The present approach relates to integrated planning of robot navigation and manipulator motion in performing tasks. In particular, as discussed herein sensor information, such as visual information, may be used for the robot to locate a target object when it arrives at a working location. Adjustments may be made based on this information that may include moving the robot and planning a manipulator arm motion.

A surgical system uses a single entry port in a wide variety of surgeries. To insert multiple surgical instruments into a patient through a single entry port requires that the shaft of at least one of the surgical instruments be bent between the base of the surgical instrument and the point where the shaft contacts a channel in an entry guide. Each surgical instrument is positioned by an instrument manipulator positioning system so that when the shaft is inserted in a channel of the entry guide, any bending of the shaft does not damage the surgical instrument and does not inhibit proper operation of the surgical instrument.

Exemplary embodiments relate to improvements in robotic systems to reduce biological or chemical harborage points on the systems. For example, in exemplary embodiments, robotic actuators, hubs, or entire robotic systems may be configured to allow crevices along joints or near fasteners to be reduced or eliminated, hard corners to be replaced with rounded edges, certain components or harborage points to be eliminated, shapes to be reconfigured to be smoother or flat, and/or or surfaces to be reconfigurable for simpler cleaning.

Method comprising: designing a gear in a software-based computer-aided manner in order to obtain a function-oriented geometry, using a software-based computer-aided method for ascertaining a theoretically producible gear geometry corresponding to or an approximation of the function-oriented geometry, providing production data representing the theoretically producible geometry, machining a gear using the production data in a CNC-controlled processing machine, measuring the gear to obtain an actual data set of the gear, carrying out a comparison of the actual data set with the production data in order to ascertain at least one correction variable, using the correction variable in order to ascertain corrected production data from the production data or carry out a machining correction in the processing machine, and post-machining the gear using the machining correction or using the corrected production data in order to machine at least one additional gear in the processing machine.

There is provided a robot hand that grips and positions a work with a certain gripping force, and that rapidly conveys the work to execute assembling after gripping the work.

A workpiece gripping device includes a base body and a pair of finger units configured to grip a workpiece. A first finger unit of the pair of finger units includes a scoop member configured to reciprocate in the direction of the arrow Z relative to the base body and rotate on a plane perpendicular to the direction of the arrow Z. A second finger unit of the pair of finger units includes a pressing member configured to reciprocate in the direction of the arrow X and rotate on a plane perpendicular to the direction of the arrow Z.

Reconfigurable soft robotic actuators with hard components are described. Magnetic attraction is used to couple flexible molded bodies capable of actuation upon pressurization with other flexible molded bodies and/or with hard components (e.g., frames and connectors) to form a seal for fluidic communication and cooperative actuation. Pneumatic de-coupling chambers built into the hard components to de-couple the hard components from the magnetically-coupled soft molded bodies are described. The use of magnetic self-alignment coupling and pneumatic de-coupling allows for the remote assembly and disassembly of complex structures involving hard and soft components. The magnetic coupling allows for rapid, reversible reconfiguration of hybrid soft-hard robots for repair, testing new designs, and carrying out new tasks.

Exemplary embodiments relate to improvements in robotic systems to reduce biological or chemical harborage points on the systems. For example, in exemplary embodiments, robotic actuators, hubs, or entire robotic systems may be configured to allow crevices along joints or near fasteners to be reduced or eliminated, hard corners to be replaced with rounded edges, certain components or harborage points to be eliminated, shapes to be reconfigured to be smoother or flat, and/or or surfaces to be reconfigurable for simpler cleaning.

A position estimation method capable of quickly estimating a position of an end of a cylindrical object. A holding-robot controller includes a correction control amount computation part configured to output a correction control amount of a position and a posture of a holding tool so as to reduce the chuck width. The position estimation method includes: a step of causing a pair of clamping claws to approach each other in a reference position and a reference posture to temporarily hold an engine damper; a step of correcting the position and the posture of the holding tool using a correction control amount; a step of causing the pair of clamping claws to approach each other in the position and the posture after the position/posture correction step to temporarily re-hold the engine damper; and an end position estimation step of estimating end position coordinates of the engine damper.

A surgical system uses a single entry port in a wide variety of surgeries. To insert multiple surgical instruments into a patient through a single entry port requires that the shaft of at least one of the surgical instruments be bent between the base of the surgical instrument and the point where the shaft contacts a channel in an entry guide. Each surgical instrument is positioned by an instrument manipulator positioning system so that when the shaft is inserted in a channel of the entry guide, any bending of the shaft does not damage the surgical instrument and does not inhibit proper operation of the surgical instrument.