Methods and systems for tiered programming of robotic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10245726-B1
Application number	US-201615242754-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Aug 22, 2016
Priority date	Jun 24, 2013
Publication date	Apr 2, 2019
Grant date	Apr 2, 2019

Abstract

A method operable by a computing device is provided. The method may include receiving a request for a given task to be performed by a robotic system. The method may also determining one or more subtasks required to perform the given task, where the one or more subtasks include one or more parameters used to define the one or more subtasks. The method may also include determining an arrangement of the one or more subtasks to perform the given task, and providing for display an indication of the one or more undefined parameters for the given task. The method may also include receiving an input defining the one or more undefined parameters for the given task, and executing the one or more subtasks in the determined arrangement and in accordance with the one or more defined parameters to cause the robotic system to perform the given task.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method operable by a computing device, the method comprising:
receiving a request for a given task to be performed by a robotic system, wherein the robotic system includes a modular reconfigurable workcell including two or more modular docking bays on a surface of the workcell that support removable attachment of two or more peripherals in a fixed geometric configuration;
determining two or more subtasks required to perform the given task, wherein the two or more subtasks are performed by the two or more peripherals of the robotic system, wherein a first peripheral of the two or more peripherals is configured to perform a first set of subtasks and a second peripheral of the two or more peripherals is configured to perform a second set of subtasks, wherein the first peripheral is selected based on its ability to perform the first set of subtasks, and wherein the second peripheral is selected based on its ability to perform the second set of subtasks;
determining an arrangement of the two or more subtasks to perform the given task, wherein the arrangement includes a combination of the two or more subtasks in a particular order;
based on the determined arrangement of the two or more subtasks, determining an arrangement of the two or more peripherals on the modular reconfigurable workcell to perform the given task;
receiving an indication of attachment of the two or more peripherals to the modular reconfigurable workcell based on the determined arrangement of the two or more peripherals; and
executing the two or more subtasks in the determined arrangement to cause the two or more peripherals of the robotic system to perform the given task.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the two or more subtasks include one or more parameters used to define the two or more subtasks, wherein the one or more parameters include information required for the robotic system to execute a given subtask.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the one or more parameters include one or more of a location of a given peripheral of the two or more peripherals, an orientation of a component of the given peripheral, a force limit for a component of the given peripheral, a rotation speed of a component of the given peripheral, a pattern for the given peripheral to follow, and a count of a number of times the given subtask is performed.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the one or more parameters are initially defined by a default setting, wherein the default setting is based at least in part by sensor data from one or more sensors of the robotic system.

5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
based on the determined arrangement of the two or more subtasks, providing for display a visual representation of each of the two or more subtasks in the particular order simultaneously on an interface of the computing device, wherein the visual representation includes an indication of the one or more undefined parameters for the given task.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
receiving, via the interface of the computing device, an input defining the one or more undefined parameters for the given task, wherein a defined parameter includes information required for the robotic system to execute the given subtask.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the input defining the one or more undefined parameters comprises moving a component of the robotic system to define a geometrical bound for the component.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
based on the determined arrangement of the two or more subtasks, providing for display a visual representation of each of the two or more subtasks in the particular order simultaneously on an interface of the computing device.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the two or more subtasks include one or more error conditions, wherein an occurrence of one of the one or more error conditions cause the robotic system to stop performing the given task and provide for display an error message on an interface of a computing device.

10. A computing device, comprising:
one or more processors; and
a non-transitory computer-readable medium, configured to store instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:
receiving a request for a given task to be performed by a robotic system, wherein the robotic system includes a modular reconfigurable workcell including two or more modular docking bays on a surface of the workcell that support removable attachment of two or more peripherals in a fixed geometric configuration;
determining two or more subtasks required to perform the given task, wherein the two or more subtasks are performed by the two or more peripherals of the robotic system, wherein a first peripheral of the two or more peripherals is configured to perform a first set of subtasks and a second peripheral of the two or more peripherals is configured to perform a second set of subtasks, wherein the first peripheral is selected based on its ability to perform the first set of subtasks, and wherein the second peripheral is selected based on its ability to perform the second set of subtasks;
determining an arrangement of the two or more subtasks to perform the given task, wherein the arrangement includes a combination of the two or more subtasks in a particular order;
based on the determined arrangement of the two or more subtasks, determining an arrangement of the two or more peripherals on the modular reconfigurable workcell to perform the given task;
receive an indication of attachment of the two or more peripherals to the modular reconfigurable workcell based on the determined arrangement of the two or more peripherals; and
executing the two or more subtasks in the determined arrangement to cause the two or more peripherals of the robotic system to perform the given task.

11. The computing device of claim 10 , wherein the two or more subtasks include one or more parameters used to define the two or more subtasks, wherein the one or more parameters include information required for the robotic system to execute a given subtask.

12. The computing device of claim 11 , wherein the one or more parameters include one or more of a location of a given peripheral of the two or more peripherals, an orientation of a component of the given peripheral, a force limit for a component of the given peripheral, a rotation speed of a component of the given peripheral, a pattern for the given peripheral to follow, and a count of a number of times the given subtask is performed.

13. The computing device of claim 11 , wherein at least one of the one or more parameters are initially defined by a default setting, wherein the default setting is based at least in part by sensor data from one or more sensors of the robotic system.

14. The computing device of claim 11 , wherein the functions further comprise:
based on the determined arrangement of the two or more subtasks, providing for display a visual representation of each of the two or more subtasks in the particular order simultaneously on an interface of the computing device, wherein the visual representation includes an indication of the one or more undefined parameters for the given task; and
receiving, via the interface of the computing device, an input defining the one or more undefined parameters for the given task, wherein a defined parameter includes information required for the robotic system to execute the given subtask.

15. The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the input defining the one or more undefined parameters comprises moving a component

Assignees

• X Dev Llc

Inventors

• Jain Advait
• Jules Anthony
• Edsinger Aaron

Classifications

• G05B19/41865

  characterised by job scheduling, process planning, material flow · CPC title

• B25J9/1661 Primary

  characterised by task planning, object-oriented languages · CPC title

• G05B2219/23254

  Interactive programming, sentence on screen filled in by operator · CPC title

• G05B19/41845 Primary

  characterised by system universality, reconfigurability, modularity · CPC title

• G05B2219/39252

  Autonomous distributed control, task distributed into each subsystem, task space · CPC title