A pallet building apparatus for automatically building a pallet load of pallet load article units onto a pallet support including a frame defining a pallet building base, at least one articulated robot to transport and place the pallet load article units, a controller to control articulated robot motion and effect therewith a pallet load build, at least one three-dimensional, time of flight, camera to generate three-dimensional imaging of the pallet support and pallet load build, wherein the controller registers, from the three-dimensional camera, real time three-dimensional imaging data embodying different corresponding three-dimensional images of the pallet support and pallet load build, to determine, in real time, from the corresponding real time three-dimensional imaging data, a pallet support variance or article unit variance and generate in real time an articulated robot motion signal, the articulated robot motion signal being generated real time so as to be performed real time.

A robot includes a work tool that performs a work to a work point, and a moving unit that moves the work tool and changes the posture thereof. A console receives an operation to designate the coordinates of arbitrary two or three points on an inclined surface. Upon this operation, a processor calculates a direction of the work tool toward the work point from a work start point based on the coordinates of the arbitrary two or three points, next, a control unit moves the work tool to the work start point, directs the posture of the work tool toward the work point in accordance with the calculation by the processor, and causes the work tool to start a process to the work point.

The present invention is a robotic system for maintaining product inventory and dispensing products upon request from a customer or other user. Product items are stored in an inventory storage unit (ISU), one item per bin. Controller logic allows items to be stored in, and retrieved from, arbitrarily-assigned storage locations. The bins hang on rails within drawers. In a replenishment operation, the system transfers empty bins to an operator station for replenishment. An operator fills the empty bins with product items. The system inserts these bins into drawers in the ISU. In a purge operation, the operator enters an identifier of a class of product to be removed. The system moves the bins containing the affected items to the operator station. After the product items are removed, the empty bins are moved to the ISU.

The present invention is a robotic system for maintaining product inventory and dispensing products upon request from a customer or other user. Product items are stored in an inventory storage unit (ISU), one item per bin. Controller logic allows items to be stored in, and retrieved from, arbitrarily-assigned storage locations. The bins hang on rails within drawers. Upon a request from a consumer (or other user) for a plurality of product items, the robot retrieves a bin holding the first item from the ISU, and places the bin onto a shelf that moves with the robot. The additional items are handled similarly. Once all the items are on the shelf, the robot transfers them to a dispensing chute to the consumer.

A robot control system and a method for automatic camera calibration is presented. The robot control system includes a control circuit configured to determine all corner locations of an imaginary cube that fits within a camera field of view, and determine a plurality of locations that are distributed on or throughout the imaginary cube. The control circuit is further configured to control a robot arm to move a calibration pattern to the plurality of locations, and to receive a plurality of calibration images corresponding to the plurality of locations, and to determine respective estimates of intrinsic camera parameters based on the plurality of calibration images, and to determine an estimate of a transformation function that describes a relationship between a camera coordinate system and a world coordinate system. The control circuit is further configured to control placement of the robot arm based on the estimate of the transformation function.

A motion control method includes: acquiring a current state parameter of a robot in response to determining that the robot is in a single-foot supporting state; and determining, based on a first preset function and a preset angular momentum value, the position of the centroid of the robot relative to a swing foot at an end moment of the current single-foot supporting state according to the current state parameter of the robot, such that an angular momentum of the centroid relative to the support foot at an end moment of a next single-foot supporting state reaches the angular momentum value, and controlling the robot to walk according to the position of the centroid of the robot relative to the swing foot at the end moment of the current single-foot supporting state.