM TASKS RELATED TO A POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM - Described embodiments include a system and an apparatus. A described mobile robotic device includes a mobile chassis configured to travel on a transmission line of a power transmission system. The mobile robotic device includes an inspection module physically associated with the mobile chassis and configured to automatically inspect a structure associated with the power transmission system. The mobile robotic device includes a risk-assessment module physically associated with the mobile chassis and configured to assess a potential risk to the power transmission system in response to inspection data provided by the inspection module. The mobile robotic device includes a communication module physically associated with the mobile chassis and configured to output data indicative of the assessed potential risk. | 10-03-2013 |
20130268117 | ROBOT MANIPULATOR SYSTEM - The present disclosure is related to an exemplary robot manipulator system having a robot manipulator with a kinematic chain of stiff robot manipulator segments, which are linked together by hinged joints. A robot controller controls execution of a robot program. At least one temperature sensor provides measured temperature values. At least one heatable cover is attached onto at least one manipulator segment for applying heat energy thereon, with an amount of heat energy being controlled dependent on measured temperature values of the at least one temperature sensor. | 10-10-2013 |
20130289768 | MAGNETIC-ANCHORED ROBOTIC SYSTEM - A surgical system includes a manipulator, an implantable actuator and a controller. The manipulator includes a plurality of integrated sensor/actuators. The sensors of the sensor/actuators are adapted to detect movement about a plurality of axes of movement. The implantable actuator includes a plurality of joints providing a plurality of axes of movement. The controller is configured to receive information from the plurality of sensor/actuators that indicates movement of the manipulator about the plurality of axes and to cause the joints of the actuator to move along corresponding axes of movement. Each sensor/actuator of the manipulator detects movement about an axis of movement corresponding to a similar one of the joints of the actuator. | 10-31-2013 |
20130297071 | Monitoring Device For Position Monitoring A Robotic Device and Production System Including A Monitoring Device - Proposed is a monitoring device for monitoring and/or sensing predefined positions of a robotic device ( | 11-07-2013 |
20130310978 | DETECTING ROBOT STASIS - A coverage robot includes a drive configured to maneuver the robot as directed by a controller, a stasis indication wheel rotatable about a first axis perpendicular to a direction of forward travel, and a suspension supporting the wheel. The stasis indication wheel defines a first reflective portion and a second reflective portion. The second reflective portion is substantially less reflective than the first reflective portion. The suspension permits movement of the wheel in a direction other than rotation about the first axis. A signal emitter is disposed remotely from the wheel and positioned to direct a signal that sequentially is intercepted by the first and second reflective portions of the wheel. A signal receiver is positioned to receive the reflected signal by the rotating wheel. Communication between the emitter and the receiver is affected by rolling transitions between the first and second reflective portions during permitted movement of the wheel. | 11-21-2013 |
20130310979 | Neuromuscular Model-Based Sensing And Control Paradigm For A Robotic Leg - A neuromuscular model-based controller for a robotic limb having at least one joint includes a neuromuscular model having a muscle model, muscle geometry and reflex feedback loop to determine at least one torque or impedance command to be sent to the robotic limb. One or more parameters that determine relation between feedback data and activation of the muscle model are adjusted consequent to sensory data from at least one of an intrinsic sensor and an extrinsic sensor. A controller in communication with the neuromuscular model is configured to receive the at least one torque or impedance command and controls at least one of position, torque and impedance of the robotic limb joint. | 11-21-2013 |
20130317648 | BIOSLEEVE HUMAN-MACHINE INTERFACE - Systems and methods for sensing human muscle action and gestures in order to control machines or robotic devices are disclosed. One exemplary system employs a tight fitting sleeve worn on a user arm and including a plurality of electromyography (EMG) sensors and at least one inertial measurement unit (IMU). Power, signal processing, and communications electronics may be built into the sleeve and control data may be transmitted wirelessly to the controlled machine or robotic device. | 11-28-2013 |
20130325180 | SENSOR RELAY CONTROL DEVICE - A sensor relay control device generates feedback data based on sensor data including a plurality of components and being output by an external sensor installed at a portion of a joint of a robot and is connected to a robot control device that executes feedback control of the robot based on the feedback data. The sensor relay control device includes: a generating unit that imports sensor data output by the external sensor and performs coordinate conversion; a synchronizing unit that synchronizes the control data of each axis of the motors with a control cycle of the robot control device; and an outputting unit that outputs the control data of each axis of the motors synchronized with the control cycle of the robot control device to the robot control device as the feedback data. | 12-05-2013 |
20130331989 | ROBOT CELL, ASSEMBLING METHOD OF ROBOT CELL, AND ROBOT SYSTEM - A robot cell according to an aspect of the embodiments includes a first surface part and a second surface part. A robot that performs a work by performing a predetermined operation is arranged on the first surface part. In the second surface part, a plurality of fixing portions that are used to fix a working unit used in the work by the robot is arranged at a predetermined position, and the working unit is fixed to the second surface part by using a fixing portion selected from the fixing portions. | 12-12-2013 |
20130345871 | ROBOT CONTROLLING DEVICE, ROBOT DEVICE, ROBOT CONTROLLING METHOD, PROGRAM FOR CARRYING OUT THE ROBOT CONTROLLING METHOD AND RECORDING MEDIUM IN WHICH THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN RECORDED - Provided is a robot controlling device which can accurately estimate the temperature of a frame when the drive of a robot arm main body is restarted, thereby can accurately set the distal end of the robot arm main body at a target position. | 12-26-2013 |
20140005831 | ACTIVE HANDLING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTACT TASKS | 01-02-2014 |
20140012418 | Boundary Sensor Assembly for a Robotic Lawn Mower, Robotic Lawn Mower and Robotic Lawn Mower System - A robotic mower sensor assembly for detecting a boundary wire signal. The sensor assembly includes a plurality of analog inductive sensors with a first inductive sensor oriented along a first axis and a second inductive sensor oriented along a second, different axis. Each inductive sensor is configured to generate a signal indicative of the distance of the robotic mower from the boundary wire. A control unit communicating with the sensor assembly is configured to operate the robotic mower in response to the signals from the sensor assembly which are indicative of the distance of the robotic mower from the boundary wire. | 01-09-2014 |
20140025205 | CONTROL SYSTEM, PROGRAM, AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT - A control system includes a force sensor that has a mechanical mechanism (e.g., an end effector) and N (N is an integer equal to or more than two) triaxial force sensor units, acquires unit output values to which values resulting from the mechanical mechanism have been added from the respective triaxial force sensor units of the N triaxial force sensor units, and outputs force sense values based on the unit output values, a force sense value corrector that corrects the force sense values based on the force sense values output by the force sensor, and a controller that performs control of mechanical equipment (e.g., a robot) including the mechanical mechanism based on the force sense values corrected in the force sense value corrector. | 01-23-2014 |
20140039677 | Robots Comprising Projectors For Projecting Images On Identified Projection Surfaces - Robots including projectors for projecting images on identified projection surfaces are disclosed. A robot includes a housing, an electronic control unit coupled to the housing, a projector coupled to the housing, a human recognition module coupled to the housing, and a projection surface identification module coupled to the housing. The projector, the human recognition module, and the surface identification module are communicatively coupled with the electronic control unit. The electronic control unit includes a non-transitory memory that stores a set of machine readable instructions and a processor for executing the machine readable instructions. When executed by the processor, the machine readable instructions cause the robot to recognize a human using the human recognition module, identify a projection surface using the projection surface recognition module, and project an image on the identified projection surface with the projector. | 02-06-2014 |
20140039678 | CONTROL DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD FOR ROBOT AND THE ROBOT - A control method for suppressing vibration of a robot arm including a plurality of coupled links and driving units configured to drive the links includes calculating a first arm speed from at least one of acceleration and an angular velocity detected in a damping position for suppressing vibration, calculating a third arm speed according to the detected first arm speed and a second arm speed in the damping position calculated on the basis of a driving amount of the driving units, and subjecting the driving units to correction control on the basis of the calculated third arm speed. | 02-06-2014 |
20140052295 | Compliant End Of Arm Tooling For A Robot - A robot is used to pick parts from a bin. The robot has a compliant apparatus and one or more tools are connected to the apparatus to perform the picking. The compliant apparatus has mechanisms for monitoring and/or controlling its compliance. The compliant apparatus can have various embodiments. Force sensing can be used during removal of grasped parts from the bin to determine the force exerted on the picking tool(s). The signal indicative of the exerted force can be used by the robot controller to determine the weight of the parts that may be held by the picking tool(s). The robot has one or more devices which can be the picking tool to stir the parts in the bin. | 02-20-2014 |
20140067123 | FORCE SENSING APPARATUS AND OPERATING METHOD OF FORCE SENSING APPARATUS - A force sensing apparatus and an operating method of the force sensing apparatus may obtain and provide information about a force applied to an object, thereby enabling control of a force to be applied to manipulate the object. | 03-06-2014 |
20140067124 | MONITORING ROBOT SENSOR CONSISTENCY - Sensors associated with a robot or sub-system thereof (e.g., a series elastic actuator associated with a robot joint) may be monitored for mutual consistency using one or more constraints that relate physical quantities measured by the sensors to each other. The constraints may be based on a physical model of the robot or sub-system. | 03-06-2014 |
20140067125 | ROBOT, ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE, AND ROBOT SYSTEM - A robot includes: a base; a first arm rotatably coupled to the base about a first axis of rotation; a second arm rotatably coupled to the first arm about a second axis of rotation, the second axis of rotation being an axis perpendicular to the first axis of rotation or being an axis parallel to an axis perpendicular to the first axis of rotation; a third arm rotatably coupled to the second arm about a third axis of rotation, the third axis of rotation being an axis parallel to the second axis of rotation; a first angular velocity sensor installed to the first arm and having an angular velocity detection axis parallel to the first axis of rotation; and a second angular velocity sensor installed to the third arm and having an angular velocity detection axis parallel to the third axis of rotation. | 03-06-2014 |
20140074290 | MANIPULATOR DEVICE - A manipulator device includes a state detection section detecting, with time, at least one of a vibration state of a distal arm and a load state of the distal arm, and generating a detection signal indicating at least one of the vibration state and the load state of the distal arm. The manipulator device includes a servo gain changing section changing a servo gain of a drive current with respect to a drive instruction in a servo control section in accordance with the detection signal generated by the state detection section, the servo gain changing section changing the servo gain so as to change frequency characteristics associated with vibrations of the distal arm in real time. | 03-13-2014 |
20140074291 | MOTION PREDICTION CONTROL DEVICE AND METHOD - (A) One or both of an object and a robot are measured by measuring units to acquire sensor information. (B) The internal state of one or both of the object and the robot is predicted and updated by a state estimation unit on the basis of the sensor information. (C) The internal state is stored by a data storage unit. (D) The robot is controlled by a robot control unit. At (B), the internal state is updated by the state estimation unit at an arbitrary timing that is independent of the control cycle of the robot. At (D), a prediction value necessary for controlling the robot is calculated by the robot control unit at a control cycle on the basis of the latest internal state stored in the data storage unit. | 03-13-2014 |
20140088764 | TACTILE ARRAY SENSOR - A capacitance based tactile array sensor is disclosed that provides for close resolution of sensing pixels by using insulated conductors as electrodes, and allows for eliminating the need for a joint or connection interface near periphery of the sensor array. Optional aspects of the invention include provision for allowing use of stretchable conductors, reduction of the burden of number of connections at one layer of conductors in the sensor, providing for differential sensing resolutions at different areas of sensing, and modularity in configuration allowing replacement of a defective sensor pixel in the array. The tactile array sensor may be integrated with surface of a robotic hand's finger, palm, or any other surface of a device that requires multi-point sensing of external contacts. The capacitance information is processed for useful display or control of systems based on the contact feedback. | 03-27-2014 |
20140100695 | C FRAME STRUCTURE CONFIGURED TO PROVIDE DEFLECTION COMPENSATION AND ASSOCIATED METHOD - A C frame structure, a robotic system and an associated method are provided respond to and accommodate the loads placed upon the C frame structure during actuation of a working tool. The C frame structure includes a plurality of links and a plurality of pins interconnecting the links to form a pinned truss configuration. The pinned truss configuration is responsive to loads imparted in response to actuation of the tool such that each link is placed in compression or tension. The C frame structure also includes a plurality of hydraulic cylinders connected to the links such that each hydraulic cylinder extends in parallel to a respective link. A first hydraulic cylinder operates in a compression mode in response to strain attributable to actuation of the tool. A second hydraulic cylinder operates in an extension mode in response to the first hydraulic cylinder operating in the compression mode. | 04-10-2014 |
20140129028 | DEBRIS SENSOR FOR CLEANING APPARATUS - A piezoelectric debris sensor and associated signal processor responsive to debris strikes enable an autonomous or non-autonomous cleaning device to detect the presence of debris and in response, to select a behavioral mode, operational condition or pattern of movement, such as spot coverage or the like. Multiple sensor channels (e.g., left and right) can be used to enable the detection or generation of differential left/right debris signals and thereby, enable an autonomous device to steer in the direction of debris. | 05-08-2014 |
20140129029 | PROXIMITY SENSING METHOD, PROXIMITY SENSING APPARATUS AND MOBILE PLATFORM USING THE SAME - A proximity sensing apparatus is provided. The proximity sensing apparatus includes an encoded signal transmission unit, an interference signal transmission unit and a reception unit. The encoded signal transmission unit transmits an encoded signal, and the interference signal transmission unit transmits an interference signal. The interference signal interferes with the encoded signal to generate an interfered signal. The reception unit receives a sensing signal and outputs the sensing signal to a signal processing unit. The sensing signal is either the interfered signal or the encoded signal. The signal processing unit is electrically connected to the reception unit, and determines whether the sensing signal matches the encoded signal. The signal processing unit further outputs a proximity signal when the sensing signal does not match the encoded signal. | 05-08-2014 |
20140135987 | WORKING DEVICE AND METHOD - A screwing device ( | 05-15-2014 |
20140135988 | OPERATING MECHANISM OF MEDICAL DEVICE AND MEDICAL MANIPULATOR - An operating mechanism of medical device includes a first shaft, a driving source which generates an auxiliary driving force, a second shaft which is operated by the auxiliary driving force, a connecting part which connects the first motion transmission part with the second motion transmission part, transmits the auxiliary driving force from the second motion transmission part to the first motion transmission part, wherein at least a part of the connecting part is capable of an elastic deformation; a detecting unit which detects at least one of a first operation amount of the first motion transmission part and a second operation amount of the second motion transmission part; a control unit that which controls the driving source based on the first operation amount and the second operation amount detected by the detecting unit; and a regulating unit which regulates so that an amount of the elastic deformation of the connecting part is equal to or more than a predetermined amount. | 05-15-2014 |
20140156077 | ROBOT, CARRIAGE DEVICE, AND CONTROL METHOD USING INERTIA SENSOR - A robot includes: an arm; a driving source that pivots the arm; an angle sensor that detects a pivot angle and outputs pivot angle information; an inertia sensor that is attached to the arm and outputs inertial force information; a control command generating unit that outputs a control command defining rotational operation of the arm; a control conversion determining unit that determines whether the inertial force information is used when the driving source is controlled; and an arm operation control unit that performs a first control based on the control command, the pivot angle information, and the inertial force information, if the control conversion determining unit determines that the inertial force information should be used, and performs a second control based on the control command and the pivot angle information, if the control conversion determining unit determines that the inertial force information should not be used. | 06-05-2014 |
20140163734 | Motorized Assistance in the Movement of a Medical Apparatus - An arrangement for motorized assistance in movement of manually movable components of medical apparatuses is provided. The arrangement includes at least one torque sensor that is arranged in a drivetrain of a movable component of a medical apparatus. The at least one torque sensor detects the moments occurring in the drivetrain in a stationary state and in motion. Using an evaluation unit, the torque detected by the at least one torque sensor may be compared against a predefinable first threshold value. The first threshold value is predefined according to a possible position of the movable component. The arrangement includes a drive unit, by which the drive of the drivetrain may be provided with motorized assistance when the first threshold value is exceeded. | 06-12-2014 |
20140163735 | ROBOT SYSTEM, ROBOT, AND ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE - A robot system includes a robot and a robot control device. The robot includes a plurality of links connected to via a plurality of joint axes, servo motors that drive the joint axes, and a contact detection sensor that detects that one of the links touches an object. The robot control device includes a contact position determination unit that determines a contact position of the link based on an output of the contact detection sensor, a retracting direction vector calculation unit that calculates a retracting direction vector in a retracting direction of the link corresponding to the contact position, an assist torque calculation unit that calculates assist torque references for moving the links in the direction of the retracting direction vector, and a flexible control unit that adds the assist torque references to torque references for the servo motors to flexibly control the links. | 06-12-2014 |
20140180477 | GRIPPER APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME - A gripper apparatus and its control method are provided. The gripper apparatus includes at least one gripper unit, and each gripper unit is configured with a first connecting rod and a second connecting rod. In addition, there is an elastic part disposed at the joint of the first and the second connecting rods, an encoder and a controller. Thereby, the controller is enabled to control the gripper apparatus to move toward an object in a first mode so as to enable the gripper unit to engage the object and thus exert a force upon the object. Consequently, the elastic part is deformed and the deformation of the elastic part is measured and encoded by the encoder into a force information to be transmitted to the controller for enabling the controller to switch the control of the gripper apparatus into a second mode according to the force information. | 06-26-2014 |
20140180478 | AUTONOMOUS ROBOT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME - An autonomous robot apparatus that is activated to perform a work routine upon detecting the accumulation of precipitation. In one aspect, the invention can be an autonomous robot apparatus comprising: a chassis; a plurality of wheels mounted to the chassis; a drive system mounted to the chassis and operably coupled to the plurality of wheels; a control module operably coupled to the drive system; a precipitation sensing module comprising an accumulation level sensor configured to generate and transmit, to the control module, a first signal upon a predetermined initial accumulation level being detected; and the control module configured to activate the autonomous robot apparatus to perform a first instance of a work routine upon receipt of the first signal. | 06-26-2014 |
20140188276 | MOOD-ACTUATED DEVICE - This document describes techniques and apparatuses for implementing a mood-actuated device. In various embodiments, indicators of an emotional state of a user are sensed, and a mood-actuated device is controlled to react based on the emotional state of the user. In some embodiments, the mood-actuated device includes a mechanical component that is configured to react by moving based on the emotional state of the user. | 07-03-2014 |
20140188277 | GRIPPER OF ROBOT AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME - A robot gripper is provided comprising two robot arms, upper contact parts, and lower contact parts disposed at the ends of each of the two robot arms. The upper and lower contact parts are in contact with a top and a bottom of an article when gripping the article, The upper and lower contact parts are semispherical shaped and have predetermined radii. Sensor units are mounted on the upper contact parts and the lower contact parts. The sensor units measure vertical or horizontal forces applied to the upper contact parts or the lower contact parts when gripping the article. A control unit configured to determine whether the center of gravity of the article is located at a center position between the ends of the arms using vertical and horizontal distances between the ends of the arms and vertical components of the forces measured by the sensor units when gripping the article is provided. | 07-03-2014 |
20140207283 | ROBOT WITH HANDLING UNIT - The disclosure relates to a robot for picking up a food product from a support and for shifting it to a desired location, said robot comprising at least one robot arm with a handling unit for picking up the food product, and the food product being displaceable by moving the handling unit by means of the robot arm. The robot arm and the handling unit have provided between them a sensor, in particular a force sensor, with the aid of which the force acting between the robot arm and the handling unit can be detected in at least one direction. The invention additionally relates to a method of operating a robot for shifting a food product. | 07-24-2014 |
20140207284 | WAFER CENTER FINDING WITH KALMAN FILTER - A device is provided having a robotic arm for handling a wafer, the robotic arm including one or more encoders that provide encoder data identifying a position of one or more components of the robotic arm. The device also having a processor adapted to apply an extended Kalman Filter to the encoder data to estimate a position of the wafer. | 07-24-2014 |
20140214205 | ROBOT CLEANER AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A robot cleaner includes a main body, a traveling unit installed in the main body, to move the main body, an ultrasonic sensor to emit an oscillation wave, to receive a reflection wave reflected from an object surface, and to output vibration generated by the oscillation wave and vibration generated by the reception of the reflection wave as an electrical signal, a waveform analyzer to calculate a generation time period of the electrical signal output from the ultrasonic sensor, and a controller to determine information about the object surface based on the calculated generation time period of the electrical signal, and to control movement of the traveling unit based on the information about the object surface. | 07-31-2014 |
20140214206 | DEVICE FOR PROVIDING TACTILE FEEDBACK FOR ROBOTIC APPARATUS USING ACTUATION - A haptic feedback system includes a transducer that presses an actuator against an operator's skin with a force corresponding to a sensed parameter. Embodiments provide a simulated sense of touch corresponding to actual interactions between a robotic system and an environment. In other embodiments, the sensed parameter is heat, magnetic field, radioactivity, or electromagnetic field strength. A sensing system generates a signal that is proportional to the sensed parameter, and a controller proportionately manipulates a mechanical linkage or a fluid pressure supplied to the transducer. The transducer can be attached by a band, wrap, or other mechanism anywhere on the operator's body, such as a wrist, ankle, or frontal or occipital bone. An actuator movement range can be adjustable without opening the device. In embodiments, the pressure transducer includes a pair of elements that press an ear lobe or other skin of the operator there between. | 07-31-2014 |
20140214207 | HORIZONTAL ARTICULATED ROBOT, AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME - A robot includes a first horizontal arm coupled to a base, a second horizontal arm coupled to the base via the first horizontal arm, first and second motors adapted to rotate the respective arms, and first and second encoders adapted to calculate rotational angles and rotational velocities of the respective motors. A first motor control section subtracts first and second angular velocities based on the first and second encoders from a sensor angular velocity detected by an angular sensor, and controls the first motor so that a velocity measurement value obtained by adding a vibration velocity based on a vibration angular velocity as the subtraction result and a first rotational velocity becomes equal to a velocity command value. | 07-31-2014 |
20140222201 | DIRECTIONAL POSITION CONTROL METHOD - A directional position control method uses an instructor device and a controller to control motion of a robot, and a directional-control starter is used to actuate a directional control function. The directional-control starter controls the controller to drive the robot to move according to the instructor direction reference by converting the coordinate of the robot into the coordinate of the instructor. The directional position control method allows the movement direction reference of the robot to be defined manually or automatically, so that the robot can be moved based on the instructor direction reference of the instructor, allowing the operator to operate the robot by intuition without too much discretion, consequently reducing difficulty and error in operating the robot. Besides, the operator can control the robot by staying at the location where the instructor is located, without standing close to the robot, therefore, improving safety of operating the robot. | 08-07-2014 |
20140222202 | TRANSFER POSITION TEACHING METHOD, TRANSFER POSITION TEACHING APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS - The transfer position teaching apparatus is provided with a teaching substrate having a shape identical to a semiconductor wafer to be processed by substrate processing apparatuses and having an electrically conductive coating thereon. The transfer position teaching apparatus is also provided with a base member having insulator coating thereon and on the base member, entrance contact members, Y-direction contact members, X-direction contact member are vertically arranged. | 08-07-2014 |
20140222203 | ANTI-INTRUSION METHOD IN AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM WITH ROBOT - The invention particularly relates to a method for making use of an automated system with robot, comprising the following steps: (i) a management controller ( | 08-07-2014 |
20140222204 | MANEUVERING SYSTEM HAVING INNER FORCE SENSE PRESENTING FUNCTION - A compact, lightweight manipulation system that excels in operability and has a force feedback capability is provided. | 08-07-2014 |
20140236354 | FORCE DETECTION DEVICE, ROBOT, AND MOVING OBJECT - A force detection device includes a charge output element that outputs charge in accordance with a received external force, a conversion and output circuit, having a first switching element and a first capacitor, which converts the charge into a voltage and outputs the voltage, a compensation signal output circuit, having a second switching element and a second capacitor, which outputs a compensation signal, and an external force detection circuit that detects an external force on the basis of the voltage which is output from the conversion and output circuit and the compensation signal which is output from the compensation signal output circuit. The capacitance of the second capacitor is smaller than the capacitance of the first capacitor. | 08-21-2014 |
20140236355 | SHOCK TOLERANT STRUCTURE - The invention concerns in general the technical field of robotics and automation. Especially the invention concerns a structure for improving a shock tolerance of a robot or other positioning system. More specifically, the invention discloses a mounting element structure for increasing shock tolerance in a robot. The mounting element structure includes a first surface ( | 08-21-2014 |
20140277728 | METHOD OF DETERMINING THE ORIENTATION OF A MACHINE - A method of determining the orientation of a robotic machine at a worksite contemplates providing a target on the machine, moving the target to a first position on said machine, determining the location of the first position in the worksite, moving the target to a second position on said machine, and determining location of the second position in the worksite. The first and second positions are known with respect to the machine. Finally, a vector between the first and second locations defines the orientation of the machine with respect to the worksite. The target may be moved to additional positions on the machine. | 09-18-2014 |
20140277729 | ROBOT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING WORKPIECE - A robot system includes a robot and a control apparatus. The robot includes a sensor to constantly detect the robot. The control apparatus includes a control device and a first storage device. The control device controls the robot. The first storage device stores a plurality of operation modes of the robot and standard data associated with at least one operation mode among the operation modes. When the robot has performed an operation corresponding to the operation mode associated with the standard data, the control device compares the standard data with a result of detection by the sensor, and controls a display device to display a result of comparison. | 09-18-2014 |
20140277730 | POSITION DETECTION APPARATUS, LENS APPARATUS, IMAGE PICKUP SYSTEM, AND MACHINE TOOL APPARATUS - A position detection apparatus ( | 09-18-2014 |
20140297036 | GAP AND HEIGHT DIFFERENCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE AND CONTROL METHOD OF THE SAME - A gap/height difference measurement system for a vehicle may include a reflection light sensing unit on a the transportation conveyor line and sensing reflection light reflected from the vehicle body transported depending on illuminance of an illumination, a measurement robot measuring the gap and the height difference between the vehicle body and each panel that move while being installed at both sides of the transportation conveyor line in a width direction of the vehicle body at one side spaced from the reflection light sensing unit in a movement direction of the vehicle body, and a controller receiving a signal sensed by the reflection light sensing unit and comparing the received signal with a predetermined value to control the illuminance of the illumination and outputting a specification depending on a vehicle type of the vehicle body transported to the measurement robot to control the measurement robot. | 10-02-2014 |
20140297037 | MULTI-JOINT ROBOT HAVING GAS SPRING, AND METHOD FOR ESTIMATING INNER PRESSURE OF THE GAS SPRING - A multi-joint robot having a function for estimating an amount of decrease in inner pressure of a gas spring, by means of a simple and low-cost structure, and a method for estimating the amount of decrease in inner pressure of the gas spring. The gas pressure within a cylinder of the gas spring decreases in connection with the motion of a lower arm associated with the gas spring. In the present invention, an amount of decrease in inner pressure within the gas spring is estimated by using a current value of a servomotor, in view of the finding that the amount of decrease in inner pressure is generally proportional to an amount of decrease in torque, and the torque generated by the servomotor can be calculated based on the current value of the servomotor. | 10-02-2014 |
20140303776 | Apparatus And Method For Detecting Position Drift In A Machine Operation Using A Robot Arm - In an example embodiment, apparatus for detecting position drift in a machine operation using a robot arm, the robot arm being for operation on a semiconductor substrate, the robot arm and the semiconductor substrate being configured for relative movement therebetween, the apparatus includes an input for receiving an input signal from a sensor mounted on the robot arm; a detector for detecting, from the input signal, a detection of there being a predefined distance between the robot arm and the semiconductor substrate; wherein the apparatus is configured to determine, from the detection, whether there has been position drift. | 10-09-2014 |
20140309776 | ROBOT, ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE, AND ROBOT SYSTEM - A robot includes a base, a first arm rotatably connected to the base around a first rotating axis, a second arm rotatably connected to the first arm around a second rotating axis orthogonal to the first rotating axis, a third arm rotatably connected to the second arm around a third rotating axis parallel to the second rotating axis, and a three-axis inertial sensor provided in the third arm and including a first detection axis, a second detection axis, and a third detection axis orthogonal to each other, the first detection axis and the third rotating axis being parallel to each other. | 10-16-2014 |
20140309777 | ROBOT, ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE, AND ROBOT SYSTEM - A robot includes a base, a first arm rotatably connected to the base around a first rotating axis, a second arm rotatably connected to the first arm around a second rotating axis, a third arm rotatably connected to the second arm around a third rotating axis, a first angular velocity sensor provided in the first arm and having a first angular velocity detection axis parallel to the first rotating axis, a second angular velocity sensor provided in the second arm and having a second angular velocity detection axis parallel to the second rotating axis, and a third angular velocity sensor provided in the third arm and having a third angular velocity detection axis parallel to the third rotating axis. | 10-16-2014 |
20140309778 | ROBOT, ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE, AND ROBOT SYSTEM - A robot includes a base, a first arm rotatably connected to the base around a first rotating axis, a second arm rotatably connected to the first arm around a second rotating axis orthogonal to the first rotating axis, a third arm rotatably connected to the second arm around a third rotating axis parallel to the second rotating axis, an angular velocity sensor provided in the first arm, and an acceleration sensor provided in the third arm. | 10-16-2014 |
20140309779 | ROBOT, ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE, AND ROBOT SYSTEM - A robot includes a base, a first arm rotatably connected to the base around a first rotating axis, a second arm rotatably connected to the first arm around a second rotating axis orthogonal to the first rotating axis, a third arm rotatably connected to the second arm around a third rotating axis parallel to the second rotating axis, a first angular velocity sensor provided in the first arm and having an angular velocity detection axis parallel to the first rotating axis, and a second angular velocity sensor provided in the second arm and having an angular velocity detection axis parallel to the third rotating axis. | 10-16-2014 |
20140316571 | ARTICULATION MODULE FOR A ROBOT AND CONTROL METHOD FOR THE SAME - An articulation module for robot and a control method for the same are provided. A plurality of buffer springs are sleeved on a passive element sleeved on a reduction mechanism. A sensor is sleeved on the buffer springs to form a multi-sleeved articulation module. By detecting a difference angle of the distorted buffer springs, the motor is controlled to rotate along with a resistance direction for ensuring operation safety. | 10-23-2014 |
20140316572 | CONTROL DEVICE FOR ROBOT FOR CONVEYING WORKPIECE - A control device for controlling a robot which has a tool for holding a workpiece and a force measuring part for measuring a force acting on the tool. The control device includes a calculating part for calculating a center-of-gravity position of the workpiece, based on force data measured by the force measuring part with a plurality of postures of the robot holding the workpiece, a processing part for performing at least one of a process for estimating a holding state of the workpiece, a process for determining a type of the workpiece, and a process for testing a quality of the workpiece, based on the position of the tool and the center-of-gravity position of the workpiece, and an operating command modifying part for modifying an operating command to the robot, based on a result of the process performed by the processing part. | 10-23-2014 |
20140316573 | ROBOT SYSTEM HAVING A ROBOT FOR CONVEYING A WORKPIECE - A robot system includes a three-dimensional measuring device for obtaining positional information of a workpiece, a robot having a tool capable of holding a workpiece, and a control device for controlling the robot. The control device stores association data which associate the positional information of the workpiece with a center-of-gravity position of the workpiece. A center-of-gravity position of the workpiece to be picked out is estimated, based on the positional information obtained by the three-dimensional measuring device and on to the association data. The control device determines at least one of the holding position of the workpiece, the picking-out direction and the position and posture of the tool, based on the estimated center-of-gravity position. | 10-23-2014 |
20140316574 | HORIZONTAL ARTICULATED ROBOT - A robot includes an angular velocity sensor installed to a second horizontal arm and for obtaining the angular velocity of the first horizontal arm with respect to a base, and suppresses the vibration of the first horizontal arm by driving a first electric motor based on the angular velocity of the first horizontal arm. In the robot, an electric wire to be connected to a second electric motor incorporated in the second horizontal arm and electric wire to be connected to the angular velocity sensor are laid around through a wiring duct having end portions coupled respectively to the base and the second horizontal arm, disposed outside the first horizontal arm and outside the second horizontal arm, and having a passage leading to the inside of the base and the inside of the second horizontal arm. | 10-23-2014 |
20140324218 | GRIP APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD FOR THE GRIP APPARATUS, AND ROBOT MANIPULATOR - A grip apparatus includes a robot hand including plural fingers and pressure sensitive conductive rubber provided to the finger and configured to output a detection signal equivalent to acting force. The pressure sensitive conductive rubber is covered by a cover member. The grip apparatus also includes a control unit configured to cause the plural fingers to perform an opening or closing operation and compare a detection value based on the detection signal from the pressure sensitive conductive rubber with a threshold to determine whether the robot hand grips the work or releases the work. During a period from a time when the closing operation is started until a time when the fingers contacts the work, the control unit samples the detection signal of the pressure sensitive conductive rubber and sets the threshold as a value higher than a detection value at a time of this sampling. | 10-30-2014 |
20140324219 | CONTROL METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A ROBOT AND CONTROL SYSTEM EMPLOYING SUCH A METHOD - A control method for the control of a robot by an operator, using control means which may be positioned at will at different locations of an item to be manipulated, comprises at least a step of determining the position and attitude of the control means on the basis of measurements of forces applied to the control means, defining a first force torsor, and on the basis of corresponding forces, at the gripping member of the robot for example, a step of determining force or force/position control setpoints for the robot on the basis of, at least, measurements of forces on the control means applied to move the item, and of the position and attitude determined during the determination step, and a control step in which the determined setpoints are sent to the robot. A control system employing such a method is also provided. | 10-30-2014 |
20140358282 | ROBOT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING TO-BE-PROCESSED MATERIAL - A robot system includes a robot, an operation control device, an impulse calculation device, and a first detection device. The robot includes an end effector and a force sensor. The force sensor is configured to measure a force applied to the end effector. The operation control device is configured to control the robot to perform predetermined work. The impulse calculation device is configured to calculate an impulse applied to the end effector based on a measurement value measured by the force sensor while the robot is performing the predetermined work. The first detection device is configured to generate detection information when the impulse exceeds a threshold. | 12-04-2014 |
20140358283 | ROBOT AND ROBOT CONTROL METHOD - An arm drive mechanism which rotates an arm, an angle sensor which detects a rotation angle of the arm drive mechanism and outputs angle information, an angular velocity sensor which is attached to the arm, detects angular velocity acting on the arm and outputs angular velocity information, a control command generating unit which outputs a control command value prescribing a rotational operation of the arm, a gain adjusting unit which incrementally or decrementally changes and thus adjusts a gain of the angular velocity information, and an arm operation control unit which controls an operation of the arm based on the control command value, the angle information and the gain-adjusted angular velocity information, are provided. | 12-04-2014 |
20140365008 | ROBOT, ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE, AND ROBOT SYSTEM - A robot includes a base, a first arm which is rotatable around a first rotating axis with respect to the base, a second arm which is rotatable around a second rotating axis orthogonal to the first rotating axis, a third arm which is rotatable around a third rotating axis parallel to the second rotating axis, a first angular velocity sensor provided in the first arm, and a second angular velocity sensor provided in the third arm. The angle between a detection axis of the first angular velocity sensor and the first rotating axis is a predetermined first angle. The angle between a detection axis of the second angular velocity sensor and the second rotating axis is a predetermined second angle. | 12-11-2014 |
20140365009 | Systems and Methods for Sensing Objects - Disclosed is a tactile sensing and integrated vision system that surmounts problems of existing systems. The tactile sensing skin can be formed into any shape, size, or form factor, including large areas. Computer-implemented algorithms can detect position-orientation and force-torque at landmark points for a given object set. The result is a modular sensing system that is highly scalable in terms of price, quantity, size and applications. Such skin technology and associated software can comprise a sensing package that integrates tactile and visual data with accompanying software for state estimation, situational awareness, and automatic control of machinery. The addition of tactile data can serve to constrain and/or augment visual pose estimation methods as well as provide pose estimation to visually occluded objects. | 12-11-2014 |
20140371908 | ROBOT CONTROLLER, SIMPLE INSTALLATION-TYPE ROBOT, AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING SIMPLE INSTALLATION-TYPE ROBOT - A robot includes an angular velocity sensor that detects the vibration of a robot. A control device allows the robot to perform a trial operation and acquires the measurement result measured by the angular velocity sensor during the trial operation as vibration information and analyzes the acquired vibration information based on maker evaluating information that is stored in a database. In the maker evaluating information, vibration information and the operating speed appropriate to the installation situation of the robot at which the vibration information is measured are associated with each other. Then, the robot is operated at an operating speed selected based on the analysis result of the vibration information. | 12-18-2014 |
20150019013 | TOUCH SENSITIVE ROBOTIC GRIPPER - A displacement measuring cell may be used to measure linear and/or angular displacement. The displacement measuring cell may include movable and stationary electrodes in a conductive fluid. Electrical property measurements may be used to determine how far the movable electrode has moved relative to the stationary electrode. The displacement measuring cell may include pistons and/or flexible walls. The displacement measuring cell may be used in a touch-sensitive robotic gripper. The touch-sensitive robotic gripper may include a plurality of displacement measuring cells mechanically in series and/or parallel. The touch-sensitive robotic gripper may be include a processor and/or memory configured to identify objects based on displacement measurements and/or other measurements. The processor may determine how to manipulate the object based on its identity. | 01-15-2015 |
20150032261 | Apparatus And Method For Monitoring A Payload Handling Robot Assembly - A method for monitoring a payload-handling robot assembly having at least one robot includes identifying a robot-handled payload arrangement on the basis of a current position of the robot assembly relative to a specified change position of the robot assembly. In another aspect, a robot assembly includes at least one robot, a monitoring apparatus configured to determine a current position of the robot assembly and to identify a robot-handled payload arrangement on the basis of the current position of the robot assembly relative to a specified change position of the robot assembly, and a payload receptacle for receiving a plurality of different payloads. The robot is configured for handling the plurality of payloads in an alternating manner. | 01-29-2015 |
20150039129 | ROBOT SYSTEM AND PRODUCT MANUFACTURING METHOD - A robot system includes a robot, a container, a determinator, a motion controller, a torque limitter, and a stirring operation controller. The robot includes a drive source for driving a joint part and an end effector. The determinator determines whether a workpiece capable of being held by the end effector exists among workpieces accommodated within the container. The motion controller controls a motion of the drive source. When the determinator determines that there is no workpiece capable of being held by the end effector, the torque limitter limits a motion torque of the drive source. The stirring operation controller allows the motion controller to perform a stirring operation, by which the workpieces accommodated within the container are stirred by the end effector, in a state where the motion torque is limited by the torque limitter. | 02-05-2015 |
20150045952 | TORQUE DETECTING METHOD AND ARM DEVICE - According to a torque detecting method, gravitational torque applied to a rotary shaft of an arm is detected in a condition where position control of the arm is stopped, when the arm is located at a first position at which the arm is oriented in a direction different from a direction of gravitational force. Then, a gravity coefficient used for calculating gravitational torque corresponding to a position of the arm is calculated, based on the gravitational torque and the first position. Then, gravitational torque during position control is calculated, based on the position of the arm detected during the position control, and the gravity coefficient. Further, an actual output torque during the position control is calculated, based on operating torque applied to the rotary shaft and detected during the position control, and the gravitational torque calculated during the position control. | 02-12-2015 |
20150045953 | ROBOT SYSTEM, ROBOT CONTROL APPARATUS, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING ROBOT - A robot system includes a robot and a controller. An arm includes joints. Actuators drive the joints. Sensors detect operation states of the actuators. The probe is mounted on the arm. A force sensor detects force received by the probe. The controller controls the robot. A determinator determines whether the force from a structure disposed at a position on a work stand satisfies a condition. An operation state acquisitor acquires the operation states when the force satisfies the condition. A coordinate calculator calculates a position coordinate of the probe based on the operation states. A position correction amount calculator calculates a correction amount of a position of the work stand relative to the robot based on the position coordinate. | 02-12-2015 |
20150057800 | AUTONOMOUS ROBOT AUTO-DOCKING AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND METHODS - A method for energy management in a robotic device includes providing a base station for mating with the robotic device, determining a quantity of energy stored in an energy storage unit of the robotic device, and performing a predetermined task based at least in part on the quantity of energy stored. Also disclosed are systems for emitting avoidance signals to prevent inadvertent contact between the robot and the base station, and systems for emitting homing signals to allow the robotic device to accurately dock with the base station. | 02-26-2015 |
20150081098 | Method For Manually Adjusting The Pose Of A Manipulator Arm Of An Industrial Robot And Industrial Robots - A method for manually guided adjustment of the pose of a manipulator arm of an industrial robot includes detecting a guidance force applied to the manipulator arm by an operator of the industrial robot, determining one of at least two degrees-of-freedom of a reference coordinate system as a selected freedom direction, wherein the selected freedom direction corresponds to the degree-of-freedom in which the guidance force has its greatest force vector component, and controlling the drives of the industrial robot using force control in such a manner that a pre-specified reference point associated with the manipulator arm is moved only in the selected freedom direction as a result of movement of the manipulator arm by an operator during a manually-guided adjustment of the pose of the manipulator arm. | 03-19-2015 |
20150081099 | ROBOT, ROBOT CONTROL APPARATUS, ROBOT CONTROL METHOD, AND ROBOT CONTROL PROGRAM - A robot arm temporarily stops when a contact detector detects contact. A holding motion selecting unit then selects one of continuously stopped motion, directionally limited motion, and directionally unlimited motion in accordance with information including one or both of a distance between the robot arm and a contacted object and force applied to the robot arm by a person. A motion controller causes the selected motion to achieve holding motion. | 03-19-2015 |
20150100159 | ACTUATOR UNIT, ROBOT INCLUDING THE SAME, AND REDUCING APPARATUS - An actuator unit, a robot including the same, and a reducing apparatus, the actuator unit including a driving unit; a sensor unit; a control unit; and a frame unit. | 04-09-2015 |
20150100160 | FORCE SENSOR PROTECTION MECHANISM, END EFFECTOR, AND ROBOT ARM - An end effector base and a finger unit are formed as separate members, and are disposed with a space therebetween. A force sensor is fixed to a finger base of the finger unit, and is disposed with a space between it and the end effector base. Three supporting members are supported by the end effector base, and are configured to be able to be moved by the driving of a driving unit to a position where they support the force sensor and a position where they are separated from the force sensor and support the finger unit. | 04-09-2015 |
20150100161 | System and Method for Interacting with an Object - System and methods for positioning a tool in a robotic system include determining primary position information for the tool at a first frequency and determining secondary position information for the tool at a second frequency. The tool is moved in a first position control mode and a second position control mode based on the primary position information and the secondary position information. At least one of the first and second frequencies in each of the first and second position control modes is adjusted. A difference between the first and second frequencies in the first position control mode is different than a difference between the first and second frequencies in the second position control mode. | 04-09-2015 |
20150112486 | Arm With A Combined Shape And Force Sensor - A bend sensor is used to determine force applied to a robotic arm. The force may be an external force applied to the arm, an internal actuation force, or both. In some aspects, a stiffening element is used to restore the arm to a minimum kinematic energy state. In other aspects, the stiffening element is eliminated, and the arm is fully actuated. | 04-23-2015 |
20150112487 | ROBOT CONTROL SYSTEM, ROBOT SYSTEM, AND SENSOR INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS - A robot control system includes a force control unit configured to output a correction value of a target track of a robot on the basis of sensor information acquired from a force sensor, a target-value output unit configured to apply correction processing based on the correction value to the target track to calculate a target value and output the calculated target value, and a robot control unit configured to perform feedback control of the robot on the basis of the target value. The force control unit includes a digital filter unit. The force control unit applies digital filter processing by the digital filter unit to the sensor information to calculate a solution of an ordinary differential equation in force control and outputs the correction value on the basis of the calculated solution. | 04-23-2015 |
20150120049 | ROBOT, CONTROL DEVICE, AND ROBOT SYSTEM - When a robot in which a first arm is rotatably provided at a base via abase joint portion and the first arm is provided with a first joint portion including a plurality of joints is controlled, a first inertial force is detected on a tip side of the first arm, and a base-side inertial force is detected on a base side of the first arm. The first joint portion of the first arm is controlled on the basis of the base-side inertial force and the first inertial force. If this is the case, since the first joint portion can be controlled using not only the inertial force (first inertial force) on the tip side of the first arm but also the inertial force (base-side inertial force) on the base side of the first arm. | 04-30-2015 |
20150120050 | ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE, ROBOT, AND ROBOT SYSTEM - A robot control device controls the operation of a robot including a trunk that is rotatable around an axis, first and second robot arms that are provided at the trunk and rotatable with respect to the trunk, and first, second, and third inertial sensors. In an operation in which the second robot arm is brought into a stationary state and the first robot arm is rotated around the axis from the stationary state and moved to a target position, the robot control device makes B/A<0.27 satisfied when a maximum value of the amplitude of the angular velocity of the trunk around the axis before the first robot arm reaches the target position is defined as A, and a maximum value of the amplitude of the angular velocity of the trunk around the axis after the first robot arm has reached the target position first is defined as B. | 04-30-2015 |
20150120051 | SENSOR DEVICE, FORCE DETECTING DEVICE, ROBOT, ELECTRONIC COMPONENT CONVEYING APPARATUS, ELECTRONIC COMPONENT INSPECTING APPARATUS, AND COMPONENT MACHINING APPARATUS - A sensor device includes a charge output element including a plurality of piezoelectric bodies and an internal electrode formed between the piezoelectric bodies, a package that houses the charge output element, first conductive paste electrically connected to a plurality of the internal electrodes, and second conductive paste that electrically connects the first conductive paste and an output terminal and has a modulus of elasticity lower than a modulus of elasticity of the first conductive paste. A Young's modulus of the first conductive paste is equal to or higher than 3.4 GPa and equal to or lower than 5.0 GPa and a Young's modulus of the second conductive paste is equal to or higher than 0.1 GPa and equal to or lower than 0.2 GPa. | 04-30-2015 |
20150120052 | SENSOR ELEMENT, FORCE DETECTION DEVICE, ROBOT, ELECTRONIC COMPONENT TRANSPORT DEVICE, ELECTRONIC COMPONENT INSPECTION DEVICE, AND COMPONENT PROCESSING DEVICE - A sensor element includes, when three axes orthogonal to one another are set to be an A-axis, a B-axis, and a C-axis, first piezoelectric plate that is configured to have an X cut quartz crystal plate and outputs a charge in response to an external force along the A-axis direction, second piezoelectric plate that is configured to have a Y cut quartz crystal plate, is stacked in the A-axis direction with the first piezoelectric plate, and outputs a charge in response to the external force in the B-axis direction, and third piezoelectric plate that is configured to have a Y cut quartz crystal plate, is stacked in the A-axis direction so as to interpose the second piezoelectric plate between the first piezoelectric plate and the third piezoelectric plate and be arranged to turn around the A-axis, and outputs a charge in response to the external force in the C-axis direction. | 04-30-2015 |
20150120053 | ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE AND ROBOT - A robot control device controls the operation of a robot including a base; a robot arm that has at least three links, at least three joint portions, and at least three drive sources; an inertia sensor; and at least three angle sensors. The robot control device includes a first coordinate system vibration calculation unit; a second coordinate system vibration calculation unit; a weighting unit; a third coordinate system vibration calculation unit; a correction value calculation unit that obtains correction values for correcting the respective drive commands of the drive sources based on vibration information in a third coordinate system, and the respective detected results of the angle sensors; and a drive source control unit that controls the operations of the drive sources based on the respective drive commands of the drive sources, the correction values, and the respective detected results of the angle sensors. | 04-30-2015 |
20150127157 | ROBOT SYSTEM, METHOD FOR INSPECTION, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING INSPECTION OBJECT - A robot system according to an embodiment includes a sensor, an arm, and an instructor. The sensor is configured to detect an interface of a liquid. The arm includes a holding mechanism that holds a container containing the liquid. The instructor instructs the arm to cause the container to enter a sensing region of the sensor while holding the container, so as to cause the sensor to detect the interface. | 05-07-2015 |
20150127158 | ROBOT, ROBOT SYSTEM, AND ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE - A robot includes a robot arm, a force sensor, and a control unit configured to control the operation of the robot art. The control unit initializes the force sensor while the robot arm is moving at uniform speed. It is preferable that the control unit initializes the force sensor while the robot arm is moving at the uniform speed and the amplitude of a detection value of the force sensor is smaller than a threshold. | 05-07-2015 |
20150127159 | FORCE DETECTING DEVICE, ROBOT, ELECTRONIC COMPONENT CONVEYING APPARATUS - A force detecting device includes a first base section, a second base section, and a charge output element arranged between the first base section and the second base section. The charge output element includes a first board formed by a Y-cut quartz plate and a second board formed by a Y-cut quartz plate. The boards are laminated in a direction orthogonal to the normal an attachment surface of the second base section. The force detecting device detects an external force on the basis of a first output corresponding to a shearing force in a first detection direction orthogonal to the laminating direction of the first board and a second output corresponding to a shearing force in a second detection direction orthogonal to the laminating direction of the second board and crossing the first detection direction. | 05-07-2015 |
20150290796 | ROBOT CONTROLLER AND ROBOT SYSTEM FOR MOVING ROBOT IN RESPONSE TO FORCE - A robot controller for easily moving a desired axis of a robot by applying a force to a front end of the robot, and a robot system including the robot controller. The robot controller has: a force measuring part which measures a force applied to the front end; an operation force calculating part which calculates an operation force for moving each axis based on the measured force; an operation commanding part which outputs a command for moving the robot; and an operation axis specifying part which specifies an operation axis to be moved in response to the force, and determines a direction of movement of the operation axis as a function of a direction of the force. When two or more operation axes are specified, the operation axis specifying part determines as to whether or not each operation axis can be moved, depending on a status of the movement operation. | 10-15-2015 |
20150290809 | HUMAN-COOPERATIVE INDUSTRIAL ROBOT WITH LEAD-THROUGH FUNCTION - A human-cooperative industrial robot includes a contact force detection part configured to detect a contact force applied to the robot when an operator and a robot come in contact with each other, a contact force monitoring part configured to either stop the robot or make the robot retreat in a direction in which the contact force is reduced if the contact force exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and an operation force detection part configured to detect an operation force applied to the robot when the lead-through operation is implemented. The robot also includes a lead-through switch for switching between the states of enabling and disabling the lead-through operation. When the lead-through operation is enabled, the contact force monitoring is disabled, and when the lead-through operation is disabled, the contact force monitor is enabled. | 10-15-2015 |
20150290810 | ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING ROBOT MOVED ACCORDING TO APPLIED FORCE - A robot control device includes an operation axis setting unit that sets a axis rotationally moved according to an applied force as an operation axis and sets a rotational moving direction of the operation axis; a first operation force acquisition unit that obtains a first virtual force that is virtually applied to the operation axis to assume that the first virtual force is a first operation force; and an operation command unit that outputs an operation command for moving the operation axis set by the operation axis setting unit on the basis of an operation force determined from the first operation force. The operation command unit obtains a target moving direction and a target moving velocity of the operation axis on the basis of the first operation force and the rotational moving direction set by the operation axis setting unit, so as to move the operation axis. | 10-15-2015 |
20150306765 | CONTROL DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD FOR ROBOT AND THE ROBOT - A control method for suppressing vibration of a robot arm including a plurality of coupled links and driving units configured to drive the links includes calculating a first arm speed from at least one of acceleration and an angular velocity detected in a damping position for suppressing vibration, calculating a third arm speed according to the detected first arm speed and a second arm speed in the damping position calculated on the basis of a driving amount of the driving units, and subjecting the driving units to correction control on the basis of the calculated third arm speed. | 10-29-2015 |
20150314445 | SAFETY MONITORING DEVICE FOR ROBOT GRIPPING AND CARRYING WORKPIECE - A safety monitoring device monitoring a robot includes a workpiece parameter switching unit switching a workpiece parameter, an external force estimation unit estimating, as an external force estimation value, a force acting on the robot from an external environment by using the workpiece parameter, an external force monitoring unit stopping the robot when the external force estimation value satisfies an external force determination condition, an operation monitoring unit stopping the robot, based on conditions such as a position of the robot being included within a predetermined region, an operation monitoring state switching unit switching between a disabling command and an enabling command for the operation monitoring unit, and an external force determination condition setting unit switching the external force determination condition to an operation monitoring disabling time external force determination condition at the disabling command and to an operation monitoring enabling time external force determination condition at the enabling command. | 11-05-2015 |
20150321357 | HORIZONTAL ARTICULATED ROBOT, AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME - A robot includes a first horizontal arm coupled to a base, a second horizontal arm coupled to the base via the first horizontal arm, first and second motors adapted to rotate the respective arms, and first and second encoders adapted to calculate rotational angles and rotational velocities of the respective motors. A first motor control section subtracts first and second angular velocities based on the first and second encoders from a sensor angular velocity detected by an angular sensor, and controls the first motor so that a velocity measurement value obtained by adding a vibration velocity based on a vibration angular velocity as the subtraction result and a first rotational velocity becomes equal to a velocity command value. | 11-12-2015 |
20150328775 | Autonomous Mobile Robot Confinement System - A robotic lawnmower confinement system includes at least two dispenser units and a powered unit in wired connection with the at least two dispenser units. Each dispenser unit includes a housing containing a length of boundary wire electrically connected to the housing at one end and terminating at a mating connector for transferring an electrical signal at the opposite end. Each dispenser unit also includes a receiving terminal disposed on the housing for receiving a mating connector of another dispenser unit. The powered unit includes at least one electrical connector configured to connect and deliver current to at least one of the at least two dispenser units. The at least IC two dispenser units and the powered unit can be arranged and connected to form a loop of connected boundary wires recognizable by the robotic lawnmower. | 11-19-2015 |
20150367509 | Stabilization of an End of an Extended-Reach Apparatus in a Limited-Access Space - Apparatus and methods that can be used to stabilize a portion of an extended-reach tool assembly to enable the dimensional mapping, non-destructive inspection and/or simple repair of elongated and serpentine structures used in aerospace and military platforms. In some embodiments, a jointed (i.e., articulated) arm of the extended-reach tool assembly, which is mounted and manipulated at the entrance to a limited-access space (e.g., a cavity), is equipped with actuatable contact pads or bladders to stabilize the distal end of the arm to which a tool-carrying end effector is coupled. The end effector is capable of holding and orienting a probe or sensor (e.g., NDI sensor unit, laser scanner, camera, etc.) or other tool (e.g., drill, sander, vacuum, “grabber”, coating sprayer, etc.). | 12-24-2015 |
20150375392 | CONTROL SYSTEM, PROGRAM, AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT - A control system includes a force sensor that has a mechanical mechanism (e.g., an end effector) and N (N is an integer equal to or more than two) triaxial force sensor units, acquires unit output values to which values resulting from the mechanical mechanism have been added from the respective triaxial force sensor units of the N triaxial force sensor units, and outputs force sense values based on the unit output values, a force sense value corrector that corrects the force sense values based on the force sense values output by the force sensor, and a controller that performs control of mechanical equipment (e.g., a robot) including the mechanical mechanism based on the force sense values corrected in the force sense value corrector. | 12-31-2015 |
20160000005 | METHOD AND A ROBOTIC WORK TOOL SYSTEM WITH A CHARGING STATION AND A BOUNDARY WIRE - A robotic work tool system ( | 01-07-2016 |
20160008980 | INSPECTION SYSTEM FOR INSPECTING OBJECT USING FORCE SENSOR | 01-14-2016 |
20160031078 | ROBOT AND DEVICE HAVING MULTI-AXIS MOTION SENSOR, AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF - A device including a housing configured to attach to a robot arm, and a multi-axis motion sensor provided within the housing. The multi-axis motion sensor is configured to detect movement of the housing, and is configured to communicate with a controller of the robot arm. The device further includes a user interface configured to operate in conjunction with the multi-axis motion sensor, and a connection port provided on the housing. The connection port is configured to connect to an external device. | 02-04-2016 |
20160031087 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ROBOTIC POSITIONING - A robotic system including at least two acoustic sensors, spaced apart, for receiving respective versions of a respective continuous ultrasonic waveform emitted by each of one or more positional elements, each of the respective continuous ultrasonic waveforms comprising a respective modulated carrier and an electromagnetic sensor for receiving a respective electromagnetic signal emitted by a respective electromagnetic emitter of a same respective one of the positional elements, and a computing device. The respective electromagnetic signal is emitted in coordination with the respective ultrasonic waveform emitted by the same positional element. The computing device decodes the versions of the ultrasonic waveform and the electromagnetic signal to measure time delays between the versions of the respective ultrasonic waveform and the respective electromagnetic signal, converts the time delays to distances, and triangulates the distances to determine positions of the positional elements. A robot maneuvers based on the determined positions. | 02-04-2016 |
20160039091 | Modular Robotic Manipulation - A system for interaction with a the environment includes an initial manipulation module operable to orient a device in a general direction of a surface of an object and a range control module operable to converge the device and the surface. Once the device and surface are in the proximity of each other a contact sensor detects when physical contact between the surface and the device occurs. Thereafter, a proprioception module measures normal force disparities between the surface and device motion actuators and finally, an exteroception module to measure translational resistance disparities between relative motion of the surface and the device. The system uses these disparity measurements and actuator positions to modify the manipulation of the device. | 02-11-2016 |
20160052136 | Natural Pitch and Roll - A control system may receive a first plurality of measurements indicative of respective joint angles corresponding to a plurality of sensors connected to a robot. The robot may include a body and a plurality of jointed limbs connected to the body associated with respective properties. The control system may also receive a body orientation measurement indicative of an orientation of the body of the robot. The control system may further determine a relationship between the first plurality of measurements and the body orientation measurement based on the properties associated with the jointed limbs of the robot. Additionally, the control system may estimate an aggregate orientation of the robot based on the first plurality of measurements, the body orientation measurement, and the determined relationship. Further, the control system may provide instructions to control at least one jointed limb of the robot based on the estimated aggregate orientation of the robot. | 02-25-2016 |
20160096271 | ACTIVE VIBRATION DAMPING DEVICE - According to some embodiments of the present invention, a cooperatively-controlled robot includes a robotic actuator assembly comprising a tool holder and a force sensor. The cooperatively-controlled robot further includes a control system adapted to communicate with the robotic actuator assembly and the force sensor, and an actuator in communication with the control system and mechanically coupled to a tool. The force sensor is configured to detect a vibrational force applied on the tool and send a signal to the control system based on the vibrational force. The control system is configured to receive the signal and determine a force to apply to the tool to damp the vibrational force. The control system then signals to the actuator to apply the determined force, and the actuator applies the determined force to actively damp a vibration of the tool. | 04-07-2016 |
20160128275 | ROBOTIC MOWER CONTACT DETECTION SYSTEM - A robotic mower contact detection system includes a flexible and deformable bumper, a force sensing element embedded in the bumper and providing electrical signals, and a vehicle control unit receiving the electrical signals from the force sensing element and reversing rotation of a pair of traction drive motors if the electrical signals meet specified criteria. | 05-12-2016 |
20160131545 | MECHANICAL ARM AND PICKUP DEVICE - The present invention provides a mechanical arm and a pickup device. The mechanical arm includes a mechanical arm body and a pressure sensing system. The pressure sensing system is fixedly connected with the mechanical arm body, for sensing whether the mechanical arm body is to be collided with a picked-up object. | 05-12-2016 |
20160144508 | CONTROL DEVICE FOR MOTOR DRIVE DEVICE, CONTROL DEVICE FOR MULTI-AXIAL MOTOR, AND CONTROL METHOD FOR MOTOR DRIVE DEVICE - Motion control of a robot arm is performed via a reducer connected to a motor. A controller thereof includes a thrust control unit that generates motor position command value based on an input thrust command value, and a motor control unit that generates a current value based on the motor position command value. The motor control unit feeds back a motor position detected by a motor encoder, and the thrust control unit feeds back thrust detected by a thrust meter. The feedback from the motor control unit suppresses vibration phenomena at the reducer, and the feedback from the thrust control unit suppresses transmission error, thereby enabling motion control of the arm with rapidity and precision. | 05-26-2016 |
20160158941 | STATE DETECTING METHOD, ROBOT AND MOBILE DEVICE - A state detecting method applied to a mobile device includes: arranging a depth sensor at the bottom of the mobile device, obtaining a detection signal of the depth sensor, and determining if the mobile device is in a lifted state, a tilted state, or an edge-bordering state, based on the numerical value of the detection signal of the depth sensor. The lifted state is associated with the mobile device without contacting with a support surface. The tilted status is associated with one end of the mobile device contacting the support surface and the other end of the mobile device without contacting the support surface. The edge-bordering state is associated with the mobile device located at the edge of the support surface. Accordingly, when the mobile device is in any of the aforementioned states, an appropriate response can be implemented. | 06-09-2016 |
20160176044 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CHAIN JOINT CABLE ROUTING | 06-23-2016 |
20160176048 | Safe Robot with Trajectory Progress Variables | 06-23-2016 |
20160184993 | SHAPE-SHIFTING A CONFIGURATION OF REUSABLE ELEMENTS - A system having at least a first, a second and a third element, and a motion module. The elements are three-dimensional and each include a centre point therein. At least one face is coupled to the centre point. The at least one face has a motion-guiding module to define a trajectory over at least part of the face, and a motion-restriction module to limit the displacement of the centre point with respect to the centre point of one of the other elements. At least one trajectory includes the trajectory and a trajectory of the other element when interacting with the motion module. | 06-30-2016 |
20160189992 | METHOD OF PROCESSING LOCATION INFORMATION AND METHOD OF PROCESSING MEASUREMENT INFORMATION INCLUDING THE SAME - A method of processing measurement information in which a determined parameter value is determined at each of a plurality of measurement times including determining a predicted parameter value at each of the measurement times, determining an error range at each of the measurement times based on the predicted parameter value, obtaining a measured parameter value at each of the measurement times, and determining the determined parameter value based on the predicted parameter value, the measured parameter value, and the error range. | 06-30-2016 |
20160193729 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING PRECISE ROBOTIC POSITION AND ORIENTATION USING NEAR-SIMULTANEOUS RADIO FREQUENCY MEASUREMENTS | 07-07-2016 |
20160193732 | ENGAGING IN HUMAN-BASED SOCIAL INTERACTION WITH MEMBERS OF A GROUP USING A PERSISTENT COMPANION DEVICE | 07-07-2016 |
20160199238 | LIVING SUPPORT SYSTEM AND LIVING SUPPORT METHOD | 07-14-2016 |
20160250753 | ROBOT APPARATUS | 09-01-2016 |
20160375581 | ROBOT, ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE, AND ROBOT SYSTEM - A robot includes: a base; a first arm rotatably coupled to the base about a first axis of rotation; a second arm rotatably coupled to the first arm about a second axis of rotation, the second axis of rotation being an axis perpendicular to the first axis of rotation or being an axis parallel to an axis perpendicular to the first axis of rotation; a third arm rotatably coupled to the second arm about a third axis of rotation, the third axis of rotation being an axis parallel to the second axis of rotation; a first angular velocity sensor installed to the first arm and having an angular velocity detection axis parallel to the first axis of rotation; and a second angular velocity sensor installed to the third arm and having an angular velocity detection axis parallel to the third axis of rotation. | 12-29-2016 |
20160375583 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING ACCURACY OF ROBOT LOCATION INFORMATION BY USING SENSOR - An apparatus and method for providing an accuracy of robot location information. The apparatus may include a robot location information generator and a robot location accuracy calculator, through which the accuracy of location information of itself that the robot recognizes is provided so as to prevent crashes and negligent accident, which are caused by a difference between a robot's actual location and movement path and a location and movement path of itself that the robot recognizes | 12-29-2016 |
20160375584 | SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATICALLY AND PRECISELY POSITIONING ROBOTIC ARM AND METHOD THEREOF - The present disclosure illustrates a system for automatically and precisely positioning a robotic arm and method thereof. A control computing apparatus of the present disclosure controls a probe of the robotic arm to touch one of the positioning devices, and acquires a moment variation of each of the axes from a moment sensing device of the robotic arm, and then computes the distance between a geometric center of the touched positioning device and a coordinate origin according to a geometric feature of the touched positioning device, and then positions the robotic arm according to the moment variations of the axes and the distance between the geometric center of the touched positioning device and the coordinate origin. Therefore, the technical effect of quickly, precisely positioning the robotic arm without the error accumulation can be achieved. | 12-29-2016 |
20160375586 | Information processing method and electronic device - An information processing method and an electronic device are provided. The method includes: acquiring a first parameter related to a first behavior of a user of an electronic device, in a case that a current position of the electronic device is a first position, where the first behavior is a behavior which does not cause the electronic device to move; determining whether the first parameter meets a preset condition to obtain a first determination result; and adjusting the current position from the first position to a second position, in a case that it is determined that the first parameter meets the preset condition. | 12-29-2016 |
20160375588 | Switching A Control Of A Robot Into A Manual Operating Mode - A method for switching a control of a robot into a manual operating mode, wherein the robot is movable by a user manually applying at least one of a force or a torque upon the robot, includes detecting at least one of joint forces or joint torques of the robot, and triggering an error reaction in response to the switching and based on at least one of the detected joint forces and/or joint torques, target joint forces and/or target joint torques, or a pose of the robot. | 12-29-2016 |
20170235312 | AUTONOMOUS MOBILE OBJECT AND AUTONOMOUS MOBILE OBJECT SYSTEM | 08-17-2017 |
20180024561 | ROBOT AND METHOD FOR LOCALIZING A ROBOT | 01-25-2018 |
20190143508 | GRIPPING METHOD, GRIPPING SYSTEM, AND PROGRAM | 05-16-2019 |
20190143509 | Force Detecting Device And Robot System | 05-16-2019 |
20190143522 | ROBOT | 05-16-2019 |
20190143531 | Touch-down Sensing for Robotic Devices | 05-16-2019 |
20190145798 | SENSOR AND ROBOT | 05-16-2019 |
20190145839 | FORCE DETECTION SYSTEM AND ROBOT | 05-16-2019 |
20220134548 | TRANSPORT APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A transport apparatus includes a transport module for transporting a material, a first control module in which a control program for controlling operations of the transport module is installed, and a second control module in which the control program is installed. The second control module monitors operations of the first control module and executes the control program to control the operations of the transport module when a failure occurs in the first control module. | 05-05-2022 |