System and method for robot operating environment discovery
First Claim
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1. A method of determining at least one operating characteristic of a robotic system, wherein the robotic system comprises a motor for driving motion of a payload about an axis of rotation, the method comprising:
- determining a location of a center of mass of the payload by;
controlling the motor to hold the payload static in at least three angular positions, and for each position determining a respective torque applied by the motor to hold the payload static; and
determining a residual center of mass offset angle and a distance of the center of mass from the axis of rotation based on the determined torques.
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Abstract
A method of accommodating a payload and determining a working environment in a robotic system is disclosed. The method is directed to using a motor current measurement taken at the axis motors of a robotic system to calculate various parameters including payload balance, mass, moment of inertia, friction force and traction force. This measurement is based on the known relationship between motor current and motor torque.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of determining at least one operating characteristic of a robotic system, wherein the robotic system comprises a motor for driving motion of a payload about an axis of rotation, the method comprising:
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determining a location of a center of mass of the payload by; controlling the motor to hold the payload static in at least three angular positions, and for each position determining a respective torque applied by the motor to hold the payload static; and determining a residual center of mass offset angle and a distance of the center of mass from the axis of rotation based on the determined torques. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15)
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14. A method in an apparatus comprising a lift motor that lifts a column carrying a head and payload, with passive struts that assist the motor, the method comprising:
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controlling the lift motor to sequentially raise the column to a plurality of vertical positions and to hold the column steady while in each of the plurality of vertical positions; for each vertical position, determining a force applied by the lift motor to hold the column steady; and determining strut force as a function of vertical position based on the determined motor force and a combined mass of the column, head and payload. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for determining holding force F0 and static friction force Ffs about an axis of a robotic system, the method comprising:
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for each of at least one position; controlling the motor to generate a force that holds the axis steady in the position; gradually increasing force until movement is detected in a positive direction and storing a value Fu representing the force when movement is detected; returning to the position and gradually reducing force until movement is detected in a negative direction and storing a second value F1 representing the force when movement is detected; determining the holding force and static friction force based on the first and second value according to; - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for determining track characteristics of a track used by a robotic system having at least one motorized wheel running on the track, the method comprising:
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moving the robot along the track at a velocity vc; as the robot changes position on the track, monitoring wheel velocity as a function of position; determining track positions where the wheel velocity is above a wheel velocity consistent with the velocity vc by a threshold amount as positions where there is a loss of traction on the track; and determining track positions where the wheel velocity is below a wheel velocity consistent with the wheel velocity consistent with the velocity vc by a threshold amount as positions that are binding points on the track.
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24. A robotic control system for use with a robotic system comprising an actuator that causes motion in an axis, the robotic control system comprising:
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a transmit channel for sending control commands to the actuator; a receive channel for receiving information from the robotic system; a robotic environment characterization controller that, for each of at least one operating characteristic of the robotic system; controls the actuator to perform a predetermined sequence of steps by sending control commands on the transmit channel; receives measurement information on the receive channel following performance of each step of said predetermined sequence of steps; and based on the received measurements, determines the operating characteristic of the robotic system. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification