A case setup apparatus is generally provided. The apparatus is characterized by a robotic arm and a case engaging apparatus carried by the robotic arm. The case engaging apparatus is characterized by a picker arm assembly for picking a case blank from a source of case blanks, and a rack arm assembly for attaching to a picked case blank. The picker arm assembly is fixedly supported within the case engaging apparatus and the rack arm assembly is pivotably supported, relative to the picker arm assembly, within the case engaging apparatus. A flap folding subassembly is provided and translatably supported within the case engaging apparatus for reversible travel parallel to the picker arm assembly. The subassembly includes flap engaging members, a flap engaging member of the flap engaging members being forwardly extendable to disassociate adjacent flaps of a case blank in advance of folding a flap by the flap engaging members.

A control device includes: a processor wherein the processor is configured to generate one or more second control signals obtained by reducing at least one frequency component from a first control signal, output one control signal among the first control signal and the one or more second control signals, receive an instruction indicating execution of a reduction in the frequency component, generate a driving signal for driving a robot based on the control signal output from the processor and output the driving signal, output the first control signal when a first condition including non-input of the instruction indicating the execution of the reduction in the frequency component is satisfied, and output the second control signal when a second condition including input of the instruction indicating the execution of the reduction in the frequency component is satisfied.

A grasp management system and corresponding methods are described. In some examples, information about a set of grasps of a robotic manipulator is accessed. The information is used by the robotic manipulator to attempt to grasp an item using the set of grasps associated with a first grasping orientation. An orientation of the robotic manipulator can be adjusted into a second grasping orientation and the robotic manipulator can attempt to grasp the item using the set of grasps associated with the second grasping orientation. Information about the attempts can be recorded and used to determine a richness measure that may represent a richness of the set of grasps for the item.

A robotic vehicle is provided with an extendable arm and a mandible structure. The mandible structure includes a pair of mandibles with toothed portions that cooperatively engage such that the mandibles may be opened and closed by applying a force to only one of the pair of mandibles. The mandible structure hangs freely from the extendable arm and is balanced so that the mandible structure naturally maintains a substantially vertical orientation. In the closed position, the mandible structure defines an interior cavity suitable for securely grasping a ring.

In a gripping device including carriages disposed on a base body so as to be movable relative to each other by a motor drive, the carriages being provided with gripping elements which are movable with the carriages between an opening and a closing position of the gripping elements, at least one of the gripping elements is supported on the respective carriage so as to be able to yield to a certain engagement pressure force which is adjustable in the range of 5 to 300 N in order to prevent excessive damage or injuries-causing engagement forces.

Non-planar shearing auxetic structures, devices, and methods are provided herein. In some embodiments, a non-planar shearing auxetic structure can include a mathematically compact surface with an auxetic pattern of repeating unit cells. The shearing auxetic structure can have a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration, and, when in the compact configuration, can be configured to move to the expanded configuration while generating a net shear on the surface. Shearing auxetic structures can have handedness and, in some embodiments, multiple handed shearing auxetic structures can be joined to create rigid or semi-rigid composite structures, e.g., by arranging differently-handed structures concentrically wherein two or more structures lock against each other. Handed shearing auxetic structures can also provide actuators to convert rotation or other motion to translation, volume expansion, bending, twisting, etc. These structures have many applications, e.g., deployable structures such as pressure vessels, space habitats, fluid carrying vessels, soft robotics, toys, etc.

A control device includes: a processor wherein the processor is configured to generate one or more second control signals obtained by reducing at least one frequency component from a first control signal, output one control signal among the first control signal and the one or more second control signals, receive an instruction indicating execution of a reduction in the frequency component, generate a driving signal for driving a robot based on the control signal output from the processor and output the driving signal, output the first control signal when a first condition including non-input of the instruction indicating the execution of the reduction in the frequency component is satisfied, and output the second control signal when a second condition including input of the instruction indicating the execution of the reduction in the frequency component is satisfied.

Disclosed is an elastic corrugated pipe single-acting cylinder-driven mechanical gripper with a series-connection flexible hinge framework. The mechanical gripper consists of a palm and two flexible fingers or a palm and three flexible fingers. Each of the flexible fingers is identical in structure, and essentially consists of an elastic corrugated pipe single-acting cylinder (8) and a series-connection flexible hinge (4); configuration of the series-connection flexible hinge (4) is designed according to features of grasping objects; the mechanical gripper generates a grasping force by the elastic corrugated pipe single-acting cylinder (8). The mechanical gripper applies to the grasping of fragile, brittle objects or oddly-shaped objects varying with shapes and dimensions, belonging to the technical field of robots and mechatronics application; when coupled to a robot body, the mechanical gripper is especially suitable for the production and logistic fields for grasping, sorting and packing of foods, agriculture products and light industrial products.

A horizontal articulated robot includes: a first link; a second link whose proximal end portion is coupled to one of an upper side and a lower side of a distal end portion of the first link; a third link whose proximal end portion is coupled to the other upper or lower side of a distal end portion of the second link; and a spacer disposed at a coupling position where the second link and one of the first link and the third link are coupled together, the spacer spacing the second link and the one link apart from each other in an up-down direction, such that a motion trajectory of the third link does not interfere with the first link.

Disclosed is an elastic corrugated pipe single-acting cylinder-driven mechanical gripper with a series-connection flexible hinge framework. The mechanical gripper consists of a palm and two flexible fingers or a palm and three flexible fingers. Each of the flexible fingers is identical in structure, and essentially consists of an elastic corrugated pipe single-acting cylinder (8) and a series-connection flexible hinge (4); configuration of the series-connection flexible hinge (4) is designed according to features of grasping objects; the mechanical gripper generates a grasping force by the elastic corrugated pipe single-acting cylinder (8). The mechanical gripper applies to the grasping of fragile, brittle objects or oddly-shaped objects varying with shapes and dimensions, belonging to the technical field of robots and mechatronics application; when coupled to a robot body, the mechanical gripper is especially suitable for the production and logistic fields for grasping, sorting and packing of foods, agriculture products and light industrial products.