A robot movement teaching apparatus including a movement path extraction unit configured to process time-varying images of a first workpiece and fingers or arms of a human working on the first workpiece, and thereby extract a movement path of the fingers or arms of the human; a mapping generation unit configured to generate a transform function for transformation from the first workpiece to a second workpiece worked on by a robot, based on feature points of the first workpiece and feature points of the second workpiece; and a movement path generation unit configured to generate a movement path of the robot based on the movement path of the fingers or arms of the human extracted by the movement path extraction unit and based on the transform function generated by the mapping generation unit.

A sleeve worn on an arm allows detection of gestures by an array of sensors. Electromyography, inertial, and magnetic field sensors provide data that is processed to categorize gestures and translate the gestures into commands for robotic systems. Machine learning allows training of gestures to increase accuracy of detection for different users.

A position/force controller includes a function-dependent force/speed distribution conversion unit that, on the basis of speed, position and force information relating to a position based on an action of an actuator and control reference information, performs a conversion to distribute control energy to at least one of speed or position energy and force energy according to a function that is being realized. A control amount calculation unit calculates at least one of a speed or position control amount and a force energy on the basis of at least one of the speed or position energy and the force energy distributed by the force/speed distribution conversion unit. An integration unit integrates speed or position control amount with force control amount and, to return an output to the actuator, performs a reverse conversion on the speed or position control amount and the force control amount and determines an input to the actuator.

A position/force controller performs: detecting information relating to a position based on the effect of an actuator; converting by distributing control energy to speed or positional energy and force energy in response to functions realized on the basis of speed (position) and force information corresponding to the information relating to the position and on the basis of information serving as a reference for control; calculating the control amount for speed or position on the basis of the speed or positional energy; calculating the force control amount on the basis of the force energy; and integrating the speed or position control amount and the force control amount and performing a reverse conversion on the speed or position control amount and the force control amount to return the output to the actuator, to determine the input to the actuator.

A robot system is provided, which includes a robot body including, robot arm and an end effector attached to robot arm, and operating device, having operating part and configured to output, when operating part is operated, operational information according to operation, a motion controller configured to control operation of robot body according to the operational information outputted from the operating device, a velocity detector configured to detect a velocity at a tip end of the end effector, a virtual reaction-force information generating module configured to output force information containing a first force component having a positive correlation to the velocity at the tip end of the end effector, as virtual reaction-force information, and a force applying device configured to give a force to the operating part in order to make an operator perceive a force according to the virtual reaction-force information outputted from the virtual reaction-force information generating module.

A robot system which includes a manipulator, slave arm, an output device, a storage device and a control device. Control device is configured, after a given first process, to output to the output device an inquiry of asking which operating mode among three operating modes of an automatic operation mode, manual operation mode, and hybrid operation mode the slave arm is to be operated in a second process, and execute first operation processing in which, when selected information for instructing the operating mode selected from the three operating modes is inputted, the selected information is stored in the storage device, and second operation processing in which, when the number of times that first selected information is stored in the storage device becomes equal to or more than a first threshold number of times, the selected operating mode is outputted to the output device after the first process is ended.

A manipulator system configured to perform a work to a workpiece being moved by a moving device, includes a robotic arm, having one or more joints and to which a tool configured to perform the work to the workpiece is attached, an operating device configured to operate the robotic arm, a first imaging means configured to image the workpiece, while following the movement of the workpiece, a second imaging means fixedly provided in a work area to image a situation of the work to the workpiece, a displaying means configured to display an image imaged by the first imaging means and an image imaged by the second imaging means, and a control device configured to control the operation of the robotic arm based on an operating instruction of the operating device, while detecting a moving amount of the workpiece being moved by the moving device and carrying out a tracking control of the robotic arm according to the moving amount of the workpiece.

A remote-control manipulator system includes a manipulator configured to receive a manipulating instruction from an operator, a slave arm configured to perform a series of works comprised of a plurality of processes, a camera configured to image operation of the slave arm, a display device configured to display an image captured by the camera, a storage device configured to store information related to environment in a workspace as an environment model, and a control device. The control device is configured, while operating the slave arm manually or hybridly, to acquire circumference information that is information related to a circumference area of an area imaged by the camera based on the environment model stored in the storage device, and display on the display device so that the image captured by the camera and the circumference information are interlocked.

A robot system includes a robotic arm having an end effector configured to perform a work to a work object, a memory part storing information that causes the end effector to move as scheduled route information, a motion controller configured to operate the robotic arm by using the scheduled route information to move the end effector, a route correcting device configured to generate, by being manipulated, manipulating information to correct a route of the end effector during movement, a camera configured to image the work object, an image generator configured to generate a synthesized image by synthesizing a scheduled route of the end effector obtained from the scheduled route information with a captured image sent from the camera, and a monitor configured to display the synthesized image.

A robot system including a master device configured to receive a manipulating instruction from an operator and transmit the received manipulating instruction as a manipulating input signal, a plurality of slave robots configured to operate according to the manipulating input signal transmitted from the master device, a management control device configured to manage operations of the plurality of slave robots, respectively, and an output device configured to output information transmitted from the management control device. The management control device determines a priority of transmitting the manipulating input signal from the master device to the slave robot among the plurality of slave robots that are in a standby state of the manipulating input signal, and transmits information related to the determined priority to the output device. Thus, the operator is able to efficiently transmit the manipulating input signal to the plurality of slave robots through the master device.