Robotic gripper camera

• US 10,486,311 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2018
• Issued: 11/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Flir Detection, Inc. (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Flir Detection, Inc. (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Inventors: Mozeika, Annan Michael, Ohm, Timothy R., Brown, Christopher Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Glass, Erick D
• Application Number:
  US15/900,307
• Publication Number:
  US 20180236666A1
• Time in Patent Office: 644 Days
• Field of Search: 31856812
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/006 by means of a wireless system for controlling one or several manipulators
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/065 comprising joy-sticks
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 15/0009 comprising multi-articulated fingers, e.g. resembling a human hand
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 15/0213 actuated by gears
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 19/023 including video camera means
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/005 mounted on endless tracks or belts
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/161 Hardware, e.g. neural networks, fuzzy logic, interfaces, processor
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1612 characterised by the hand, wrist, grip control
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/162 Mobile manipulator, movable base with manipulator arm mounted on it
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1689 Teleoperation
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/02 Arm motion controller
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/31 Gripping jaw
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/47 Optical

Abstract

An unmanned ground vehicle includes a main body, a drive system supported by the main body, and a manipulator arm pivotally coupled to the main body. The drive system comprising right and left driven track assemblies mounted on right and left sides of the main body. The manipulator arm includes a gripper, a wrist motor configured for rotating the gripper, and an inline camera in a palm of the gripper. The inline camera is mechanically configured to remain stationary with respect to the manipulator arm while the wrist motor rotates the gripper.

Claims

1. An unmanned ground vehicle comprising:

a main body;

a drive system supported by the main body, the drive system comprising right and left driven track assemblies mounted on right and left sides of the main body; and

a manipulator arm pivotally coupled to the main body, the manipulator arm comprising a gripper, a wrist motor configured for rotating the gripper, and an inline camera in a palm of the gripper, wherein the inline camera is mechanically configured to remain stationary with respect to the manipulator arm while the wrist motor rotates the gripper;

wherein the gripper comprises a plurality of articulated gripper fingers and a gripping motor configured to cause the articulated gripper fingers to move from an open position to a closed position to grip an object; and

wherein the inline camera is centered between the articulated gripper fingers, and wherein the inline camera is centered on a gripper roll axis of the wrist motor.

2. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1, wherein the inline camera is centered within the palm of the gripper.

3. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1, comprising a gripper closure rack and a plurality of pulleys coupling the articulated gripper fingers to the gripping motor.

4. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 3, comprising a camera housing tube between the pulleys housing the inline camera, wherein the camera housing tube is coupled to the manipulator arm independently of a gripper coupling to the manipulator arm by the wrist motor.

5. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 4, comprising one or more electrical cables extending though the camera housing tube to the inline camera for carrying power and communication signals for the inline camera.

6. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1, wherein the manipulator arm comprises a first section pivotally coupled to the main body at a pivot end and a second section pivotally coupled to the first section at an end opposite the pivot end.

7. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1, comprising a robot controller configured to control the drive system and the manipulator arm by supplying control signals to one or more drive system motors and one or more manipulator motors.

8. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1, comprising right and left flippers extending beyond a front end of the main body, wherein each of the right and left flippers pivots about a drive axis of the drive system, and wherein each of the right and left flippers comprises a driven flipper track trained about a flipper drive wheel which is driven about the drive axis.

9. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1, comprising a communication system configured to communicate with a remote operator control unit and to transmit a camera feed from the inline camera to the remote operator control unit.

10. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 9, wherein the communication system is configured to receive one or more manipulator commands to extend or stow the manipulator arm.

11. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 9, wherein the communication system is configured to receive one or more gripper commands to cause the gripper to contract or release.

12. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 9, wherein the communication system is configured to receive one or more gripper commands to cause the wrist motor to rotate the gripper.

13. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1, comprising an offset gripper camera on the manipulator arm.

14. A system comprising:

an unmanned vehicle comprising;

a gripper and a wrist motor configured for rotating the gripper;

an inline camera in a palm of the gripper, wherein the inline camera is mechanically configured to remain stationary with respect to the unmanned vehicle while the wrist motor rotates the gripper, wherein the gripper comprises a plurality of articulated gripper fingers and a gripping motor configured to cause the articulated gripper fingers to move from an open position to a closed position to grip an object, and wherein the inline camera is centered between the articulated gripper fingers, and wherein the inline camera is centered on a gripper roll axis of the wrist motor; and

a vehicle communications system;

an operator control unit comprising;

a display screen and an operator input device;

a control unit communications system; and

at least one processor programmed for receiving, by the control unit communications system communicating with the vehicle communications system, a camera feed from the inline camera and displaying the camera feed on the display screen.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the unmanned vehicle comprises a robot controller programmed for receiving, from the operator control unit and by the control unit communications system communicating with the vehicle communications system, one or more gripper commands to cause the gripper to contract or release and to cause the wrist motor to rotate the gripper.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the unmanned vehicle comprises a manipulator arm and the gripper is coupled to the manipulator arm, and wherein the robot controller is programmed for receiving, from the operator control unit by the control unit communications system communicating with the vehicle communications system, one or more manipulator commands to stow or extend the manipulator arm.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the unmanned vehicle comprises an offset gripper camera on the manipulator arm, and wherein the at least one processor of the operator control unit is programmed for displaying, at a same time, a first camera feed from the inline camera and a second camera feed from the offset gripper camera and for receiving, using the operator input device, operator input for controlling the gripper while displaying the first camera feed and the second camera feed at the same time and while the wrist motor rotates the gripper.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the unmanned vehicle comprises a main body and a drive system supported by the main body, the drive system comprising right and left driven track assemblies mounted on right and left sides of the main body, and wherein the robot controller is programmed for receiving, from the operator control unit by the control unit communications system communicating with the vehicle communications system, one or more drive commands from driving the drive system.

19. A method for controlling an unmanned ground vehicle, the method comprising:

providing, by a robot controller, a video feed from an inline camera in a palm of a gripper on a manipulator arm to a remote operator control unit, wherein the gripper comprises a plurality of articulated gripper fingers and a gripping motor configured to cause the articulated gripper fingers to move from an open position to a closed position to drip an object, and wherein the inline camera is centered between the articulated gripper fingers, and wherein the inline camera is centered on a gripper roll axis of the wrist motor;

controlling, by the robot controller, a wrist motor to cause the wrist motor to rotate the gripper about a gripper roll axis, such that inline camera remains stationary with respect to the manipulator arm while the wrist motor rotates the gripper; and

controlling, by the robot controller, a gripper motor to cause the gripper to contract from an open position to a closed position to grip an object.