End effectors for use with a robotic object-gripping system, and related systems and methods, are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the end effector includes a first mounting structure, a force sensor coupled to the first mounting structure, a second mounting structure coupled to the force sensor, and a gripper assembly coupled to the second mounting structure. The force sensor is beneath the longitudinal plane and is configured to measure forces along a vertical axis. The end effector also includes a first bracket coupled to the first mounting structure and a second bracket coupled to the second mounting structure. The first and second brackets are configured to connect to the connection tubes to isolate the connection tubes, and any forces therein, to a longitudinal direction between the first bracket and the second bracket, thereby reducing the noise on the force sensor from the connection tubes during operation.

A touch sensation sensor is mounted to a hand part of a robot and includes: an obtaining means, obtaining at least one of visual sensation information, which is target object information relating to a target object operated by using the hand part, and touch sensation information, which is the target object information at a time when the target object operated by using the hand part is gripped; and a control device, changing a sensitivity mode of the touch sensation sensor in accordance with the target object information that is obtained.

A robotic system includes a support structure, a motor mount assembly, first and second parallel chains, a serial translation assembly, a sensor and a control module. The motor mount assembly includes rotary motors, where the rotary motors include a first rotary motor and a second rotary motor. The first and second parallel chains are connected to the movable platform, the rotary motors and the motor mount assembly. The serial translation assembly is connected to the supporting structure and the motor mount assembly and includes a linear actuator and a third rotary motor. The sensor is connected to the movable platform and detects force applied by a human operator on the movable platform and generates a signal indicative of the force applied. The control module controls the rotary motors and the third rotary motor based on the signal to assist the human operator in moving the movable platform.

A method for controlling a robot includes applying a setpoint force to a contact point; measuring a contact stiffness at the contact point; and slowing down the moving robot using its drives and/or braking the robot to apply the setpoint force to the contact point by the slowing down and/or slowed down robot depending on the measured contact stiffness, wherein the robot is slowed down before the setpoint force is reached.

Robotic systems and methods employ a virtual simulation wherein a tool is represented as a virtual volume adapted to interact relative to a virtual boundary defined by a mesh of polygonal elements. A reactive force is computed in response to penetration of one of the polygonal elements by the virtual volume in the virtual simulation. The reactive force is computed as a function of a volume of a penetrating portion of the virtual volume that is penetrating a plane of the polygonal element. The reactive force is applied to the virtual volume in the virtual simulation for reducing penetration of the polygonal element by the virtual volume.

In an embodiment, a method for handling an order includes determining a plurality of ingredients based on an order, received from a user over a network, for a location having a plurality of robots. The method further includes planning at least one trajectory for at least one robot based on the plurality of ingredients and utensils available at the location, and proximity of each ingredient and utensil to the at least one robot. Each trajectory can be configured to move one of the plurality of ingredients into a container associated with the order. In an embodiment, the method includes executing the at least one trajectory by the at least one robot to fulfill the order. In an embodiment, the method includes moving the container to a pickup area.

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.

The present disclosure relates to a method for generating a novel impedance configuration for a three-degree-of-freedom (3DOF) leg of a hydraulically-driven legged robot. The method includes: separately determining variations of input signals of an inner position-based control loop and an inner force-based control loop of a hydraulic drive unit of each joint based on an obtained mathematical model; generating a novel impedance configuration in which position-based control is performed on a hydraulic drive unit of a hip joint, and force-based control is performed on hydraulic drive units of a knee joint and an ankle joint in a hydraulic drive system of the leg of a to-be-controlled robot; and performing forward calculation by using the leg mathematical model, to obtain an actual position and a force variation of the foot of the leg of the to-be-controlled robot to control motion of the foot of the to-be-controlled robot within motion space.

A direct force feedback control method as well as a controller and a robot using the same are provided. The method includes: obtaining an actual position and an actual speed of an end of the robotic arm and an actual external force acting on the end in a Cartesian space; calculating an impedance control component of the end in the Cartesian space based on the obtained actual position, the obtained actual speed, the obtained actual external force, an expected position, an expected speed, and an expected acceleration of the end; calculating a force control component of the end in the Cartesian space based on an expected interaction force acting on the end, the actual external force, and the actual speed; determining whether the actual external force is larger than a preset threshold, and obtaining a total force control quantity of the end of the robotic arm in the Cartesian space.

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.