A robot comprising a chopstick, configured for at least four degrees of freedom of movement, a stiff body of shape and proportions approximate to a pool cue; an electromagnetic actuator, comprising a motor, for each degree of freedom of movement coupled with the stiff body, wherein the functional mapping from each actuator's motor current to torque output along an axis of motion is stored, and used in concert with a calibrated model of the robot for effective impedance control; and a 6-axis force/torque sensor mounted inline between the actuators and each chopstick.

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 pre-grasp poses into behaviors that define motor forces and torques, communicate the motor forces and torques to the robot in order to allow the robot to perform a complex behavior generated from the behaviors.

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 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 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 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 that controls a robot including a manipulator, a force detector provided in the manipulator, and an actuator that drives the manipulator based on a target position, includes a display control unit that displays a motion position of the manipulator derived based on a target force and an output of the force detector and the target position on a screen.

The invention relates to a device and method for performing open-loop and closed-loop control of a robot manipulator which is driven by a number M of actuators ACT.sub.m and has an end effector. The invention comprises a first unit which registers and/or makes available an external force winder {right arrow over (F)}.sub.ext(t)={{right arrow over (f)}.sub.ext(t),{right arrow over (m)}.sub.ext(t)} acting on the end effector, a regulator which is connected to the first unit and to the actuators ACT.sub.m and which comprises a first regulator R1, which is a force regulator, and a second regulator R2 which is connected thereto and which is an impedance regulator, an admittance regulator, a position regulator or a cruise controller, wherein the regulator determines manipulated variables u.sub.m(t) with which the actuators ACT.sub.m can be actuated in such way that when contact occurs with the surface of an object, the end effector acts on said object with a predefined force winder {right arrow over (F)}.sub.D(t)={{right arrow over (f)}.sub.D(t),{right arrow over (m)}.sub.D(t)}; where u.sub.m(t)=u.sub.m,R1(t)+u.sub.m,R2(t), wherein the first regulator R1 is embodied and configured in such a way that the manipulated variable u.sub.m,R1(t) is determined as a product of a manipulated variable u.sub.m,R1(t)* and a function S(v(t)) or as a function S*(v(t), u.sub.m,R1(t)*), where: u.sub.m,R1(t)=S(v(t)) u.sub.m,R1(t)* or u.sub.m,R1(t)=S*(v*(t), u.sub.m,R1(t)*); v(t)=v({right arrow over (F)}.sub.D(t), {right arrow over (R)}(t)); v[v.sub.a, v.sub.e], v*(t)=v*({right arrow over (F)}.sub.D(t), {right arrow over (R)}(t))=[v.sub.1*({right arrow over (F)}.sub.D(t), {right arrow over (R)}(t)), . . . , v.sub.Q*({right arrow over (F)}.sub.D(t), {right arrow over (R)}(t))].

The invention concerns a method of programming an industrial robot, exhibiting the steps of selecting a program command, the assigned rigidity parameter of which is to be verified, changed and/or saved in the program mode; moving the manipulator arm into a test pose, in which the industrial robot is configured and/or arranged to manually touch and/or move the manipulator arm; and the automatic actuation of the manipulator arm by the control device such that the manipulator arm in the test pose exhibits the rigidity corresponding to the assigned rigidity parameter of the selected program command. The invention further concerns an industrial robot, exhibiting a control device designed and/or configured to execute such a method.