COORDINATION OF PATHS OF TWO ROBOT MANIPULATORS

Abstract

System and method of learning and executing mutually coordinated paths of robot manipulators, including: manually guiding a first reference point of a first robot manipulator over a desired first path, acquiring the first path or acquiring a first set of poses for the first path and storing the first path or the first set of poses in a first data set, automatically traveling along the first path according to the first data set, while automatically traveling along the first path, manually guiding a second reference point of a second robot manipulator over a desired second path, acquiring the second path or acquiring a second set of poses for the second path and storing the second path or the second set of poses in a second data set, wherein the second data set is assigned to the first data set so that a location of the first path is at least approximately assigned to each location of the second path, and traveling along the first path by the first robot manipulator according to the first data set synchronized with traveling along the second path by the second robot manipulator according to the second data set.

Claims

1. A method of learning and executing mutually coordinated paths of robot manipulators, the method comprising: manually guiding a first reference point of a first robot manipulator over a desired first path; acquiring the desired first path or acquiring a first set of poses for the desired first path and storing the desired first path or the first set of poses in a first data set; automatically traveling along the desired first path according to the first data set; manually guiding a second reference point of a second robot manipulator over a desired second path, while automatically traveling along the desired first path; acquiring the desired second path or acquiring a second set of poses for the desired second path and storing the desired second path or the second set of poses in a second data set, wherein the second data set is assigned to the first data set so that a location of the desired first path is at least approximately assigned to each location of the desired second path; and traveling along the desired first path by the first robot manipulator according to the first data set synchronized with traveling along the desired second path by the second robot manipulator according to the second data set.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first data set stores the desired first path and the second data set stores the desired second path in each case using a discrete number of path points, and wherein the method comprises matching a length of the second data set to a length of the first data set in order to assign the second data set to the first data set, so that the first data set and the second data set have an equal number of discrete path points.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first data set stores the desired first path and the second data set stores the desired second path in vectorized fashion, respectively.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first reference point is a specified point on an end effector of the first robot manipulator, or the second reference point is a specified point on an end effector of the second robot manipulator, or the first reference point is a specified point on an end effector of the first robot manipulator and the second reference point is a specified point on an end effector of the second robot manipulator.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising controlling the first robot manipulator in a gravity-compensated manner during manual guidance of the first robot manipulator, or controlling the second robot manipulator in a gravity-compensated manner during manual guidance of the second robot manipulator, or controlling the first robot manipulator in a gravity-compensated manner during manual guidance of the first robot manipulator and controlling the second robot manipulator in a gravity-compensated manner during manual guidance of the second robot manipulator.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first robot manipulator includes links connected by joints with degrees of freedom at least partially redundant to one another, so that at least a subset of the links of the first robot manipulator are each movable in a null space, and the first data set has, in addition to the desired first path of the first reference point, items of information about a pose of the first robot manipulator in its null space, or wherein the second robot manipulator includes links connected by joints with degrees of freedom at least partially redundant to one another, so that at least a subset of the links of the second robot manipulator are each movable in a null space, and the second data set has, in addition to the desired second path of the second reference point, items of information about a pose of the second robot manipulator in its null space, or wherein the first robot manipulator includes links connected by joints with degrees of freedom at least partially redundant to one another, so that at least a subset of the links of the first robot manipulator are each movable in a null space, and the first data set has, in addition to the desired first path of the first reference point, items of information about a pose of the first robot manipulator in its null space, and the second robot manipulator includes links connected by joints with degrees of freedom at least partially redundant to one another, so that at least a subset of the links of the second robot manipulator are each movable in a null space, and the second data set has, in addition to the desired second path of the second reference point, items of information about a pose of the second robot manipulator in its null space.

7. A system to teach and execute mutually coordinated paths of robot manipulators, the system comprising: a first robot manipulator comprising: a first path acquisition unit is designed to acquire a desired first path of a first reference point of the first robot manipulator or a first set of poses for the desired first path during manual guidance of the first robot manipulator, and to store the first reference point or the first set of poses in a first data set; and a first control unit is designed to control the first robot manipulator to travel along the desired first path according to the first data set; and a second robot manipulator comprising: a second path acquisition unit designed to acquire a desired second path of a second reference point of the second robot manipulator or a second set of poses for the desired second path during manual guidance of the second robot manipulator during travel along the desired first path by the first robot manipulator, and to store the second reference point or the second set of poses in a second data set, wherein the second data set is assigned to the first data set in such a way that a location of the first path is at least approximately assigned to each location of the second path; and a second control unit designed to control the second robot manipulator to travel along the desired second path according to the second data set, wherein travel along the desired first path by the first robot manipulator according to the first data set is synchronized with travel along the desired second path by the second robot manipulator according to the second data set.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the first control unit or the second control unit is designed to control the first robot manipulator to travel along the first path according to the first data set and, synchronized thereto, to control the second robot manipulator to travel along the second path according to the second data set, or each of the first control unit and the second control unit is designed to control the first robot manipulator to travel along the first path according to the first data set and, synchronized thereto, to control the second robot manipulator to travel along the second path according to the second data set.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein the first data set stores the desired first path and the second data set stores the desired second path in each case using a discrete number of path points, and wherein a length of the second data set is matched to a length of the first data set in order to assign the second data set to the first data set, so that the first data set and the second data set have an equal number of discrete path points.

10. The system according to claim 7, wherein the first data set stores the desired first path and the second data set stores the desired second path in vectorized fashion, respectively.

11. The system according to claim 7, wherein the first reference point is a specified point on an end effector of the first robot manipulator, or the second reference point is a specified point on an end effector of the second robot manipulator, or the first reference point is a specified point on an end effector of the first robot manipulator and the second reference point is a specified point on an end effector of the second robot manipulator.

12. The system according to claim 7, wherein the first robot manipulator is controlled in a gravity-compensated manner during manual guidance of the first robot manipulator, the second robot manipulator is controlled in a gravity-compensated manner during manual guidance of the second robot manipulator, or the first robot manipulator is controlled in a gravity-compensated manner during manual guidance of the first robot manipulator and the second robot manipulator is controlled in a gravity-compensated manner during manual guidance of the second robot manipulator.

13. The system according to claim 7, wherein the first robot manipulator includes links connected by joints with degrees of freedom at least partially redundant to one another, so that at least a subset of the links of the first robot manipulator are each movable in a null space, and the first data set has, in addition to the desired first path of the first reference point, items of information about a pose of the first robot manipulator in its null space, or wherein the second robot manipulator includes links connected by joints with degrees of freedom at least partially redundant to one another, so that at least a subset of the links of the second robot manipulator are each movable in a null space, and the second data set has, in addition to the desired second path of the second reference point, items of information about a pose of the second robot manipulator in its null space, or wherein the first robot manipulator includes links connected by joints with degrees of freedom at least partially redundant to one another, so that at least a subset of the links of the first robot manipulator are each movable in a null space, and the first data set has, in addition to the desired first path of the first reference point, items of information about a pose of the first robot manipulator in its null space, and the second robot manipulator includes links connected by joints with degrees of freedom at least partially redundant to one another, so that at least a subset of the links of the second robot manipulator are each movable in a null space, and the second data set has, in addition to the desired second path of the second reference point, items of information about a pose of the second robot manipulator in its null space.

14. A system to teach and execute mutually coordinated paths of robot manipulators, the system comprising: a first robot manipulator comprising a first path acquisition unit designed to acquire a desired first path of a first reference point of the first robot manipulator or a first set of poses for the desired first path during manual guidance of the first robot manipulator, and to store the first reference point or the first set of poses in a first data set; a second robot manipulator comprising a second path acquisition unit designed to acquire a desired second path of a second reference point of the second robot manipulator or a second set of poses for the desired second path during manual guidance of the second robot manipulator during travel along the desired first path by the first robot manipulator, and to store the second reference point or the second set of poses in a second data set, wherein the second data set is assigned to the first data set in such a way that a location of the first path is at least approximately assigned to each location of the second path; and a control unit designed to control the first robot manipulator to travel along the desired first path according to the first data set and to control the second robot manipulator to travel along the desired second path according to the second data set, wherein travel along the desired first path by the first robot manipulator according to the first data set is synchronized with travel along the desired second path by the second robot manipulator according to the second data set.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the first data set stores the desired first path and the second data set stores the desired second path in each case using a discrete number of path points, and wherein a length of the second data set is matched to a length of the first data set in order to assign the second data set to the first data set, so that the first data set and the second data set have an equal number of discrete path points.

16. The system according to claim 14, wherein the first data set stores the desired first path and the second data set stores the desired second path in vectorized fashion, respectively.

17. The system according to claim 14, wherein the first reference point is a specified point on an end effector of the first robot manipulator, or the second reference point is a specified point on an end effector of the second robot manipulator, or the first reference point is a specified point on an end effector of the first robot manipulator and the second reference point is a specified point on an end effector of the second robot manipulator.

18. The system according to claim 14, wherein the first robot manipulator is controlled in a gravity-compensated manner during manual guidance of the first robot manipulator, the second robot manipulator is controlled in a gravity-compensated manner during manual guidance of the second robot manipulator, or the first robot manipulator is controlled in a gravity-compensated manner during manual guidance of the first robot manipulator and the second robot manipulator is controlled in a gravity-compensated manner during manual guidance of the second robot manipulator.

19. The system according to claim 14, wherein the first robot manipulator includes links connected by joints with degrees of freedom at least partially redundant to one another, so that at least a subset of the links of the first robot manipulator are each movable in a null space, and the first data set has, in addition to the desired first path of the first reference point, items of information about a pose of the first robot manipulator in its null space, or wherein the second robot manipulator includes links connected by joints with degrees of freedom at least partially redundant to one another, so that at least a subset of the links of the second robot manipulator are each movable in a null space, and the second data set has, in addition to the desired second path of the second reference point, items of information about a pose of the second robot manipulator in its null space, or wherein the first robot manipulator includes links connected by joints with degrees of freedom at least partially redundant to one another, so that at least a subset of the links of the first robot manipulator are each movable in a null space, and the first data set has, in addition to the desired first path of the first reference point, items of information about a pose of the first robot manipulator in its null space, and the second robot manipulator includes links connected by joints with degrees of freedom at least partially redundant to one another, so that at least a subset of the links of the second robot manipulator are each movable in a null space, and the second data set has, in addition to the desired second path of the second reference point, items of information about a pose of the second robot manipulator in its null space.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] In the drawings:

[0038] FIG. 1 shows a method of teaching and executing mutually coordinated paths of a first robot manipulator and a second manipulator robot according to one example embodiment of the invention, and

[0039] FIG. 2 shows a system to teach and execute mutually coordinated paths of a first robot manipulator and a second manipulator robot according to a further example embodiment of the invention.

[0040] The illustrations in the figures are schematic and not to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] FIG. 1 shows a method of teaching and executing mutually coordinated paths 11, 22 of robot manipulators 10, 20, the method including:

[0042] manually guiding S1 a first reference point of a first robot manipulator 10 over a desired first path 11,

[0043] acquiring S2 the first path 11 and storing the first path 11 in a first data set,

[0044] automatically traveling S3 along the first path 11,

[0045] manually guiding S4 a second reference point of a second robot manipulator 20 over a desired second path 22, while automatically travelling along the first path 11,

[0046] acquiring S5 the second path 22 and storing the second path 22 in a second data set, wherein the second data set is assigned to the first data set such that a location of the first path 11 is at least approximately assigned to each location of the second path 22, and

[0047] traveling S6 along the first path 11 by the first robot manipulator 10 according to the first data set synchronized with traveling along the second path 22 by the second robot manipulator 20 according to the second data set.

[0048] FIG. 2 shows a system 100 to teach and execute mutually coordinated paths 11, 22 of robot manipulators 10, 20, the system including: a first robot manipulator 10 that includes a first path acquisition unit 15 designed to acquire a desired first path 11 of a first reference point of the first robot manipulator 10 during manual guidance of the first robot manipulator 10 and store the first reference point in a first data set, and a first control unit 14 designed to control the first robot manipulator 10 to travel along the first path 11 according to the first data set; and a second robot manipulator that includes a second path acquisition unit 25 designed to acquire a desired second path 22 of a second reference point of the second robot manipulator 20 during manual guidance of the second robot manipulator 20 while the first robot manipulator 10 travels along the first path 11 and store the second reference point in a second data set, wherein the second data set is assigned to the first data set in such a way that a location of the first path 11 is at least approximately assigned to each location of the second path 22; and a second control unit 24 designed to control the second robot manipulator 20 to travel along the desired second path 22 according to the second data set, wherein travel along the desired first path 11 by the first robot manipulator 10 according to the first data set is synchronized with travel along the desired second path 22 by the second robot manipulator 20 according to the second data set.

[0049] In an alternative embodiment of the system 100, instead of control units 14, 24, the first robot manipulator 10 and the second robot manipulator 20 are controlled by a common control unit. In this case, the common control unit is designed to control the first robot manipulator 10 to travel along the desired first path 11 according to the first data set and to control the second robot manipulator 20 to travel along the desired second path 22 according to the second data set, wherein travel along the desired first path 11 by the first robot manipulator 10 according to the first data set is synchronized with travel along the desired second path 22 by the second robot manipulator 20 according to the second data set.

[0050] Although the invention has been further illustrated and described in detail by way of preferred example embodiments, the invention is not limited by the disclosed examples, and other variations can be derived therefrom by a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. It is therefore clear that a multitude of possible variations exists. It is also clear that embodiments mentioned as examples really only represent examples, which are not to be construed in any way as limiting the scope of protection, the possible applications, or the configuration of the invention. Rather, the preceding description and description of the figures enable a person skilled in the art to implement the example embodiments, wherein a person skilled in the art aware of the disclosed inventive concept may make various changes, for example as to the function or arrangement of individual elements cited in an example embodiment, without departing from the scope as defined by the claims and their legal equivalents, such as more extensive explanations in the description.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0051] 10 first robot manipulator

[0052] 11 first path

[0053] 13 first end effector

[0054] 14 first control unit

[0055] 15 first path acquisition unit

[0056] 20 second robot manipulator

[0057] 22 second path

[0058] 23 second end effector

[0059] 24 second control unit

[0060] 25 second path acquisition unit

[0061] 100 system

[0062] S1 manual guidance

[0063] S2 acquisition

[0064] S3 automatic travel

[0065] S4 manual guidance

[0066] S5 acquisition

[0067] S6 synchronized travel