A method of calibrating an impedance control of a robot manipulator, the method including: deflecting a reference point of the robot manipulator from a zero position to a deflected position, wherein the robot manipulator applies a counterforce dependent on a spring constant of the impedance control and on a first determined deflection, wherein the first determined deflection is determined based on joint angles detected by joint angle sensors of the robot manipulator; detecting a second determined deflection by an external position measuring unit; and adapting the spring constant of the impedance control in such a way that the counterforce applied by the robot manipulator corresponds to a predetermined counterforce of the robot manipulator based on the second determined deflection.

A robot for making coffee and a method for controlling the same are provided to couple or decouple a portafilter to or from an espresso machine without damage to the espresso machine or the portafilter due to a collision between the espresso machine and the portafilter. The robot includes a robot arm to move with a predetermined degree of freedom, a gripper provided in the robot arm to grip a portafilter, a torque sensor provided in the robot arm to detect repulsive force (Fr) when the portafilter makes contact with a group head of an espresso machine, and a controller configured to set a virtual spring having a predetermined elastic modulus (C) based on the repulsive force (Fr) detected by the torque sensor, and to control driving torque (T) of the robot arm depending on the restoring force (Fe) of the virtual spring.

A method of adjusting an action parameter includes a positional posture determination step of making a robot execute a task a plurality of times in a plurality of positional postures different in positional posture of an object when starting the task to obtain evaluation values of the respective tasks, comparing the evaluation values of the tasks out of the evaluation values of the respective tasks with a reference evaluation value, and determining an evaluation positional posture from the positional postures in the tasks in which the evaluation value is no higher than the reference evaluation value, an updating step of making the robot operate with a tentative action parameter using the evaluation positional posture as a starting positional posture in the task to measure a time taken for the task or a vibration of the robot, and updating the tentative action parameter based on a measurement result, and a determination step of repeatedly performing the updating step until the time taken for the task or the vibration of the robot measured is converged to determine latest one of the tentative action parameters as an action parameter when actually performing the task.

Certain examples described herein provide a method of controlling a robotic device including a body, an end effector coupled to the body by one or more joints and a propulsion system to drive the one or more joints to control a state of the robotic device. Example methods include applying impedance control to the robotic device; determining a reference trajectory of the end effector; detecting an applied external force and/or torque acting on the robotic device causing a departure from the reference trajectory; calculating an adjustment to be applied to one or more of the one or more joints to compensate for the detected applied external force and/or torque; and using the calculated adjustment to control the one or more joints to actuate the end effector and recover the reference trajectory of the end effector.

A method of controlling a robot manipulator, the method including: providing a database containing body zones of a person, wherein each of the body zones is assigned a respective maximum permissible value of contact pressure value, determining a current or a future contact event of the robot manipulator involving the person, and determining a body zone of the person that is contacted, determining a reference position fixed relative to a body of the person, wherein the reference position indicates beginning of a spatial progression of depression of tissue of the person during the contact event with the person, and controlling the robot manipulator in an impedance-regulated manner, such that the reference position serves as a zero position of an artificial spring component of impedance regulation of the robot manipulator and a maximum permissible contact pressure is not exceeded as a limit value.

In variants, a method for robot control can include: receiving sensor data of a scene, modeling the physical objects within the scene, determining a set of potential grasp configurations for grasping a physical object within the scene, determining a reach behavior based on the potential grasp configuration, determining a trajectory for the reach behavior, and grasping the object using the trajectory.

A method for controlling a mechanical system having a plurality of components interlinked by a plurality of driven joints, the method comprising: measuring torques or forces about or at the driven joints and forming a load signal representing the measured torques or forces; receiving a motion demand signal representing a desired state of the system; implementing an impedance control algorithm in dependence on the motion demand signal and the load signal to form a target signal indicating a target configuration for each of the driven joints; measuring the configuration of each of the driven joints and forming a state signal representing the measured configurations; and forming a set of drive signals for the joints by, for each joint, comparing the target configuration of that joint as indicated by the target signal to the measured configuration of that joint as indicated by the state signal.

A robot control apparatus includes a robot control part that controls a robot; and a force detection information acquisition part that acquires force detection information from a force detection unit. The robot control part, in which a range of control values for operating a robot by force control based on the force detection information is designated, operates the robot based on the control values and the designated range.

A system comprises a database; at least one hardware processor coupled with the database; and one or more software modules that, when executed by the at least one hardware processor, receive at least one of sensory data from a robot and images from a camera, identify and build models of objects in an environment, wherein the model encompasses immutable properties of identified objects including mass and geometry, and wherein the geometry is assumed not to change, estimate the state including position, orientation, and velocity, of the identified objects, determine based on the state and model, potential configurations, or pre-grasp poses, for grasping the identified objects and return multiple grasping configurations per identified object, determine an object to be picked based on a quality metric, translate the pregrasp poses into behaviors that define motor forces and torques, communicate the motor forces and torques to the robot.

A robot system includes a robot including leading end, base, and multi-articular arm, and circuitry that controls the atm to move the end based on motion control program specifying transition over time of target position and posture of the end, the transition including correction target portion starting and ending in the transition; controls the arm to move the end in response to guided manipulation applying external force to the robot while the circuitry controls the arm; obtains relative command information based on the target position and posture at start of the correction portion and specifying the target position and posture at points in the correction portion including start and end in the correction portion; and controls the arm to move the end from the position and posture based on the information, beginning at time when movement of the arm controlled by the circuitry in response to the manipulation has ended.