The present teaching relates to a method and system for path planning. A target is tracked via one or more sensors. Information of a desired pose of an end-effector with respect to the target and a current pose of the end-effector is obtained. Also, a minimum distance permitted between an arm including the end-effector and each of at least one obstacle identified between the current pose of the end-effector and the target is obtained. A weighting factor previously learned is retrieved and a cost based on a cost function is computed in accordance with a weighted smallest distance between the arm including the end-effector and the at least one obstacle, wherein the smallest distance is weighted by the weighting factor. A trajectory is computed from the current pose to the desired pose by minimizing the cost function.

In an embodiment, a method during execution of a motion plan by a robotic arm includes determining a voice command from speech of a user said during the execution of the motion plan, determining a modification of the motion plan based on the voice command from the speech of the user, and executing the modification of the motion plan by the robotic arm.

A control device for a robot includes: an external force acquisition section configured to acquire external force applied to a movable element during operation of the robot; a first condition determination section configured to determine whether or not a first condition that the external force exceeding a predetermined first threshold is applied to the movable element is satisfied; a second condition determination section configured to determine whether or not a second condition that the movable element is moving is satisfied; and an operation control section configured to stop the operation of the robot when both the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, while continuing the operation of the robot when at least one of the first condition and the second condition is not satisfied.

A method and system for robotic motion planning which perform dynamic velocity attenuation to avoid robot collision with static or dynamic objects. The technique maintains the planned robot tool path even when speed reduction is necessary, by providing feedback of a computed slowdown ratio to a tracking controller so that the path computation is always synchronized with current robot speed. The technique uses both robot-obstacle distance and relative velocity to determine when to apply velocity attenuation, and computes a joint speed limit vector based on a robot-obstacle distance, a maximum obstacle speed, and a computed stopping time as a function of the joint speed. Two different control structure implementations are disclosed, both of which provide feedback of the slowdown ratio to the motion planner as needed for faithful path following. A method of establishing velocity attenuation priority in multi-robot systems is also provided.

A control device 1C mainly includes an operation sequence generation means 16C and a synchronization management means 17C. The operation sequence generation means 16C is configured to generate, based on an operation prediction result R2a of another working body which performs cooperative work with a robot which executes a task, an operation sequence Sra to be executed by the robot. The synchronization management means 17C is configured to synchronize an operation executed by the robot during execution of the operation sequence Sra and an operation executed by the other working body.

In an embodiment, a method and system use various sensors to determine a shape of a collection of materials (e.g., foodstuffs). A controller can determine a trajectory which achieves the desired end-state, possibly chosen from a set of feasible, collision-free trajectories to execute, and a robot executes that trajectory. The robot, executing that trajectory, scoops, grabs, or otherwise acquires the desired amount of material from the collection of materials at a desired location. The robot then deposits the collected material in the desired receptacle at a specific location and orientation.

A method and system for dynamic collision avoidance motion planning for industrial robots. An obstacle avoidance motion optimization routine receives a planned path and obstacle detection data as inputs, and computes a commanded robot path which avoids any detected obstacles. Robot joint motions to follow the tool center point path are used by a robot controller to command robot motion. The planning and optimization calculations are performed in a feedback loop which is decoupled from the controller feedback loop which computes robot commands based on actual robot position. The two feedback loops perform planning, command and control calculations in real time, including responding to dynamic obstacles which may be present in the robot workspace. The optimization calculations include a safety function which efficiently incorporates both relative position and relative velocity of the obstacles with respect to the robot.

A robot control device (10) includes an attribute determination unit (71) that determines an attribute of an object person (T) around a robot (1); and a decision unit (74) that decides a notification action of notifying, by the robot (1), the object person (T) of presence of the robot (1), on the basis of the attribute determined by the attribute determination unit (71) and a risk of harm that may be caused to the object person (T) by the robot (1).

A control device 1A mainly includes an operation sequence generation means 17A. The operation sequence generation means 17A is configured to generate, based on recognition results Ra relating to types and states of objects present in a workspace where a robot which performs a task and another working body perform cooperative work, an operation sequence Sa to be executed by the robot.

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.