A teaching system includes: a teaching-data generator configured to generate teaching data of a robot having a joint in a virtual environment, the virtual environment including a work tool, the robot, and a workpiece to which a plurality of working points is preliminarily set, the teaching data causing the robot to move one of the work tool and the workpiece passing through approach points corresponding to the respective working points to cause the work tool to relatively reach and separate from the working points; a determiner configured to determine whether a virtual line interferes with another of the workpiece and the work tool, the virtual line connecting the approach points of the consecutively worked working points together; and a teaching-data updater capable of changing a position of the approach point on the virtual line.

An augmented reality (AR) system for visualizing and modifying robot operational zones. The system includes an AR device such as a headset in communication with a robot controller. The AR device includes software for the AR display and modification of the operational zones. The AR device is registered with the robot coordinate frame via detection of a visual marker. The AR device displays operational zones overlaid on real world images of the robot and existing fixtures, where the display is updated as the user moves around the robot work cell. Control points on the virtual operational zones are displayed and allow the user to reshape the operational zones. The robot can be operated during the AR session, running the robot's programmed motion and evaluating the operational zones. Zone violations are highlighted in the AR display. When zone definition is complete, the finalized operational zones are uploaded to the robot controller.

A method for queuing robots destined for one or more target locations in an environment, includes determining if a plurality of robots destined for the one or more target locations have entered a predefined target zone proximate the one or more target locations. The method also includes assigning each of the robots to either its target location or one of a plurality of queue locations based on an assigned priority. The plurality of queue locations are grouped into one or more queue groups.

One embodiment of a method for controlling a robot includes generating a representation of spatial occupancy within an environment based on a plurality of red, green, blue (RGB) images of the environment, determining one or more actions for the robot based on the representation of spatial occupancy and a goal, and causing the robot to perform at least a portion of a movement based on the one or more actions.

The present invention relates to a collision-free path generating method for a robot and an end effector quipped thereon to move. The method includes steps of configuring a virtual working environment, containing a plurality of virtual objects at least including the robot, the end effector and a target object consisting of a plurality of basic members and mapped from a working environment in a reality, in a robot simulator; selecting a level of detail and a pre-determined shape for a collider covering the plurality of virtual objects to determine boundaries for the plurality of objects; randomly sampling a combination of robot configurations; and based on the determine boundaries and the randomly sampled combination of robot configurations, performing a heuristic based pathfinding algorithm to compute a collision-free path for the robot and the end effector quipped thereon to move to the target object accordingly.

A path generator includes an object setter that sets an object model; a device setter that sets a device model as a model of a robot arm; a path generator that generates a path of the robot arm stepwise; and an interference determiner that performs interference determination on the object model and the device model after having moved along the path, based on a distance between the object model and the device model. If it is determined that there is a possibility of interference between the object model and the device model, at least one of the object setter or the device setter increases a density of point groups of the point group model, and performs interference determination by using the point group model with the increased density of the point groups. If determined that that there is no possibility of interference, the path generator generates a next path.

A transfer method transfers a substrate between a transfer unit configured to hold and transfer the substrate and a substrate stage serving as a transfer destination or a transfer source of the substrate. The transfer method includes: acquiring positional information of the transfer unit and positional information of the substrate stage; determining whether or not there is a risk for the substrate to contact with the substrate stage, based on the acquired positional information of the transfer unit and positional information of the substrate stage; and when determined that there is a risk for the substrate to contact with the substrate stage, notifying the risk according to the determination at the determining.

An interference determination device includes a controller that determines interference between a robot and an object. The controller obtains a plurality of vertices of at least one object within a motion range of the robot in a real space and positional information regarding the plurality of vertices. The controller determines interference between the robot and the object in the real space on a basis of the plurality of vertices and the positional information.

A sensor device is provided which detects approach or in contact of a detection target with a moving part of an automatic device, and comprises a first sensor that detects the detection target at a position away from the moving part, a second sensor that detects the detection target at a position closer to the moving part than the first sensor, and a third sensor that detects the detection target at a position closer to the moving part than the first sensor. The approach of the detection target to the moving part is detected by both the second sensor and the third sensor at a position closer to the moving part than a position that can be detected by the first sensor.

A robot control method includes defining a robot monitor model that covers at least a part of the robot and defining a monitor region parallel to a coordinate system for the robot. The monitor region is configured to monitor a range of motion of the robot. The method further includes transforming a position of a definition point that is an arbitrary point contained in the robot monitor model into a position of the definition point in a coordinate system different from the coordinate system for the robot (ST9), determining whether or not the robot monitor model is put into contact with a boundary surface of the monitor region by using the transformed position of the definition point (ST6), and stopping motion of the robot if the robot monitor model is put into contact with the boundary surface (ST8).