An example robotic tool holder includes an actuator that is disposed within a housing and configured to hold a tool. The housing and the actuator are in contact via dowels to limit movement of the actuator toward a distal end of the housing. Ones of the dowels that are in contact are in line contact and the ones of the dowels that are in contact are in a triangular geometry. The pressure plate is in line contact with the actuator within the housing around a circumference of the pressure plate. The springs are in contact with the pressure plate to bias the actuator toward a proximal end of the housing via the pressure plate. The springs are in contact with the mounting plate opposite the pressure plate. The sensor switch detects a shock force on the actuator and outputs a signal in response to the shock force.

There is provided a method and an apparatus for controlling a robot arm. In this control scheme, a position error indicating a deviation between a command position, which is a control target position, and a current position, which is a position where the arm of the robot is currently located, is acquired. When the acquired position error exceeds a threshold, a new corrected command position between the current position and the command position is set. After the arm of the robot is moved to the corrected command position, a new corrected command position reset between the corrected command position serving as a new current position and the command position. Reconfiguration of a corrected command position is iterated until a current position of the robot arm becomes equal to the command position so that movement of the robot arm is achieved from the current position to the command position.

Provided is a robot system that can accurately sense contact between an arm of a robot or an instrument attached to the arm and another object. The robot system includes: a robot main body 22 and a robot control unit 21, the robot main body 22 including: a motor 8; a deceleration device 19 connected to a motor shaft 17 of the motor 8; an arm 15 connected to an output shaft 16 of the deceleration device 19; a motor shaft-side angular sensor 1 capable of detecting an angle of rotation of the motor shaft 17 of the motor 8; and an output shaft-side angular sensor 2 capable of detecting an angle of rotation of the output shaft 16 of the deceleration device 19, and the robot control unit 21 being configured to detect a contact state between the arm 15 or an instrument attached to the arm 15 and another object, based on a motor shaft-side rotation angle detected by the motor shaft-side angular sensor 1, an output shaft-side rotation angle detected by the output-side angular sensor 2, and an angular sensor misalignment correction value for the motor shaft-side angular sensor 1 and the output shaft-side angular sensor 2.

A displacement measurement device includes a first structure, a second structure, and a coupling portion configured to couple the first structure with the second structure. The first structure includes a first sensor configured to generate an electrical signal corresponding to displacement between a first attachment portion of the first structure and a second attachment portion of the second structure in the at least one first direction. The second structure includes a second sensor configured to generate an electrical signal corresponding to displacement between the first attachment portion and the second attachment portion in the at least one second direction.

A robot arm control device includes a pressure sensing module, a workspace defining module and a control module. The pressure sensing module, arranged on a robot arm, detects whether an object hits or touches the robot arm to switch the operating mode of the robot arm. The workspace defining module includes a sensing region arranged on a peripheral area around the robot arm. The workspace defining module determines whether the object enters an operating space according to the position of the object in the sensing region, and sets the working range and the working mode of the robot arm according to which operating space the object has entered. The control module, connected to the robot arm, the pressure sensing module and the workspace defining module, switches the operating mode and outputs a motor driving signal to the robot arm according to the working mode of the robot arm.

A compliant robot includes a base and a compliant robot arm. The compliant robot arm includes a first quasi-direct drive assembly operatively connected to said base such that said compliant robot arm has at least one degree of freedom for motion relative to said base. The first quasi-direct drive assembly provides passive compliance such that said compliant robot arm has a back-drivable mode of operation for interactions between said compliant robot arm and an environment.

A robot includes a robot main body having a platform and a robot arm displaced with respect to the platform, a vibration sensor provided to the robot main body to detect a vibration of the robot main body, a collision detection section configured to detect a collision between the robot main body and a physical object based on an output from the vibration sensor, wherein the collision detection section includes a first detection section configured to detect the collision based on a vibration signal output from the vibration sensor, and a second detection section configured to detect the collision based on an extracted vibration signal obtained by extracting a vibration component with a frequency not lower than a first predetermined value from the vibration signal.

The method and a device are for protecting persons and stationary or autonomously moving obstacles in front of stationary or autonomously moving handling apparatuses such as manufacturing, transport, inspection or service robots and their manipulators from collisions within their workspace by pressure sensors in protective covers filled with medium in such a manner that the medium is not supplied to each individual protective element from outside, but the protective elements in their interior, in addition to a pressure sensor, also comprise a pressure-increasing device, which sucks in the medium, preferably ambient air, and generates a pressure in the interior of the protective element, which is adjustable from a control device.

A robotic tool has a longitudinal shaft, defining a longitudinal axis when the shaft is in a default, centered position. A lockout rod is moveable between first and second positions. In the first position, the lockout rod allows the longitudinal shaft to move with 360 radial degrees of compliance about the longitudinal axis. In the second position, the lockout rod limits compliance of the longitudinal shaft to only one radial angle from the longitudinal axis. In one embodiment the lockout rod is positioned adjacent (e.g., above or below) part of one ring of a 2-axis concentric ring gimbal. The lockout rod is shaped so as to not contact any part of the gimbal in the first position, allowing compliance in a full 360 radial degrees. In the second position, the lockout rod limits the motion of one ring of the gimbal, limiting compliance of the shaft to motion of the other ring, which is necessarily limited to only one radial angle. In one embodiment the lockout rod is shaped and position such that it moves between the first and second positions by rotational motion about its own longitudinal axis.

Provided is a sensor device having a structure, with which the use of a simple structure enables accurate detection of a worker, etc. approaching or contacting a moving part of an automatic device. This sensor device detects the approach or contact of a detection target with a mobile moving part that is provided in an automatic device. The moving part is provided with a first sensor and second sensor for detecting the approach or contact of the detection target. The first sensor and second sensor have the same detection principle and the detection circuit of the first sensor and the detection circuit of the second sensor have the same structure.