An automatic wheel changer robot has a includes a drive assembly, a torque gun, a sensor assembly, and a controller. The drive assembly has a mobile base and two wheel-clamping assemblies, each configured to engage a wheel. The controller generates a set of instructions based, at least in part, on information obtained from the sensor assembly. The drive assembly uses the set of instructions to cooperatively remove respective wheels from respective hubs on a vehicle and/or attach respective wheels to respective hubs on a vehicle. The device may have lidar sensors and Mecanum wheels that the controller is programmed to use to move between respective hubs and wheel storage locations install wheels, replace wheels, rotate tires, and perform similar operations.

A robot end effector for surface preparation in an automated inspection and repair system for composite parts has an end effector body and a plasma control unit and a plasma jet nozzle supported on the end effector body. The plasma control unit directs a jet of atmospheric plasma through the plasma jet nozzle. A slave tool changer is secured to the end effector body. The slave tool changer releasably and operatively connects the robot end effector to an industrial robot such that the industrial robot can move the robot end effector along a composite part as the plasma control unit directs a jet of atmospheric plasma through the plasma jet nozzle toward the composite part to clean the composite part and increase a surface free energy of the composite part.

The present disclosure provides a redundant robotic arm control method, a redundant robotic arm, and a computer readable storage medium. The method includes: obtaining an external force acting on an end of the robotic arm and an external torque acting on each joint; calculating a first joint speed of each joint based on a degree of influence of the joint on the end in each motion dimension and the external force acting on the end; determining a zero space speed of each joint corresponding to a current position of the end based on a link torque of an external force acting on a link with respect to the joint; calculating a total joint speed based on the first joint speed and the zero space speed; and controlling the robotic arm to the move according to the total joint speed.

The disclosure relates to systems and methods for determining and adjusting an allowable maximum speed of a machine for movement in a workspace. One or more sensors monitoring the workspace are arranged to obtain a three-dimensional view of the workspace. Raw data from each of the sensors is acquired and analyzed to determine the positioning and spatial relationship between the human and machine as both move throughout the workspace. This captured data is analyzed to determine a safety protocol that includes a maximum allowable speed for each of various axes of movements for the machine, wherein the safety protocol decreases the maximum allowable speed of the machine only along the one or more axes of movement where the movement of the machine approaches the human.

A self-contained truck-mounted brick laying machine can include a frame that can support packs or pallets of bricks placed on a platform. A transfer robot can pick up and move the brick(s). A carousel can be coaxial with a tower. The carousel can transfer the brick(s) via the tower to an articulated and/or telescoping boom. The bricks can be moved along the boom by, e.g., linearly moving shuttles, to reach a brick laying and adhesive applying head. The brick laying and adhesive applying head can mount to an element of the stick, about an axis which is disposed horizontally. The poise of the brick laying and adhesive applying head about the axis can be adjusted and can be set in use so that the base of a clevis of the robotic arm mounts about a horizontal axis, and the tracker component is disposed uppermost on the brick laying and adhesive applying head. The brick laying and adhesive applying head can apply adhesive to the brick and can have a robot that lays the brick. Vision and laser scanning and tracking systems can be provided to allow the measurement of as-built slabs, bricks, the monitoring and adjustment of the process and the monitoring of safety zones. The first, or any course of bricks can have the bricks pre machined by the router module so that the top of the course is level once laid.

There is provided a glove donning device that includes (a) a hollow tube having an annular opening, (b) a vacuum head configured to acquire a glove having an opening, (c) a pair of hooks, (d) a first transporter configured to move the vacuum head and the glove towards the pair of hooks so that the pair of hooks is inserted into the opening of the glove, (e) a hook actuator configured to move the pair of hooks apart after the pair of hooks is inserted in the opening of the glove, and (f) a second transporter configured to (i) move the pair of hooks and the glove towards the hollow tube, and (ii) move the pair of hooks to position the glove opening over the annular opening of the hollow tube.

A clothes separating device and a clothes processing apparatus including the clothes separating device according to this disclosure are provided with a separator that operates to grip clothes in a washing tub and to separate, from the gripped clothes, another item of clothes entwined with the gripped clothes. In this manner, a user does not need to separate a plurality of individual items of clothes before folding the clothes. Hence, it is possible to provide the clothes separating device that contributes to reducing a burden of work related to laundry and a clothes processing apparatus including the clothes separating device.

A coordinate positioning machine that includes: a structure moveable within a working volume of the machine, a hexapod metrology arrangement for measuring the position of the structure within the working volume, and a non-hexapod drive arrangement for moving the structure around the working volume. Also, a coordinate positioning machine including a structure moveable within a working volume of the machine, a drive arrangement for moving the structure around the working volume in fewer than six degrees of freedom, and a metrology arrangement for measuring the position of the structure within the working volume in more degrees of freedom than the drive arrangement.

A system includes a robot with a robot arm having multiple joints and an end effector to carry a substrate. A processing device is to build, with respect to a joint space for the multiple joints and the end effector, a graph of reachable positions and sub-paths between the reachable positions, wherein the reachable positions and the sub-paths satisfy Cartesian limits within the joint space. The processing device is to determine, by executing a graph optimization algorithm on the graph, multiple paths, each made up of a group of the sub-paths and having one of a shortest distance or a lowest cost between a start point and an end point of the end effector. The processing device is to select a path, of the multiple paths, through the graph that minimizes a move time of the end effector between the start point and the end point.

A slide rack gripper apparatus is provided that simultaneously conveys a plurality of glass slides in the protection of a slide rack within a digital slide scanning apparatus. The slide rack gripper apparatus conveys the plurality of glass slides from a slide rack carousel to a scanning stage for processing. The slide rack gripper includes a first motor attached to a base configured to drive a finger mount attached to the base along a first linear axis. The slide rack gripper apparatus also includes a second motor attached to the finger mount and configured to drive opposing gripper fingers attached to the finger mount along a second linear axis. The second motor is also configured to drive individual gripper fingers along a third linear axis to move the gripper fingers toward each other and away from each other to grasp or release a slide rack.