A control apparatus includes a processor that is configured to control a robot, and receive an object coordinate system set for an object not an end effector and not moving or rotating with the end effector. The processor is configured to execute a first control mode in which the end effector is moved and rotated according to a detected force while the force is detected by a force detector, and execute a second control mode in which, when a relative angle between a predetermined first axis of a moving coordinate system moving and rotating with the end effector and a predetermined second axis of the object coordinate system is smaller than an angle threshold value, the end effector is rotated to make magnitude of the relative angle closer to zero.

One aspect of the present invention provides a robot controller for end portion control of a multi-degree-of-freedom robot. The robot controller comprises: a first control interface, which is positioned at a first position around the robot end portion and receives a first control input for at least for directions; a second control interface, which is positioned at a second position around the robot end portion and receives a second control input for at least four directions; and an encoder, which interprets the combination of the first and second control inputs as a third control input about the robot end portion and provides the robot with a signal according to the third control input.

The invention relates to a robot, a robot control system, and a method for controlling a robot. The robot comprises a movable, multi-membered robot structure (102) that can be driven by means of actuators (101), at least one marked structural element S being defined on the movable robot structure (102), with at least one point P.sub.S marked on the structural element S. The robot is designed such that, in an input mode, it learns positions POS.sub.PS of the point PS and/or poses of the structural element S in a work space of the robot, the user exerting an input force F.sub.EING on the movable robot structure in order to move the structural element S, which is conveyed to the point P.sub.S as F.sub.EING,PS, and/or to the structural element S as torque M.sub.EING,S. A control device (103) of the robot is designed such that, in the input mode, the actuators (101) are controlled on the basis of a pre-defined space-fixed virtual 3D grid that at least partially fills the work space, such that the structural element S is moved with a pre-defined force F.sub.GRID (POS.sub.PS), according to the current position POS.sub.PS of the point P.sub.S in the 3D grid, to the adjacent grid point of the 3D grid or in a grid point space defined around the adjacent grid point of the 3D grid, the point P.sub.S of the structural element S remaining on said adjacent grid point or in said grid point space in the event of the following holding true: |F.sub.EING,PS|<|F.sub.GRID(POS.sub.PS) and/or, in the input mode, the actuators (101) are controlled on the basis of a pre-defined virtual discrete 3D orientation space O, where the 3D orientation space O=: (α.sub.i, β.sub.j, γ.sub.k) where i=1, 2, . . . , I, j=1, 2, . . . J, k=1, 2, . . . , K is defined or can be defined by a pre-defined angle α.sub.i, β.sub.j, γ.sub.k, in such a way that the structural element S is moved with a pre-defined torque)(SO ROM according to the current orientation OR.sub.S of the structural element, towards the adjacent discrete orientation of the 3D orientation space O=: (α.sub.i, β.sub.j, γ.sub.k), S, the structural element remaining in said adjacent discrete orientation of the 3D orientation space O in the event that the following holds true: |M.sub.EING,S|<|M.sub.O(OR.sub.S).

An action teaching method is provided for teaching a robotic arm of a robotic arm system through a gesture teaching device. In a step (a), a touch condition of a user's finger is sensed by the touch sensing unit. In a step (b), a sensing result of the touch sensing unit is transmitted to an identification unit, so that a touch information is identified by the identification unit. In a step (c), the touch information is transmitted to a teaching unit, so that the teaching unit actuates a corresponding operation of the robotic arm system according to the touch information. In a step (d), an operating result of the robotic arm system is shown on a display unit, so that the user judges whether the operating result of the robotic arm system is successful through the display unit.

A teaching apparatus configured to include a display device and perform a teaching operation for a robot includes a template storage section configured to store a plurality of templates corresponding to a plurality of programs of the robot, a program explanatory content storage section configured to store plural pieces of explanatory content for explaining the respective plurality of programs, a template display section configured to display the plurality of templates stored in the template storage section on the display device, a template selection section configured to select one template from the plurality of templates displayed on the template display section, and a program explanatory content display section configured to read out the explanatory content of the program corresponding to the one template selected by the template selection section from the program explanatory content storage section and configured to display the explanatory content on the display device.

Techniques are described herein for generating a dynamical systems control policy. A non-parametric family of smooth maps is defined on which vector-field learning problems can be formulated and solved using convex optimization In some implementations, techniques described herein address the problem of generating contracting vector fields for certifying stability of the dynamical systems arising in robotics applications, e.g., designing stable movement primitives. These learning problems may utilize a set of demonstration trajectories, one or more desired equilibria (e.g., a target point), and once or more statistics including at least an average velocity and average duration of the set of demonstration trajectories. The learned contracting vector fields may induce a contraction tube around a targeted trajectory for an end effector of the robot. In some implementations, the disclosed framework may use curl-free vector-valued Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces.

A robot arm allowing an improved ergonomic operation during a learning programming process of a robot having a robot arm with a number N of arm components A.sub.n, which can be connected to a robot body via a number N of actuator-drivable joint connections GV.sub.n, where n=1, 2, . . . , N.

A method and apparatus for controlling a robot is provided. In this robot, direct teaching can be performed while updating a position command on the basis of an applied external force. In the method and apparatus, a proximity region is set inside a boundary of an operation-allowed range of the robot, the proximity region being indicative of a proximity of the boundary. Stored is an external force applied when a monitoring point provided in the robot reaches the proximity region as a reference external force. And performed is comparing the reference external force with a current external force when a current position of the monitoring point is in the proximity region, to thereby determine a direction that facilitates movement away from the proximity region.

A manual robot control by which a reference point of the robot is moved continually in space or positioned on an adjacent snap point depending on the control input.

A control apparatus includes a processor that is configured to control a robot, and receive an object coordinate system set for an object not an end effector and not moving or rotating with the end effector. The processor is configured to execute a first control mode in which the end effector is moved and rotated according to a detected force while the force is detected by a force detector, and execute a second control mode in which, when a relative angle between a predetermined first axis of a moving coordinate system moving and rotating with the end effector and a predetermined second axis of the object coordinate system is smaller than an angle threshold value, the end effector is rotated to make magnitude of the relative angle closer to zero.