A method calculates a calibration parameter for a robot tool. The method is based on the reception of an image dataset from medical imaging of an image volume via a first interface. The image volume contains a part of the robot tool and the robot tool is attached to a robot. A robot dataset is received by a second interface. The robot dataset contains a position of a movable axis of the robot during the recording of the image dataset. The position and/or orientation of a marking in the image dataset are determined by a computing unit. An image-based position and/or orientation of the tool center point of the robot tool are calculated by transforming the position and/or orientation of the marking. The calibration parameter is calculated based on the robot dataset and on the image-based position and/or orientation of the tool center point via the computing unit.

A method for characterizing the environment of a robot, the robot having a flexible arm having a plurality of joints, a datum carried by the arm, a plurality of drivers arranged to drive the joints to move and a plurality of position sensors for sensing the position of each of the joints, the method comprising: contacting the datum carried by the arm with a first datum on a second robot in the environment of the first robot, wherein the second robot has a flexible arm having a plurality of joints, and a plurality of drivers arranged to drive those joints to move; calculating in dependence on the outputs of the position sensors a distance between a reference location defined in a frame of reference local to the robot and the first datum; and controlling the drivers to reconfigure the first arm in dependence on at least the calculated distance.

A tool center point calibration device includes a laser light source and a semi-transparent mirror configured to split a light beam of the laser light source into the first light beam and the second light beam. The second light beam is at of about a 90 angle to the first light beam. A first light detector at the first light beam generates a first signal when the first light beam is interrupted, and a second light detector at the second light beam generates a second signal when the second light beam is interrupted.

A tool calibration apparatus for a robot manipulator having a tool is disclosed. The tool calibration apparatus comprises a base, an X-axis measurement device, a Y-axis measurement device and a Z-axis measurement device. Each of the X-axis measurement device, the Y-axis measurement device and the Z-axis measurement device comprises a measuring plate and a sensor. The measuring plates of the X-axis measurement device, the Y-axis measurement device and the Z-axis measurement device move in a direction along the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, respectively. The sensors of the X-axis measurement device, the Y-axis measurement device and the Z-axis measurement device measure a displacement of the corresponding measuring plate. According to the displacements, information of a tool center point of the tool is acquired so as to calibrate the tool center point.

Systems, devices, and methods for time calibration. The method can include, in responses to receiving sensing data which indicates a deviation of a tool from an object to be operated by a robot with the tool, triggering the robot to perform a plurality of transformations. Each transformation causing the tool to contact the object at a reference position; determining joint positions of a joint of the robot holding the tool or the object after the plurality of transformations; and determining a position relationship between the tool and the robot at least partially based on the joint positions and the reference position.

Example systems and methods are disclosed for determining tool offset data for a tool attached to a robot at an attachment point. The method may include controlling the robot to contact a reference object with the tool. The reference object may be a rigid object with a known location. A force feedback sensor of the robot may indicate when the tool has contacted the reference object. Once contact is made, data indicating robot position during tool contact may be received. Additionally, the robot may temporarily stop movement of the tool to prevent damage to the tool or the reference object. Next, tool offset data may be determined based on the position of the reference object relative to the robot and the received robot position data. The tool offset data may describe the distance between at least one point on the tool and the attachment point.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to calibration of a tool and a work object for a robot. The method includes determining a geometry constraint from a set of candidate geometry constraints as a physical closure for the calibration; determining a set of touch points of the tool with the work object based on a performance criterion and an objective function, wherein the objective function is constructed for the tool and the work object based on the selected geometry constraint; and obtaining calibration parameters of the tool and the work object according to the objective function based on observations from the robot with the set of touch points.

A measurement system includes: a measurement apparatus measuring a position of a first member attached to at least one of a processing target and a jig and a position of a second member attached to a movable part of a processing apparatus in a measurement coordinate system; and a measurement control apparatus controlling the measurement apparatus. The measurement control apparatus includes: an arithmetic unit transforming the position of the second member in the measurement coordinate system to a position of the second member in a processing coordinate system based on first position information indicating the position of the first member in the measurement coordinate system and second position information indicating the position of the first member in the processing coordinate system; and a transmission unit transmitting third position information indicating the transformed position of the second member in the processing coordinate system, to a processing control apparatus.

A method of calibrating a coordinate positioning machine is described. The machine is controlled into a pivot pose in which a target point associated with a moveable part of the machine and a pivot point associated with a fixed part of the machine are separated from one another by a known separation. An error value for that pose is determined based on the known separation and a separation expected for that pose from the existing model parameters of the machine. The machine is controlled into a plurality of different target poses, and for each target pose a separation between the target point and the pivot point is measured and an error value for that pose is determined based on the measured separation and a separation expected for that pose from the existing model parameters.

A method of calibrating a coordinate positioning machine having a first member that is moveable relative to a second member, wherein the geometry of the machine is characterised by a set of model parameters. The machine is controlled to make point contact between multiple reference surfaces of a tool or artefact mounted on the first member and multiple reference surfaces of an artefact mounted on the second member. At least one of the model parameters is updated knowing or taking into account that the actual separations between the relevant surfaces are zero when making contact, even if the expected separations between the relevant surfaces as derived from the current model parameters are non-zero.