Input devices having a deformable membrane and methods of their use are disclosed. In one embodiment, an input device includes a body, a deformable membrane coupled to the body such that the body and the deformable membrane define an enclosure filled with a medium, and an internal sensor disposed within the enclosure, the internal sensor having a field of view configured to be directed through the medium and toward a bottom surface of the deformable membrane. The input device further includes a controller configured to receive an output signal from the internal sensor corresponding to a deformation in the deformable membrane, determine a gesture based on the output signal from the internal, and provide a gesture signal corresponding to the gesture.

A system for robotic paint repair that can include a consumable abrasive product configured to abrade a substrate, a tool configured to drive the consumable abrasive product to abrade, a backup pad configured to couple with the consumable abrasive product, a robotic device configured to manipulate the tool, a pressure regulating apparatus mountable to the robotic device and configured to apply a desired pressure to the consumable abrasive product, a sensor configured to measure at least one of a rotational velocity of the backup pad or a debris pattern from the substrate that results from abrading, and a pressure controller configured to control the pressure regulating apparatus to apply the desired pressure based upon the at least one of the measured rotational velocity of the backup pad or the measured debris pattern.

A method for supporting creation of a program for supporting creation of a program for a robot that performs work on an object by force control for controlling a force acting on the object to be a target force, includes displaying a mark having an aspect indicating the target force on a display device, changing the aspect of the mark according to an operation on an input device by a user, and presenting a parameter in the force control corresponding to the aspect of the mark to the user.

A robot includes an input detection portion, a motion detection portion, and a control portion. The input detection portion is configured to detect an input given from an operator to a robot body. The motion detection portion is configured to detect a motion by using the input detection portion, the motion being given by the operator. The control portion is configured to execute a motion instruction associated with the motion detected by the motion detection portion.

A robot including a manipulator driven by actuators, and configured to determine external forces and/or external torques acting upon the manipulator, the robot configured to: regulate the actuators for a sub-space T1 of a working space AR such that, upon application of an external force and/or external torque upon the manipulator, the manipulator recedes into T1, wherein following applies: T1.Math.AR and T1≠AR, and AR specifies all permitted translations and/or rotations of the manipulator; and determine, for a space TK1 that is complementary to T1, a projection {right arrow over (P)}.sub.TK1 of the external force and/or external torque into TK1, wherein following applies: T1∩TK1={0}, TK1.Math.AR, and T1∪TK1=AR, classify {right arrow over (P)}.sub.TK1 into one of several predefined classes with respect to amount and/or direction and/or time curve of {right arrow over (P)}.sub.TK1, store a command and/or rule for each predefined class, and regulate the actuators as a function of classification of {right arrow over (P)}.sub.TK1 based on respective command and/or rule.

A method for controlling a robot includes applying a setpoint force to a contact point; measuring a contact stiffness at the contact point; and slowing down the moving robot using its drives and/or braking the robot to apply the setpoint force to the contact point by the slowing down and/or slowed down robot depending on the measured contact stiffness, wherein the robot is slowed down before the setpoint force is reached.

In teaching of a robot, a control device controls a movable unit in a first control mode in which the movable unit continuously moves according to a force detected by a force detector and a second control mode in which the movable unit moves by a predetermined movement amount according to the force detected by the force detector. A controller selects a first control mode or a second control mode according to a temporal change in the force detected by the force detector and a magnitude of the force.

A control device of a production machine receives a present path and a movement command from an operator during manual operation of the production machine. An element of the production machine should be moved along the present path by means of position-controlled axes. Based on the movement command, a series of position setpoint values having a setpoint velocity is determined for the axes. The control device determines from the position setpoint values and corresponding position actual values control commands for the drives driving the axes and controls the drives accordingly. The determined control commands limit a contact force (F), which the at least one element exerts on its environment, to a force limit value (F0) specified to the control device. The control device monitors a following error of the drives and suppresses further movement of the element when the following error reaches a maximum value.

The present process of controlling an industrial robot includes steps consisting of calculating a time-dependent composite setpoint defining articular forces and/or velocities, according to a target trajectory and to an operating mode; calculating (S106) a behavior matrix which describes a desired behavior of the robot arm, defining directions along which the calculated composite setpoint is to be applied; calculating (S108) an articular force setpoint for controlling the axis controller module and calculating the time derivative of a homogeneous internal state at an articular position. The articular force setpoint for controlling the axis controller module is calculated from a control function which adjusts the difference between the articular position and the internal state determined by integrating said time derivative of the internal state.

The control device for controlling a robot having a force detector includes an input device, a display, a memory, and a processor. The processor executes a program to repeat receiving of an input via the input device, selecting of an object of operation objects based on the input, and displaying of the selected object a predetermined number of times to complete an object operation flow. The processor converts the completed object operation flow into a control program for controlling the operations of the robot. The display displays a selection for selecting whether an integrator is applied to a difference between time series target force and time series measuring force for a specific control direction. The processor receives an adjusting input via the input device for adjusting an integral gain of the integrator when a result of the execution of the control program is in a predetermined condition.