Harvesting tools are disclosed which may comprise a gripper including a set of finger elements constructed and arranged to envelop a target object pertaining to agricultural produce, and a manipulator carriage configured to actuate the gripper during operation to grasp the target object. Related systems and methods are also disclosed.

Systems, methods, and apparatus for tracking location of an inspection robot are disclosed. An example apparatus for tracking inspection data may include an inspection chassis having a plurality of inspection sensors configured to interrogate an inspection surface, a first drive module and a second drive module, both coupled to the inspection chassis. The first and second drive module may each include a passive encoder wheel and a non-contact sensor positioned in proximity to the passive encoder wheel, wherein the non-contact sensor provides a movement value corresponding to the first passive encoder wheel. An inspection position circuit may determine a relative position of the inspection chassis in response to the movement values from the first and second drive modules.

A robotic system for fueling or charging a vehicle having a vehicle connector, the robotic system including a robotic arm having a plurality of sequentially arranged articulated links and at least one group of operating cables extending from a proximal end of the arm to terminate at a control link, for controlling the position of that link, the cables each having a path comprising a passage in each successive more proximal link for closely receiving the cable, a flexible conduit operably connected with the robotic arm for delivering a fluid or an electrical current, respectively, to a vehicle, the conduit being connected to a source at a first end and a delivery connector at a second end, and a control system for operating the robotic arm and the hose or cable, wherein the control system directs the robotic arm to engage the vehicle connector with the delivery connector and, upon engagement of the vehicle connector and delivery connector, the control system relaxes the robotic arm to an under-constrained condition.

A surgical drill bit for bone drilling and for determining a characteristic of a drilling medium from a characteristic of fluid flow. The surgical drill bit includes a shank portion for coupling to a drill chuck. The shank portion defines a proximal opening. The surgical drill bit also includes a drilling portion for drilling through bone. A distal cutting region (62) of the drilling portion includes a rake surface (66), a clearance surface (68), and a flank surface (70). The flank surface (70) defines a distal opening (72) and is configured to abut the bone such that the distal opening is occluded by the bone while the rake surface is cutting into the bone. The shank and drilling portions collectively define an inner channel in fluid communication with the proximal and distal openings. The distal opening is occluded by the bone during drilling to establish fluid pressure within the inner channel.

The control system is a control system that controls a connection between an autonomous mobile robot and a base station, the control system including: a radio communication unit that communicates with the base station; and a connection control unit that performs control, in a connection of communication performed by the radio communication unit, when a radio wave shielding object which the autonomous mobile robot is able to pass through is on a path along which the autonomous mobile robot is to move, so that the autonomous mobile robot is prompted to connect to a predetermined base station of which a received radio wave intensity at a position on the path in front of the shielding object is affected by the shielding object.

A control method of a robot, the robot including a first member, a second member connected to the first member, a drive device configured to rotate or slide the second member with respect to the first member, and an end effector connected to the second member, wherein posture of the end effector is changed by drive of the drive device, the robot control method includes detecting, based on an output signal from an inertial sensor disposed on the end effector, a gravity influence amount indicating a degree of influence of gravity received by the end effector, determining, based on the detected gravity influence amount, a drive algorithm for the drive device from among a plurality of drive modes, and driving the drive device by the determined drive algorithm.

A user system for a robotic surgical system, the user system including a handheld groundless user interface device configured to control the robotic surgical system, and a user console. The user console includes a seat and a first adjustable, ergonomic arm support linkage coupled to the seat, in which the first arm support linkage is movable between a folded storage configuration and at least one unfolded use configuration corresponding to at least one of a user characteristic and a surgical task characteristic. The at least one unfolded use configuration may be pre-stored in a database.

The present disclosure provides a method for controlling end-portions of a robot. The method includes obtaining joint information of a robot by at least one sensor and determining a first posture of an end-portion of the robot in accordance with the joint information, obtaining end-portion information of the robot by the sensor and obtaining the second posture of the end-portion of the robot including the interference information in accordance with the end-portion information of the robot and the first posture of the end-portion of the robot, and conducting a closed-loop control on the robot in accordance with an error between the second posture of the end-portion of the robot and a predetermined expected posture of the end-portion of the robot.

An apparatus and method for aligning two coaxially coupled rotatable shafts. A servo operated multi axis positioning device is movable along a longitudinal axis parallel to the axis of the shafts, and movable vertically to position a laser range (LRF) adjacent to the two shafts, which measures the distance between the LRF and a spot on the shafts. A controller having a processor and memory communicates with the positioning device and the LRF to collect data at two axial positions on each shaft. At each position the LRF measures the distance to the shaft and stores the measurement and location data. The LRF is vertically repositioned and the measurement and storing steps are repeated over a scan distance sufficient to provide enough data to determine the location of the shaft center. The processor then calculates and compares the shafts centerlines and determines the necessary adjustments needed to move the shafts into coaxial alignment.

A sensing manipulator of an articulated arm is disclosed. The sensing manipulator includes a compliant section and a movement detection system provided along a first direction of the compliant section such that movement of the compliant section along both the first direction and at least one direction transverse to said first direction, are detectable by the movement detection system.