The brake driving control circuit, which controls an electromagnetic brake that releases the brake by applying a current, is provided with: a first rectifying element provided between a first power supply of a first circuit voltage and one terminal of the electromagnetic brake; a cut-off switch inserted into a line through which the first power supply supplies power; a first switching element provided between the other terminal of the electromagnetic brake and a ground point; and a second switching element and a second rectifying element provided in series between a second power supply of a second circuit voltage, which is different from the first circuit voltage, and the one terminal of the electromagnetic brake.

A trajectory generation device generates a trajectory of a robot for conveying an object. A path condition acquisition unit acquires path condition information including at least coordinates of a first via point which is a position of a reference point of a suction nozzle of the robot when the suction nozzle comes into contact with the object, and a velocity, an acceleration, and a jerk of the suction nozzle at the first via point. A pressurization distance and coordinate calculation unit calculates coordinates of a second via point which is a position of the reference point when the suction nozzle is pushed into the object, based on the path condition information; and a trajectory generation unit generates the trajectory of the suction nozzle which satisfies the path condition information and reaches an end point from a predetermined start point via the first via point and the second via point.

A control device includes a second-control-signal generating section configured to reduce a predetermined frequency component from a first control signal for performing operation for moving a movable section of the robot to generate a second control signal and a storing section having stored therein reference information including information concerning combinations of ranges of positions of a control point of the robot and frequencies. The second-control-signal generating section determines, based on a position of the control point of the robot in the operation, with reference to the reference information, a frequency component to be reduced from the first control signal.

An example method may include i) detecting a disturbance to a gait of a robot, where the gait includes a swing state and a step down state, the swing state including a target swing trajectory for a foot of the robot, and where the target swing trajectory includes a beginning and an end; and ii) based on the detected disturbance, causing the foot of the robot to enter the step down state before the foot reaches the end of the target swing trajectory.

A method of assembling a secondary component to a primary component comprises grasping a primary component with a first end-of-arm tool, wherein the first end-of-arm tool is attached to a first robot arm and grasping a secondary component with a second end-of-arm tool, wherein the second end-of-arm tool is attached to a second robot arm. Moving the primary component to an interfacing position, wherein interfacing surfaces on the primary component are presented at a proper position and orientation for the secondary component to be attached thereto. Moving the second end-of-arm tool to bring the secondary component into engagement with the interface surfaces of the primary component, and forming a joint between the primary component and the secondary component with a joining tool attached to a joining robot arm.

A robot system which includes a manipulator, slave arm, an output device, a storage device and a control device. Control device is configured, after a given first process, to output to the output device an inquiry of asking which operating mode among three operating modes of an automatic operation mode, manual operation mode, and hybrid operation mode the slave arm is to be operated in a second process, and execute first operation processing in which, when selected information for instructing the operating mode selected from the three operating modes is inputted, the selected information is stored in the storage device, and second operation processing in which, when the number of times that first selected information is stored in the storage device becomes equal to or more than a first threshold number of times, the selected operating mode is outputted to the output device after the first process is ended.

Robot system includes robot main body including robot arm, end effector attached to robot arm, and force sensing device detecting force applied to end effector's tip end, actual reaction-force information generator generating force-sensing information according to force detected by force sensing device, and output force-sensing information as actual reaction-force information, virtual reaction-force information generator outputting force component detected by force sensing device, that has a magnitude proportional to time differentiation value, as virtual reaction-force information, adder configured to output information obtained by adding actual reaction-force information outputted from actual reaction-force information generator to virtual reaction-force information outputted from virtual reaction-force information generator, as synthetic reaction-force information, operating device outputting, when operator is made to sense a force according to synthetic reaction-force information outputted from adder and operator operates, operating information according to operation, and motion controller controlling robot main body's operation according to operating information outputted from operating device.

An articulated arm system is disclosed that includes an articulated arm including an end effector, and a robotic arm control systems including at least one sensor for sensing at least one of the position, movement or acceleration of the articulated arm, and a main controller for providing computational control of the articulated arm, and an on-board controller for providing, responsive to the at least one sensor, a motion signal that directly controls at least a portion of the articulated arm.

A method and device for the control and regulation of actuators of a robot, taking environmental contacts into consideration, wherein the robot comprises at least two parts, which are connected by an articulated joint drivable by an actuator. The method comprises: by way of a sensor system, ascertaining and storing a time-dependent variable, as a function of the time, of one or more external contact forces and/or of one or more external moments on the parts, providing a condition for the variable, classifying the feature vector based on predefined categories, which each indicate a contact type between one of the parts or the articulated joint and an object in a surrounding environment, which are each imparted by corresponding external contact forces and/or external contact moments, to generate a classification result, and open-loop and/or closed-loop control of the actuator as a function of the classification result.

Methods for characterizing living plants, wherein one or more beams of penetrating radiation such as x-rays are scanned across the plant under field conditions. Compton scatter is detected from the living plant and processed to derive characteristics of the living plant such as water content, root structure, branch structure, xylem size, fruit size, fruit shape, fruit aggregate volume, cluster size and shape, fruit maturity and an image of a part of the plant. Ground water content is measured using the same technique. Compton backscatter is used to guide a robotic gripper to grasp a portion of the plant such as for harvesting a fruit.