Robot and Method of Registering a Robot
First Claim
1. A robot comprising:
- a controllable having an instrument or tool carried thereon;
a visual image acquisition means to obtain visual images of a work piece, said visual images being comprised of images of markers and images of an indicator present on said work piece; and
a processor means for said visual images, said processor means determining a position of the markers within a spatial frame of reference to determine position of said work piece in said spatial frame and controlling said controllable arm in predetermined movements to affect said instrument or tool carried by the arm relative to said work piece, said processor means determining position of said indicator and responding to movement of said indicator within said spatial frame of reference when the markers are concealed, an alternate position of said indicator and thus an alternate position of said work piece being determined, said processor means controlling said controllable arm to continue effecting predetermined movements relative to said work piece.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A robot has a controllable arm which carries an instrument or tool. The robot is provided with a camera to obtain an image of a work piece, including images of markers and an indicator present on the work piece. The robot processes the images to determine the position of the markers within a spatial frame of reference. The robot is controlled to effect predetermined movements of the instrument or tool relative to the work piece. The processor is further configured to determine the position of the indicator and to respond to movement of the indicator within the spatial frame of reference of the robot when the markers are concealed to determine a new position of the indicator and thus the new position of the work piece. Subsequently, the robot is controlled, relative to the new position of the work piece, to effect predetermined movements relative to the work piece.
157 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A robot comprising:
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a controllable having an instrument or tool carried thereon; a visual image acquisition means to obtain visual images of a work piece, said visual images being comprised of images of markers and images of an indicator present on said work piece; and a processor means for said visual images, said processor means determining a position of the markers within a spatial frame of reference to determine position of said work piece in said spatial frame and controlling said controllable arm in predetermined movements to affect said instrument or tool carried by the arm relative to said work piece, said processor means determining position of said indicator and responding to movement of said indicator within said spatial frame of reference when the markers are concealed, an alternate position of said indicator and thus an alternate position of said work piece being determined, said processor means controlling said controllable arm to continue effecting predetermined movements relative to said work piece. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of registering a work piece relative to a robot, said method comprising the steps of:
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acquiring one or more images of a work piece, said work piece incorporating visual markers; processing the images to identify at least one point on said work piece; generating control signals for a robot to define a path to be followed by a tool or instrument carried by said robot to bring the tool or instrument to said at least one point; providing said robot with an image acquisition device; utilizing said image acquisition device to acquire images of the markers; utilizing a processor to process the images acquired with said acquisition device and to control the robot to move the tool or instrument along said path; providing an indicator with a predetermined spatial position relative to the markers; processing, within the processor, the images from said image acquisition device to determine the position of the indicator; concealing the markers; monitoring position of the indicator; and responding to a movement of the indicator relative to the frame of reference of the robot by controlling the robot so that the tool or instrument continues to move along said path. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12-14. -14. (canceled)
Specification