A synthetic representation of a robot tool for display on a user interface of a robotic system. The synthetic representation may be used to show the position of a view volume of an image capture device with respect to the robot. The synthetic representation may also be used to find a tool that is outside of the field of view, to display range of motion limits for a tool, to remotely communicate information about the robot, and to detect collisions.

A manufacturing system includes: a coordinate positioning machine having a structure moveable within a working volume of the machine, a drive arrangement for moving the structure around the working volume, and a positioning arrangement for determining the position of the structure within the working volume with a first accuracy; and a metrology arrangement to which the machine is removably couplable, such that when the machine is coupled to the metrology arrangement, with the structure being moved by the drive arrangement, the metrology arrangement is able to measure the position of the structure with a second accuracy that is higher than the first accuracy.

A system includes a pose manipulation system operationally that sets a pose of a position measurement system with respect to an object that is to be measured. The system further includes a pose tracking system configured to record a relative pose between a coordinate system associated with the position measurement system and a coordinate system of the object. The pose tracking system records a path along which the position measurement system is enabled to measure 3D coordinates of a surface of a type of an object, wherein recording the path comprises moving the pose manipulation system sequentially through a plurality of poses and recording, at each pose, the relative pose to measure the 3D coordinates. The pose manipulation system follows the path again, and the position measurement system measures the 3D coordinates by applying one or more of the recorded poses.

A positioning system using a robot, capable of eliminating an error factor of the robot such as thermal expansion or backlash can be eliminated, and carrying out positioning of the robot with accuracy higher than inherent positioning accuracy of the robot. The positioning system has a robot with a movable arm, visual feature portions provided to a robot hand, and vision sensors positioned at a fixed position outside the robot and configured to capture the feature portions. The hand is configured to grip an object on which the feature portions are formed, and the vision sensors are positioned and configured to capture the respective feature portions.

A synthetic representation of a tool for display on a user interface of a robotic system. The synthetic representation may be used to show force on the tool, an actual position of the tool, or to show the location of the tool when out of a field of view. A three-dimensional pointer is also provided for a viewer in the surgeon console of a telesurgical system.

A lab automation system receives an instruction from a user to perform a protocol within a lab via an interface including a graphical representation of the lab. The lab includes a robot and set of equipment rendered within the graphical representation of the lab. The lab automation system identifies an ambiguous term of the instruction and pieces of equipment corresponding to the ambiguous term and modifies the interface to include a predictive text interface element listing the pieces of equipment. Upon a mouseover of a listed piece of equipment within the predictive text interface element, the lab automation system modifies the graphical representation of the lab to highlight the listed piece of equipment corresponding to the mouseover. Upon a selection of the listed piece of equipment within the predictive text interface element, the lab automation system modifies the instruction to include the listed piece of equipment.

An abnormality detection method of an encoder includes an output step, a control step, an information acquisition step, and an abnormality determination step. The abnormality determination step compares command position information with detection position information of a motor calculated based on an output signal, and determines that the encoder is abnormal in a case where a difference between the command position information and the detection position information of the motor is equal to or more than a predetermined value.

Systems and methods for calibrating the location of an end effector-carrying apparatus relative to successive workpieces before the start of a production manufacturing operation. The location calibration is performed using a positioning system. These disclosed methodologies allow an operator to program (or teach) the robot motion path once and reuse that path for subsequent structures by using relative location feedback from a measurement system to adjust the position and orientation offset of the robot relative to the workpiece. When each subsequent workpiece comes into the robotic workcell, its location (i.e., position and orientation) relative to the robot may be different than the first workpiece that was used when developing the initial program. The disclosed systems and methods can also be used to compensate for structural differences between workpieces intended to have identical structures.

Exemplary embodiments relate to user-assisted robotic control systems, user interfaces for remote control of robotic systems, vision systems in robotic control systems, and modular grippers for use by robotic systems. The systems, methods, apparatuses and computer-readable media instructions described interact with and control robotic systems, in particular pick and place systems using soft robotic actuators to grasp, move and release target objects.

An information processing apparatus includes: a determination unit configured to determine a plurality of measurement positions and/or orientations from which a 3D measurement sensor makes three-dimensional measurements; a controller configured to successively move the 3D measurement sensor to the plurality of measurement positions and/or orientations; a measurement unit configured to generate a plurality of 3D measurement data sets through three-dimensional measurement using the 3D measurement sensor at each of the plurality of measurement positions and/or orientations; and a data integration unit configured to integrate the plurality of 3D measurement data sets.