A hand device is attached to a robot arm, grips a workpiece extending helically around a helical axis, and includes a base attached to the robot arm and a gripping part that is supported by the base in a rotatable manner around a predetermined rotation axis and that grips the workpiece. The gripping part grips the workpiece on the predetermined rotation axis such that the helical axis of the workpiece substantially extends along the predetermined rotation axis, and rotates in a helical direction of the workpiece in accordance with an external force acting on the workpiece in a tangential direction around the predetermined rotation axis.

A robotic system for presenting a payload within a workspace includes a pair of serial robots configured to connect to the payload, a parallel robot coupled to a distal end of one of the serial robots such that the parallel robot is disposed between the distal end and the payload, a sensor situated within a kinematic chain extending between the distal end and the payload, and a robot control system (RCS). The sensor outputs a sensor signal indicative of a measured property of the payload. The RCS includes a coordinated motion controller configured to control the serial robots, and a corrective motion controller configured to control the parallel robot. Parallel robot control occurs in response to the sensor signal concurrently with control of the serial robots in order to thereby modify the property of the payload in real-time.

A holding device according to the present invention is a holding device that holds a workpiece having flexibility. A controller sets the workpiece to a reference state in such a manner that with first and second holding mechanisms holding the workpiece, a moving mechanism moves at least one of the first and second holding mechanisms in a length direction based on a length, detected by a detector, of the workpiece in a held state and a length, prestored in a storage, of the workpiece in a reference state.

Systems and methods for moving or manipulating robotic arms are provided. A group of robotic arms are configured to form a virtual rail or line between the end effectors of the robotic arms. The robotic arms are responsive to outside force such as from a user. When a user moves a single one of the robotic arms, the other robotic arms will automatically move to maintain the virtual rail alignments. The virtual rail of the robotic arm end effectors may be translated in one or more of three dimensions. The virtual rail may be rotated about a point on the virtual rail line. The robotic arms can detect the nature of the contact from the user and move accordingly. Holding, shaking, tapping, pushing, pulling, and rotating different parts of the robotic arm elicits different movement responses from different parts of the robotic arm.

In a robot system, a control section causes a first gripping section to grip a connector of a cable, at one end of which the connector is provided and the other end of which is fixed, causes an imaging section to image the connector, causes, based on a result of the imaging by the imaging section, a second gripping section to grip the connector in a state in which the position of the first gripping section is maintained, causes the first gripping section to release the gripping of the connector, causes, based on the imaging result, the second gripping section to adjust a posture of the connector, and causes the first gripping section to grip the connector, the posture of which is adjusted, again.

Disclosed is a dual-robot position/force multivariate-data-driven method using reinforcement learning. A master robot adopts an ideal position meta-control strategy, learns a desired position by a reinforcement learning algorithm, and feeds back an actual position to a desired position, and a goal is to generate an optimal force while the robot interacts with the environment, as to minimize a position error; and a slave robot, based on a force meta-control strategy of position deviation of the master robot, adopts a damping proportional-derivative (PD) control strategy suitable for an unknown environment, and learns a desired acting force by the reinforcement learning algorithm, namely a minimum force for driving the slave robot to approach a desired reference point. The present invention may improve the dexterity of dual-robot collaboration, solve a parameter optimization problem in position/force control.

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for automated drill pipe handling operations, such as trip in, trip out, and stand building operations. A pipe handling system of the present disclosure may include a lifting system for handling a load of a pipe stand, a pipe handling robot configured for engaging with the pipe stand and manipulating a position of the pipe stand, and a feedback device configured to provide information about a condition of the pipe stand, the lifting system, or the pipe handling robot. In some embodiments, the pipe handling robot may be a first robot configured for engaging with and manipulating a first end of the pipe stand, and the system may include a second pipe handling robot configured for engaging with and manipulating a second end of the pipe stand.

A processing device displays a result of simulation of synchronous control performed by a control device to synchronously control at least two of a plurality of control targets by executing a program. The processing device includes a display that displays the plurality of control targets in accordance with execution of the program in the simulation, an identification unit that identifies, among the plurality of control targets, a synchronization target group including control targets synchronously controlled in the execution of the program in the simulation, and a controller that causes the display to display the synchronization target group identified by the identification unit among the plurality of control targets displayed by the display in a manner distinguishable from control targets other than the synchronization target group.

A robotic system is disclosed to control multiple robots to cooperatively pick and place objects. In various embodiments, the robotic system includes a first robotic arm having a first end effector; a second robotic arm having a second end effector; and a control computer configured to use the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm to pick and place a plurality of objects, including by using the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm to work cooperatively to pick and place one or more of the objects.

A robotic system includes control circuitry configured to cause actuation of one or more actuators of each of a first robotic arm and a second robotic arm. The control circuitry is configured to determine a position of a first end effector of the first robotic arm and a position of a second end effector of the second robotic arm, the positions of the first end effector and the second end effector forming a virtual rail, receive manual positioning input for the first robotic arm based at least in part on sensor signals from one or more sensors of the first robotic arm, and in response to the manual positioning input, generate a first movement command to move the first robotic arm in accordance with the manual positioning input and generate a second movement command to move the second robotic arm in a manner as to maintain at least one of a position or orientation of the second end effector relative to a point on the virtual rail.