A control device is configured to control a driving device so that an arm operates in accordance with an instruction operation, and detect a collision with another object with respect to a part where an external force is greater than a threshold value among parts of the arm. At this time, the control device switches the threshold value between a case where the instruction operation is a non-contact intentional operation that is not intended for contact with another object and a case where the instruction operation is a contact intentional operation that is intended for contact with another object.

A method for force or torque sensing in an electromechanical actuator-driven robot comprising one or more links, one or more joints, an end effector and a controller is provided, the method comprising: estimating a first set of load torques in one or more joints in a given configuration of the robot without external force or load applied to the end effector; identifying gravitational and frictional components in the first set of load torques; estimating a second set of load torques in the one or more joints in the given configuration of the robot with an external force or load applied to the end effector; calculating a difference between the second set of load torques and the first set of load torques, taking into account the identified gravitational and frictional components; calculating an external force or torque acting on the end effector based on the difference between the second set of load torques and the first set of load torques using a Jacobian matrix for the given configuration of the robot; and presenting the external force or torque in a Cartesian space. An apparatus for force or torque sensing in an electromechanical actuator-driven robot, the apparatus comprising at least one processor programmed to perform said method, a computer program which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform force or torque sensing in an electromechanical actuator-driven robot according to said method, and a non-transitory storage medium for storing said program are also provided. The technical result consists in improved precision of force or torque sensing on an end effector of an electromechanical actuator-driven robot in a manner which does not require using expensive force/torque sensors in robot joints.

In one aspect, there is provided a computer-implemented method that includes receiving a request to generate workcell data representing physical dimensions of a workcell having a physical robot arm, executing a calibration program that causes the physical robot arm to move within the workcell and record locations within the workcell at which the robot arm made contact with an object, generating, from the locations within the workcell at which one or more sensors of the robot arm recorded a resistance above a threshold, a representation of physical boundaries in the workcell, obtaining an initial virtual representation of the workcell, and updating the initial virtual representation of the workcell according to the representation of physical boundaries generated from executing the calibration program.

During an operation of a mobile robot 1, observed values of a plurality of reference parameters including at least one of contact reaction forces) of one or more movable links 3, 4 and a contact reaction force function value expressed as a function value of contact reaction force(s) of one or more movable links 3, 4 are acquired based on outputs from force detectors 31 mounted on the respective movable links 3, 4 of the mobile robot 1, and the observed values of the reference parameters are used to detect presence or absence of occurrence of abnormal contact of the mobile robot 1 by a contact detecting model Ai.

A human-collaborative robot system includes a detection unit that directly or indirectly detects a physical quantity which is changed in response to contact force applied to a robot when the robot comes in contact with an external environment, and a stop command unit that compares the physical quantity detected by the detection unit with a first threshold value and a second threshold value greater than the first threshold value, stops the robot according to a predetermined stop method when the physical quantity is equal to or greater than the first threshold value and is smaller than the second threshold value, and stops the robot in a shorter period of time as compared with the predetermined stop method when the physical quantity is equal to or greater than the second threshold value.

A method of footstep contact detection includes receiving joint dynamics data for a swing phase of a swing leg of the robot, receiving odometry data indicative of a pose of the robot, determining whether an impact on the swing leg is indicative of a touchdown of the swing leg based on the joint dynamics data and an amount of completion of the swing phase, and determining when the impact on the swing leg is not indicative of the touchdown of the swing leg, a cause of the impact based on the joint dynamics data and the odometry data.

A system is provided for determining a loading location of a workpiece relative to a holding fixture, comprising: a robot including a sensor; and a controller coupled to the robot and configured to activate the robot to grip the workpiece; enable a free-drive mode to permit an operator to move the gripped workpiece to a starting location: execute a center location routine including causing the robot to: move in a first direction until the sensor senses contact with a first surface of the holding fixture; move in a second direction until the sensor senses contact with a second surface: move in a third direction until the sensor senses contact with a third surface; and compute a three-dimensional center point of the holding fixture representing the loading location of the workpiece using the first, second and third sensed positions of contact.