Current technologies allow a robot to acquire a tool only if the tool is in a set known location, such as in a rack. In an embodiment, a method and corresponding system, can determine the previously unknown pose of a tool freely placed in an environment. The method can then calculate a trajectory that allows for a robot to move from its current position to the tool and attach with the tool. In such a way, tools can be located and used by a robot when placed at any location in an environment.

A problem with current food service robots is making the robots safe to work around food. A solution provided by the present disclosure is a food-safe tool switcher and corresponding tool. The tool switcher can mate with a variety of tools, which can be molded or 3D printed out of food-safe materials into a single-part, instead of constructed modularly. This provides for easier cleaning.

The present disclosure generally relates to a robotic gripping system and method that utilizes vacuum suction and finger grasping, wherein the suction and grasping are actuated based on a dynamic collision model. In an exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to generating collision scenes of a surrounding environment which is used to determine possible collisions in a motion path, and which is used to selectively actuate the vacuum suction and/or finger grasping.

A control system is provided. A second robot in this control system has a trajectory calculation unit which calculates a trajectory of the second robot so as to avoid a first robot if it is determined that the first robot and the second robot will collide.

Various aspects of techniques, systems, and use cases include robot safety. A device in a network may include processing circuitry and memory including instructions, which when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform operations. The operations may include collecting telemetry data for a robot, the robot operating according to a path control plan generated using reinforcement learning with a safety factor as a reward function, and detecting that a safety event, involving a robot action, has occurred with the robot and an object. The operations may include simulating a recreation of the safety event to determine whether a simulated action matches the robot action.

The invention relates to a method for operating a robot and to a robot, wherein the robot comprises movable elements ELE.sub.m which can be driven by actuators AKT.sub.n, and is designed to carry out a movement B with the elements ELE.sub.m, and wherein the robot comprises a detection system for determining signals W.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B(t) of a group of measurement variables G.sub.k.sup.B characterizing the movement B of the elements ELE.sub.m and the interactions thereof with an environment. The proposed method comprises the following steps: determining (10), by means of the detection system, reference signals W.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B.sup.R(t) of the measurement variables G.sub.k.sup.B during at least one execution of the movement B of the elements ELE.sub.m which is in the form of a reference movement B; automatically determining (102), based on the reference signals W.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B.sup.R (t), using an adaptive method, a mathematical model M.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B for describing the reference movement B including the reference interactions by the measurement variables G.sub.k.sup.B, during a normal execution of the movement B by the model M.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B; predicting (103) signals W.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B.sup.P(t) for describing the reference movement B, including the reference interactions by the measurement variables G.sub.k.sup.B; comparing (104) the signals W.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B(t) determined currently during the normal execution of the movement B with the predicted signals W.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B(t) for determining a deviation Δ.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B(t) between W.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B.sup.P(t) and in W.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B; insofar as the deviation Δ.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B(t) does not meet a predefined condition BED.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B, based on the deviation Δ.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B(t) classifying (105) the current deviation Δ.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B(t) in one of a number I of predefined error categories F.sub.i,G.sub.k.sub.B(Δ.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B(t)), wherein predefined control information S.sub.F.sub.i.sub.,G.sub.k.sub.B(t) for the actuators AKT.sub.k is produced for each of the error categories F.sub.i,G.sub.k.sub.B(Δ.sub.G.sub.k.sub.B

A method for avoiding collisions between two robots providing first movement information related to a first robot movement; determining for a plurality of second robot movements whether they involve a risk for collision between the first and second robots; and executing one of the second robot movements. Information about a movement of one robot enables a robot controller of another robot with an overlapping work area to select among available robot movements an appropriate one that does not involve a risk for collision between the two robots.

Embodiments provide functionality to prevent collisions between robots and objects. An example embodiment detects a type and a location of an object based on a camera image of the object, where the image has a reference frame. Motion of the object is then predicted based on at least one of: the detected type of the object, the detected location of the object, and a model of object motion. To continue, a motion plan for the robot is generated that avoids having the robot collide with the object based on the predicted motion of the object and a transformation between the reference frame of the image and a reference frame of the robot. The robot can be controlled to move in accordance with the motion plan or a signal can be generated that controls the robot to operate in accordance with the motion plan.

Current technologies allow a robot to acquire a tool only if the tool is in a set known location, such as in a rack. In an embodiment, a method and corresponding system, can determine the previously unknow pose of a tool freely placed in an environment. The method can then calculate a trajectory that allows for a robot to move from its current position to the tool and attach with the tool. In such a way, tools can be located and used by a robot when placed at any location in an environment.

In an embodiment, a method includes identifying a force and torque for a robot to accomplish a task and identifying context of a portion of a movement plan indicating motion of the robot to perform the task. Based on the identified force, torque, and context, a context specific torque is determined for at least one aspect of the robot while the robot executes the portion of the movement plan. In turn, a control signal is generated for the at least one aspect of the robot to operate in accordance with the determined context specific torque.