Orientation Angle Display During the Manual Guidance of a Robot Manipulator

Abstract

A robot system with a robot manipulator and with a visual output unit, wherein the robot manipulator includes a robot link and the robot link includes an inertial measuring unit, wherein the inertial measuring unit is designed to determine a direction of a gravity vector when the robot link is immobile, and to determine, over a plurality of points in time, a current orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector using attitude gyros, and to transmit, to the visual output unit, the current orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector, and wherein the visual output unit is designed to display the current orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector.

Claims

1. A robot system with a robot manipulator and with a visual output unit, wherein the robot manipulator comprises a robot link and the robot link comprises an inertial measuring unit, wherein the inertial measuring unit is designed to determine a direction of a gravity vector when the robot link is immobile, and to determine, over a plurality of points in time, a current orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector using attitude gyros, and to transmit, to the visual output unit, the current orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector, and wherein the visual output unit is designed to display the current orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector.

2. The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the visual output unit comprises a first display element and a second display element, wherein, at each of the plurality of the points in time, a shift between the first display element and the second display element, a rotation between the first display element and the second display element, or the shift and the rotation correlates with at least one angle about a respective axis according to the relative orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector.

3. The robot system according to claim 2, wherein, at each of the plurality of the points in time, a first angle of the first display element in relation to the second display element correlates with an angle about a first axis according to the relative orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector.

4. The robot system according to claim 3, wherein, at each of the plurality of the points in time, a second angle of the first display element in relation to the second display element corresponds to an angle about a second axis according to the relative orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector, wherein the first axis and the second axis are perpendicular one another.

5. The robot system according to claim 3, wherein, at each of the plurality of the points in time, a shift of the first display element in relation to the second display element correlates with an angle about a second axis according to the relative orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector, wherein the first axis and the second axis are perpendicular to one another.

6. The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the visual output unit is a screen.

7. The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the visual output unit is an LED array.

8. The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the inertial measuring unit is designed to determine the direction of the gravity vector when the robot link is immobile using acceleration sensors.

9. The robot system according to claim 8, wherein the inertial measuring unit is designed to determine, based on translational accelerations measured by the acceleration sensors and based on a current orientation of the robot link, a current relative position in relation to a position when the robot link is immobile.

10. A method for outputting a current orientation of a robot link of a robot manipulator in relation to the gravity vector on a visual output unit, the method comprising: determining a direction of a gravity vector when the robot link is immobile using an inertial measuring unit arranged on the robot link; determining, over a plurality of the points in time, a current orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector using attitude gyros of the inertial measuring unit; transmitting, from the inertial measuring unit to the visual output unit, the current orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector; and displaying the current orientation of the robot link in relation to the gravity vector on the visual output unit.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the method comprises determining, using acceleration sensors, the direction of the gravity vector when the robot link is immobile.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the method comprises determining, using the inertial measuring unit, based on translational accelerations measured by the acceleration sensors and based on a current orientation of the robot link, a current relative position in relation to a position when the robot link is immobile.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] In the drawings:

[0037] FIG. 1 is a robot system with a robot manipulator and with a visual output unit according to an embodiment example of the invention;

[0038] FIG. 2 is a visual output unit according to an additional embodiment example of the invention; and

[0039] FIG. 3 is a method for outputting a current orientation of a robot link of a robot manipulator in relation to the gravity vector on a visual output unit according to an additional embodiment example of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The representations in the figures are diagrammatic and not to scale.

[0041] FIG. 1 shows a robot system 1 with a robot manipulator 3 and with a visual output unit 9, wherein the visual output unit 9 is a screen of a mobile computer and the mobile computer is connected for data processing at least to the inertial measuring unit 7. On a distal end of the robot manipulator 3, an end effector which forms the robot link 5 is arranged, and the robot link 5 includes an inertial measuring unit 7. This inertial measuring unit 7 determines the direction of a gravity vector when the robot link 5 is immobile using acceleration sensors and determines, over a plurality of points in time, a current orientation of the robot link 5 in relation to the gravity vector using mechanical attitude gyros, whether the robot link 5 is moving or immobile. The inertial measuring unit 7 transmits, to the visual output unit 9, the current orientation of the robot link 5 in relation to the gravity vector. The visual output unit 9 in turn subsequently displays the current orientation of the robot link 5 in relation to the gravity vector.

[0042] The visual output unit 9 includes a first display element 11 in the form of a dotted cross which remains stationary in relation to the screen 9 and consists of two bands positioned perpendicularly to one another. In addition, the visual output unit 9 includes a second display element 12 in the form of a spatially represented circle. A first angle of the first display element 11 in relation to the second display element 12 correlates at a plurality of points in time with an angle about a first axis according to the relative orientation of the robot link 5 in relation to the gravity vector.

[0043] If a coordinate system, which is arranged stationary in relation to the robot link 5, is oriented in relation to the gravity vector in such a manner that a longitudinal axis of the robot link 5 correlates with the direction of the gravity vector, that is to say in such a manner that two other axes of the coordinate system lie in a horizontal plane, then the user looks directly into the plane of the circle 12 which then correlates with the horizontal axis of the first display element 11.

[0044] In an orientation of the robot link 5 in relation to the gravity vector, which deviates from this case, the circle 12 is accordingly represented by two orientation angles about a respective horizontal axis, wherein the two horizontal axes remain in a horizontal plane in relation to the earth, and the two horizontal axes are perpendicular to one another. Therefore, if the robot link 5 is inclined about a first horizontal axis, then the circle plane on the screen 9 is inclined in relation to the horizontal band of the first display element 11. Furthermore, if the robot link 7 is inclined about the second horizontal axis, then the imaginary viewing angle of the user onto the circle 12 shifts out of the circle plane with an angle onto the circle plane. The circle 12 here is represented in general as a distorted ellipsoid on the screen 9 when the robot link 5 is oriented incorrectly above the horizontal plane and thus in relation to the gravity vector.

[0045] FIG. 2 shows a visual output unit 9, wherein the visual output unit 9 is an LED array. Here, only a single angle about precisely one axis of the robot link 5 in relation to the gravity vector is considered. If this angle differs from zero, then, depending on the sign of this angle and correlating with a magnitude of the angle, a left side or the right side of the LED array is illuminated farther to the right or farther to the left, and thus, starting from the midpoint, in the outward direction, a certain number of LEDs are illuminated.

[0046] FIG. 3 shows a method for outputting a current orientation of a robot link 5 of a robot manipulator 3 in relation to the gravity vector on a visual output unit 9, the method including: [0047] determining S1 a direction of a gravity vector when the robot link 5 is immobile using an inertial measuring unit 7 arranged on the robot link 5; [0048] determining S2, over a plurality of points in time, a current orientation of the robot link 5 in relation to the gravity vector using attitude gyros of the inertial measuring unit 7; [0049] transmitting S3, from the inertial measuring unit 7 to the visual output unit 9, the current orientation of the robot link 5 in relation to the gravity; and [0050] displaying S4 the current orientation of the robot link 5 in relation to the gravity vector on the visual output unit 9.

[0051] Although the invention has been illustrated in detail and explained in detail using preferred embodiment examples, the invention is not limited by the disclosed examples, and other variations can be derived by the person skilled in the art therefrom, without leaving the scope of protection of the invention. Therefore, it is clear that numerous variation possibilities exist. It is also clear that embodiments mentioned by way of example in fact represent only examples, which in no way should be understood to be a limitation of, for example, the scope of protection, the application possibilities or the configuration of the invention. Instead, the above description and the description of the figures enable the person skilled in the art to correctly implement example embodiments, wherein the person skilled in the art, aware of the disclosed inventive idea, can make numerous modifications, for example, with regard to the function or the arrangement of individual elements mentioned in an example embodiment, without leaving the scope of the protection which is defined by the claims and their legitimate equivalents such as, for example, more detailed explanations in the description.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0052] 1 Robot system [0053] 3 Robot manipulator [0054] 5 Robot link [0055] 7 Inertial measuring unit [0056] 9 Output unit [0057] 11 First display element [0058] 12 Second display element [0059] S1 Determining [0060] S2 Determining [0061] S3 Transmitting [0062] S4 Displaying