Method of recording a motion for robotic playback

• US 20140065586A1
• Filed: 09/04/2012
• Published: 03/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yaron Gabbai
• Original Assignee: Yaron Gabbai
• Inventors: Gabbai, Yaron
• Granted Patent: US 9,230,447 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 434/247
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/00 Teaching not covered by other main groups of this subclass teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying F41G3/26
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0038 Sports

Abstract

A method of recording the motion of a physical object moved under human control is described that allows repeated replay of the exact motion using a robot to cause the motion of the object to occur in such a way as to allow a human student to interact with the object and experience the fundamental movements required to reproduce the motion consistently, thereby enhancing motor learning.

Claims

1. A method of recording a motion of a physical object executed by a human operator to enhance motor learning of a trainee by repetition of said motion comprising:

a) instrumenting said physical object with electromechanical sensors that sense a 3-dimensional position of the object at sequential instants of time during said motion and provide electronic positional signals during said motion,

b) acquiring the electronic positional signals from the sensors during said motion of said physical object over at least one training trajectory by said operator and storing the positional signals in a data format that allows for subsequent signal processing,

c) verifying that the stored positional data corresponds to a valid training trajectory by comparison with previously established limits,

d) transferring the stored positional data for each training trajectory to a signal processor and the data to form a motion data record in a coordinate system particular to a motion-processing generating device,

e) reconstructing 3-dimensional acceleration, velocity and position data based on the motion data record,

f) attaching the physical object to the motion-generating device wherein said trainee interacts with said physical object in a normal operational manner, and

g) translating the reconstructed 3-dimensional acceleration, velocity and position data into motion control commands that are applied to motion controllers within the motion-generating device to cause the motion-generating device to repeatedly move said physical object over said training trajectory while said trainee interacts with said physical object.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of verifying the training trajectory comprises comparing positional and velocity extremes obtained from the stored positional data to predetermined limits.

3. The method of claim 1 further including measuring at least one constraining dimension of the motion-generating device and constraining the motion-generating device to the measured constraining dimension when the motion-generating device repeatedly moves the said physical object over said training trajectory.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the 3-dimensional motion data record obtained from the signal processor comprises an acceleration vector having a triangular time profile in each dimension, and reconstructing 3-dimensional velocity data based on the triangular acceleration vector data comprises numerically integrating the acceleration data and reconstructing 3-dimensional position data based on the triangular acceleration vector data comprises numerically integrating the velocity data.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the reconstructing includes selecting for each motion data record motion-generating device coordinate a maximum excursion, a minimum excursion, a maximum velocity, a minimum velocity and a time of occurrence during the motion data record for each of the maxima and minima and constructing a new data set of position, velocity and acceleration values that maintains the same maxima and minima and time of occurrence of each and constrains acceleration to continuous values.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the human operator and the trainee are the same person.

7. A method of recording a motion of a golf club executed by a human operator to enhance motor learning of a trainee by repetition of said motion comprising:

a) measuring the position of the top of the golf club, the position of the shoulders of the human operator and the swing plane angle of the golf club,

b) positioning a motion-generating device such that the position of the top of the golf club, the shoulders of the human operator and the swing plane angle are constrained to the measured positions when the golf club is attached to the motion-generating,

a) instrumenting said golf club with electromechanical sensors that sense a 3-dimensional position of the object at sequential instants of time during said motion and provide electronic positional signals during said motion,

b) acquiring the electronic positional signals from the sensors during said motion of said golf club over at least one training trajectory by said operator and storing the positional signals in a data format that allows for subsequent signal processing,

c) verifying that the stored positional data corresponds to a valid training trajectory by comparison with previously established limits,

d) transferring the stored positional data for each training trajectory to a signal processor and processing the data to form a motion data record in a coordinate system particular to the motion-generating device,

e) reconstructing 3-dimensional acceleration, velocity and position data in the coordinate system particular to the motion-generating device based on the motion data record,

f) attaching the golf club to the motion-generating device wherein said trainee interacts with said golf club in a normal operational manner, and

g) applying the reconstructed 3-dimensional acceleration, velocity and position data to motion controllers within the motion-generating device to cause the motion-generating device to repeatedly move said golf club over said training trajectory while said trainee interacts with said golf club.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the human operator and the trainee are the same person.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of verifying the training trajectory comprises comparing positional and velocity extremes obtained from the stored positional data to predetermined limits.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the 3-dimensional motion data record obtained from the signal processor comprises an acceleration vector having a triangular time profile in each dimension, and reconstructing 3-dimensional velocity data based on the triangular acceleration vector data comprises numerically integrating the acceleration data and reconstructing 3-dimensional position data based on the triangular acceleration vector data comprises numerically integrating the velocity data.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the reconstructing includes selecting for each motion data record motion-generating device coordinate a maximum excursion, a minimum excursion, a maximum velocity, a minimum velocity and a time of occurrence during the motion data record for each of the maxima and minima and constructing a new data set of position, velocity and acceleration values that maintains the same maxima and minima and time of occurrence of each and constrains acceleration to continuous values.

12. A method of replaying a recorded motion on a motion-generating device said method comprising:

a) recording a motion of an object by recording a data file of the position of the object at sequential instants of time in three dimensions,

b) translating the time varying recorded coordinates of the object to coordinates of rotational motion of servo motors contained in the motion-generating device such that when the servo motors are rotated and object attached to the motion generating device would follow the same path as the recorded motion,

c) for each coordinate of rotational motion determining the starting position, the ending position, the points in time of maximum acceleration and velocity, the points in time of minimum acceleration and velocity,

d) constructing a new data file of the position of the object at sequential instants of time wherein the starting position, the ending position, the points in time of maximum acceleration and velocity and the points in time of minimum acceleration and velocity are the same as that in the recorded file and that a curve describing position at sequential instants of time and the first and second derivatives of the curve are continuous,

e) using the constructed new data file to drive the servo motors in the motion-generating device to cause the motion-generating device to move an object attached to said motion-generating device along a path approximating the recorded motion.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the object is a golf club and the position of the object is the position of the handle of the golf club constrained to the motion of swinging the golf club by a user.