Certain examples are directed to an apparatus having a stretchable synthetic membrane material and series of patterned conductive or semiconductive sections. The stretchable synthetic membrane material may be provided with the series of patterned sections being integrated in or against the material (e.g., on similarly-configured robotic digits operating as a pair). One or more of these sections are electrically coupled to sensor circuitry which may also be secured to or embedded in the material. As the apparatus moves relative to an external object, various environmental parameters may be sensed via at least one sensor as the object and the digit(s) approach one another. Depending on how the sensor circuitry is configured, such parameters may include one or more of proximity, capacitance, temperature, impedance, contact with the object, and movement of the robotic member relative to the external object.

A robot includes a body on which is mounted a functional head also including a capacitive detector, including: at least one electrical insulator in order to electrically insulate the functional head; at least one apparatus for electrically polarizing the functional head at a first alternating electrical potential (V.sub.g), different from a ground potential; at least one guard polarized at an alternating guard potential (V.sub.G) identical to the first alternating electrical potential; and at least one electronics, called detection electronics, for measuring a signal relating to a coupling capacitance, called electrode-object capacitance, between the sensitive part and a surrounding object.

An operating device configured to operate in a work space, the operating device including: a robot arm, which includes a succession of arm elements mounted on one another in a rotatable way about respective axes of rotation and which carries an operating unit on its end; and at least one presence sensor prearranged for detecting the presence of an operator. The device includes a positioning system, including a support by which the at least one presence sensor is carried and which is mounted on an arm element of the robot arm, according to a pre-set orientation and in such a way as to be orientable with respect to the arm element, and wherein the positioning system further includes a positioning unit prearranged for rotating the support with respect to the arm element, as a result of a movement of the robot arm, so as to keep the pre-set orientation of the support unchanged.

Provided are a method of controlling a mobile robot, apparatus for supporting the method, and delivery system using the mobile robot. The method, which is performed by a control apparatus, comprises acquiring a first control value for the mobile robot, which is input through a remote control apparatus, acquiring a second control value for the mobile robot, which is generated by an autonomous driving module, determining a weight for each control value based on a delay between the mobile robot and the remote control apparatus and generating a target control value of the mobile robot in combination of the first control value and the second control value based on the determined weights, wherein a first weight for the first control value and a second weight for the second control value are inversely proportional to each other.

The present invention provides a treatment method for treating a surface for treatment by means of an automaton (1) comprising: a base (2) configured to move over ground; a platform (6) mounted on the base and configured to move, at least in part, perpendicularly to the base; and treatment means (10) mounted on the platform and including a movable end (12) configured to treat a given area; the method comprising: a) subdividing the surface for treatment into subdivisions of area less than or equal to the given area; b) treating the surface of each subdivision by controlling movements of the treatment means (10); and c) changing subdivision by moving the platform (6) and/or by moving the base (2) over the ground. The invention also provides an automaton for performing the above method.

A mechanical arm includes a first link connectable to a surface, a second link, a third link, a fourth link, and a fifth link that are coupled to one another in series, and an end effector connectable to the fifth link. The end effector is rotatable about an axis of rotation same as an axis of rotation of the fourth link, and rotatable about an axis of rotation orthogonal to the axis of rotation of the fourth link. The first link, the second link, the third link, the fourth link, and the fifth link are collectively structured and configured to rotate such that the end effector is actuatable to a workspace under the surface.

The present invention relates to a self-moving device (100). The self-moving device (100) includes a body (20), a walking mechanism (40) disposed on the body (20) and configured to drive the self-moving device (100) to walk, a connecting arm (60) connected to the body (20), and a control module (11) configured to control the walking mechanism (40) to drive the self-moving device (100) to walk within a defined area. The connecting arm (60) is selectively connected to at least one of at least two working heads (200) configured to perform different work tasks. The connecting arm (60) includes a connecting structure (64) configured to be connected to the working head (200) and a connecting component (62) configured to connect the connecting structure (64) to the body (20).

An end effector for a robotic sanding system includes a sanding head including a sander configured to sand a surface of a workpiece. A motor is operatively coupled to the sander. The motor is configured to rotate the sander to sand the surface of the workpiece. The motor includes a first central longitudinal axis. A coupler is configured to removably secure the end effector to an attachment interface of an arm of the robotic sanding system. The coupler includes a second central longitudinal axis. The first central longitudinal axis is offset from the second central longitudinal axis. One or more sensors are coupled to the sanding head. The one or more sensors are configured to detect presence of a metal within the predefined range.

Provided is a balancer including: a housing that is attached to one of a first member and a second member that is rotationally driven with respect to the first member about a rotation axis in a robot including the first member and the second member, so as to be rotatable, by means of first bearings, about a first attachment axis parallel to the rotation axis; a rod that has one end attached to an other another one of the first member and the second member so as to be rotatable, by means of a second bearing, about a second attachment axis parallel to the rotation axis; a force generating means that generates a force in a direction in which the rod is drawn into the housing or in a direction in which the rod is pushed out of the housing; and a sensor that detects a positional relationship between the housing and the rod in a direction orthogonal to the first attachment axis and the second attachment axis.

A method of performing location teaching of a robotic arm includes maneuvering an end of arm tooling of a robotic arm to a predefined position of an interface object. The robotic arm is mounted within a mounting site of a mechanical mounting structure. The interface object is positioned on a sub-system of a medication dosing system that is mounted on the mechanical mounting structure. The interface object includes an alignment feature of a known size and shape. A sensor of the end of arm tooling is engaged with the interface object. An offset between the sensor and the interface object is determined based on an interaction between the sensor and the alignment feature. A position of the end of arm tooling is incremented with respect to the interface object along at least one axis. An actual position of the interface object is determined relative to the robotic arm.