There is provided a method of controlling a mobile manipulator for tracking a surface. The mobile manipulator includes a mobile base movable in an axial direction of the mobile manipulator and a manipulator supported on the mobile base having an end effector adjustable in a lateral direction of the mobile manipulator. The method includes detecting the surface from the mobile manipulator, including positions of the surface at points along the surface, determining a reference path for the end effector to track based on an offset from the surface detected, determining a tracking error in the reference path determined, and adjusting a position of the end effector in the lateral direction based on the tracking error to compensate for the tracking error in the reference path determined. There is also provided a corresponding mobile manipulator.

Provided is a machine system having optical endpoint control and associated method for maintaining having is provided constant optical contact. Specifically, the machine system comprises a machine capable of movement in at least one direction. The machine is configured such that, during a calibration phase, a steerable retroreflective system is mounted upon the machine for movement therewith. A controller is configured to control the movement of the machine in at least one direction. The machine system may be configured to automatically adjust the feedrate of the machine, upon determining that a velocity required for the positioner to move the retroreflector to a desired position exceeds a certain segment feedrate threshold, such that an incident beam of light can maintain constant contact with the retroreflector throughout movement of the machine from the first position to the second position.

An apparatus and method for calibrating or teaching a robot, the apparatus includes a reflective photoelectric sensor arranged on a gripper of the robot and a controller. The controller is configured to: cause the reflective photoelectric sensor to scan over a target object; monitor changes in an output signal from the reflective photoelectric sensor; for each detected change exceeding a threshold, determine a coordinate of a gripping component on the gripper in a robot coordinate system, to obtain a set of coordinates; determine a position of the target object in the robot coordinate system based on the set of coordinates and a predefined offset value (PO) between the reflective photoelectric sensor and the gripping component; and store the position of target object for future use in assembling objects.

Methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer readable media for managing a path of a robot system. The systems include comprises an arm which has a joint for rotating the arm. In the methods, a real path of a tip of the robot system is obtained during directing a movement of the tip to follow an ideal path. A path deviation is identified between the real path and the ideal path. A transmission error of the joint is determined based on the path deviation and kinematic data associated with the movement and a plurality of rotations of the joint respectively at a plurality of time points during the movement.

A memory in which information that is used in a tracking operation is to be temporarily stored, information cannot be accumulated in the memory when the accumulating intervals and the reading intervals do not match each other. A robot control apparatus includes: a memory; an accepting unit that accepts a sensing result of a laser sensor detecting a shape of a working target before an, and accumulates information according to the sensing result, in the memory. The memory management unit that, in a case in which the memory is running short of free space, deletes the information in the memory; and a control unit that moves the working tool based on teaching data, and corrects the movement of the working tool based on the information according to the sensing result stored in the memory.

A memory in which information that is used in a tracking operation is to be temporarily stored, information cannot be accumulated in the memory when the accumulating intervals and the reading intervals do not match each other. A robot control apparatus includes: a memory; an accepting unit that accepts a sensing result of a laser sensor detecting a shape of a working target before an, and accumulates information according to the sensing result, in the memory. The memory management unit that, in a case in which the memory is running short of free space, deletes the information in the memory; and a control unit that moves the working tool based on teaching data, and corrects the movement of the working tool based on the information according to the sensing result stored in the memory.

An apparatus for use with a robot is disclosed. The apparatus includes a reflective photoelectric sensor arranged on a gripper of the robot and a controller. The controller is configured to: cause the reflective photoelectric sensor to scan over a target object; monitor changes in an output signal from the reflective photoelectric sensor; for each detected change exceeding a threshold, determine a coordinate of a gripping component on the gripper in a robot coordinate system, to obtain a set of coordinates; determine a position of the target object in the robot coordinate system based on the set of coordinates and a predefined offset value between the reflective photoelectric sensor and the gripping component; and store the position of target object for future use in assembling objects. A method, a robot and a computer program product are also disclosed. The apparatus and the method provide a new solution for calibrating or teaching the robot.

Example implementations relate to generating instructions for robotic tasks. A method may involve determining task information of a path-based task by an end-effector on an object, where the task information includes (i) at least one task parameter, and (ii) a nominal representation of the object. The method also involves based on the task information, determining one or more parametric instructions for the end-effector to perform the task, where the one or more parametric instructions indicate a toolpath for the end-effector to follow when performing the task. The method also involves generating, based on sensor data, an observed representation of the object, and comparing the observed and the nominal representations. The method further involves based on the comparison, mapping the parametric instructions to the observed representation of the object. The method yet further involves sending the mapped instructions to the end-effector to cause the robotic device to perform the task.

There is provided a method of controlling a mobile manipulator for tracking a surface. The mobile manipulator includes a mobile base movable in an axial direction of the mobile manipulator and a manipulator supported on the mobile base having an end effector adjustable in a lateral direction of the mobile manipulator. The method includes detecting the surface from the mobile manipulator, including positions of the surface at points along the surface, determining a reference path for the end effector to track based on an offset from the surface detected, determining a tracking error in the reference path determined, and adjusting a position of the end effector in the lateral direction based on the tracking error to compensate for the tracking error in the reference path determined. There is also provided a corresponding mobile manipulator.

A method by means of which the paving result of the road covering can be improved. For the production of a road covering, road-building material is supplied by a pivoting conveyor of a feeder to a supply container of a road paver. In the case of a relative movement between the feeder and the road paver, the pivoting conveyor has to be manually readjusted, which can result in irregularities in the road covering. This is achieved in that the container of the at least one construction vehicle is detected by at least one sensor unit of the road-building machine.