System and method for in-flight robotic arm retargeting

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10040196-B2
Application number	US-201615204768-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 7, 2016
Priority date	Jul 7, 2016
Publication date	Aug 7, 2018
Grant date	Aug 7, 2018

Abstract

A system comprising a robotic arm and a robotic arm controller. The robotic arm receives instructions from the robotic arm controller and moves along a path. The robotic arm controller comprises an interface, a memory, and a processor. The interface communicates with the robotic arm. The memory stores a first path and a second path. The processor applies a decreasing weight to the waypoints of the first path and an increasing weight to the waypoints of the second path. The processor combines the weighted waypoints of the first path and the second path to generate a third path wherein the third path defines a transition path from the first path to the second path. The processor further instructs the robotic arm to transition from the first path to the second path by traversing the third path.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a robotic arm configured to communicate with a robotic arm controller and move along a path; and
the robotic arm controller comprising:
an interface configured to communicate with the robotic arm;
a memory configured to store:
a first path defining an original path for the robotic arm movement, the first path comprising a first set of ordered waypoints ranging from a first initial waypoint defining a beginning of the first path to a first final waypoint defining an ending of the first path, each waypoint defining a location and velocity with which to approach that location;
a second path defining a first modified path for the robotic arm movement, the second path comprising a second set of ordered waypoints ranging from a second initial waypoint defining a beginning of the second path to a second final waypoint defining an ending of the second path;

a processor configured to:
assign a weight value to each waypoint of the first set of ordered waypoints to generate a first weighted set of ordered waypoints, wherein:
weight values range from one to zero; and
weight values are assigned to each waypoint in the first set of ordered waypoints in a decreasing order such that the first initial waypoint has a first highest weight and the first final waypoint has a first lowest weight;

assign a weight value to each waypoint of the second set of ordered waypoints to generate a second weighted set of ordered waypoints, wherein:
weight values range from zero to one; and
weight values are assigned to each waypoint in the second set of ordered waypoints in an increasing order such that the second initial waypoint is associated with the first lowest weight and the second final waypoint is associated with the first highest weight;

combine the first weighted set of ordered waypoints with the second weighted set of ordered waypoints generate a third path comprising a third set of ordered waypoints, wherein:
each waypoint in the third set of ordered waypoints is the sum of corresponding waypoints from the first weighted set of ordered waypoint and the second weighted set of ordered waypoints; and
the third path defines a transition path from the first path to the second path; and

communicate instructions to the robotic arm to transition from the first path to the second path by traversing the third path.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine that the first path has fewer waypoints than the second path; and
extend the first path by duplicating the first final waypoint one or more times and appending the duplicated first final waypoints to the end of the first path until the first path has the same number of waypoints as the second path.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine that the second path has fewer waypoints than the first path; and
extend the second path by duplicating the second final waypoint one or more times and appending the duplicated second final waypoint to the end of the second path until the second path has the same number of waypoints as the first path.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the third path comprises a combination of at least thirty weighted waypoints from the first path and at least thirty corresponding weighted waypoints from the second path to form an at least partially smooth transition path from the first path to the second path.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein:
the interface is further configured to receive, while the robotic arm is moving along the third path, a fourth path comprising a fourth set of ordered waypoints ranging from a fourth initial waypoint to a fourth final waypoint; and
the processor is further configured to:
associate a weight with each waypoint of the fourth path, wherein the weight associated with each waypoint of the fourth path increases at a second determined rate so that the fourth initial waypoint is associated with a second lowest weight and the fourth final waypoint is associated with a second highest weight;
associate a weight with each waypoint of the second path, wherein the weight associated with each waypoint of the second path decreases at the second determined rate so that the second initial waypoint is associated with the second highest weight and the second final waypoint is associated with the second lowest weight;
combine the fourth set of weighted waypoints and the corresponding second set of weighted waypoints to generate a fifth path; and
instruct the robotic arm to transition from the third path to the fourth path by traversing the fifth path.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first lowest weight is 0 and the first highest weight is 1.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to combine the weighted waypoints to generate the third path by adding each weighted waypoint of the first path to each corresponding weighted waypoint of the second path.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the processor is configured to generate the third path by:
adding a first weighted waypoint of the first path to a first weighted waypoint of the second path to generate a first waypoint of the third path;
adding a second weighted waypoint of the first path to a second weighted waypoint of the second path to generate a second waypoint of the third path; and
adding an nth weighted waypoint of the first path to an nth weighted waypoint of the second path to generate an nth waypoint of the third path.

9. A method comprising:
assigning, by a processor, a weight value to each waypoint of a first set of ordered waypoints to generate a first weighted set of ordered waypoints, wherein:
the first set of ordered waypoints describe a first path defining an original path for a robotic arm movement,
the first set of ordered waypoints are arranged from a first initial waypoint defining a beginning of the first path to a first final waypoint defining an ending of the first path,
each waypoint defining a location and velocity with which to approach that location,
weight values range from one to zero, and
weight values are assigned to each waypoint in the first set of ordered waypoints in a decreasing order such that the first initial waypoint has a first highest weight and the first final waypoint has a first lowest weight;

assigning, by the processor, a weight value to each waypoint of a second set of ordered waypoints to generate a second weighted set of ordered waypoints, wherein:
the second set of ordered waypoints describe a second path defining a first modified path for the robotic arm movement,
the second set of ordered waypoints are arranged from a second initial waypoint defining a beginning of the second path to a second final waypoint defining an ending of the second path,
weight values range from zero to one, and
weight values are assigned to each waypoint in the second set of ordered waypoints in an increasing order such that the second initial waypoint is associated with the first lowest weight and the second final waypoint is associated with the first highest weight;

combining, by the processor, the first set of weighted waypoints with the second set of weighted waypoints to generate a third path comprising a third set of ordered waypoints, wherein:
each waypoint in the third set of ordered waypoints is the sum of corresponding waypoints from the first weighted set of ordered waypoints and the second weighted set of ordered waypoints, and
the third path defines a transition path from the first path to the second path; and

communicating, by the processor using an interface, instructions a robotic arm to transition from the first path to the second path by traversing the

Assignees

• Technologies Holdings Corp
• Tech Holding Corp

Inventors

• Linlor Peter M

Classifications

• B25J9/1664 Primary

  characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning · CPC title

• G05B2219/40516

  Replanning · CPC title