Automatic determination of robot settling states

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12569992-B2
Application number	US-202418612719-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 21, 2024
Priority date	Mar 21, 2024
Publication date	Mar 10, 2026
Grant date	Mar 10, 2026

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for controlling a robot based on settling time of the robot. One of the methods includes executing, by a robot having one or more joints, a motion trajectory to move from a first pose to a second pose; repeatedly computing a settled state confidence score after the robot has begun execution of the motion trajectory; and whenever the current settled state confidence score satisfies a threshold value, executing, by the robot, a command that causes the robot to move.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method comprising:
executing, by a robot having one or more joints, a motion trajectory to move from a first pose to a second pose; repeatedly computing a settled state confidence score after the robot has begun execution of the motion trajectory, wherein the settled state confidence score represents a level of confidence that the robot has entered a settled state, and wherein computing the confidence score comprises, at each of multiple time points:
determining, for each of the one or more joints of the robot, a current velocity value based on status data reported by the robot; and
determining, for each of the one or more joints of the robot, a velocity difference between (i) the current velocity value determined from the status data reported by the robot and (ii) a target velocity value specified by the motion trajectory; and
computing, based at least on the current velocity values, and the velocity differences, a current settled state confidence score for the time point; and
whenever the current settled state confidence score satisfies a threshold value, executing, by the robot, a command that causes the robot to move.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the settled state is a state of the robot in which a velocity value of a joint of the robot is within an error band around a predetermined velocity value.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the predetermined velocity value is zero.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein computing the confidence score comprises:
obtaining an indicator value that indicates whether the execution of the motion trajectory by the robot is complete; and computing, based on the current velocity values, the velocity differences, and the indicator value, the current settled state confidence score for the time point.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein computing the current settled state confidence score comprises:
computing a variance of the velocity differences over multiple time points up to the current time point.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein computing the current settled state confidence score comprises:
determining an update to a previous settled state confidence score based on the variance of the velocity differences and the current velocity values.

7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the indicator value is a Boolean value.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the multiple time points are separated from each other by a fixed time interval that is dependent on an operating frequency of the robot.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein executing, by the robot, the command that causes the robot to move comprises:
performing an action by an end effector of the robot in accordance with the command.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein executing, by the robot, the command that causes the robot to move comprises:
executing another motion trajectory to move from the second pose to a third pose in accordance with the command.

11 . A system comprising one or more computers and one or more non-transitory storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
executing, by a robot having one or more joints, a motion trajectory to move from a first pose to a second pose; repeatedly computing a settled state confidence score after the robot has begun execution of the motion trajectory, wherein the settled state confidence score represents a level of confidence that the robot has entered a settled state, and wherein computing the confidence score comprises, at each of multiple time points:
determining, for each of the one or more joints of the robot, a current velocity value based on status data reported by the robot; and
determining, for each of the one or more joints of the robot, a velocity difference between (i) the current velocity value determined from the status data reported by the robot and (ii) a target velocity value specified by the motion trajectory; and
computing, based at least on the current velocity values, and the velocity differences, a current settled state confidence score for the time point; and
whenever the current settled state confidence score satisfies a threshold value, executing, by the robot, a command that causes the robot to move.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the settled state is a state of the robot in which a velocity value of a joint of the robot is within an error band around a predetermined velocity value.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the predetermined velocity value is zero.

14 . The system of claim 11 , wherein computing the confidence score comprises:
obtaining an indicator value that indicates whether the execution of the motion trajectory by the robot is complete; and computing, based on the current velocity values, the velocity differences, and the indicator value, the current settled state confidence score for the time point.

15 . The system of claim 11 , wherein computing the current settled state confidence score comprises:
computing a variance of the velocity differences over multiple time points up to the current time point.

16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein computing the current settled state confidence score comprises:
determining an update to a previous settled state confidence score based on the variance of the velocity differences and the current velocity values.

17 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the indicator value is a Boolean value.

18 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the multiple time points are separated from each other by a fixed time interval that is dependent on an operating frequency of the robot.

19 . The system of claim 11 , wherein executing, by the robot, the command that causes the robot to move comprises one of:
performing an action by an end effector of the robot in accordance with the command, or executing another motion trajectory to move from the second pose to a third pose in accordance with the command.

20 . A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
executing, by a robot having one or more joints, a motion trajectory to move from a first pose to a second pose; repeatedly computing a settled state confidence score after the robot has begun execution of the motion trajectory, wherein the settled state confidence score represents a level of confidence that the robot has entered a settled state, and wherein computing the confidence score comprises, at each of multiple time points:
determining, for each of the one or more joints of the robot, a current velocity value based on status data reported by the robot; and
determining, for each of the one or more joints of the robot, a velocity difference between (i) the current velocity value determined from the status data reported by the robot and (ii) a target velocity value specified by the motion trajectory; and
computing, based at least on the current velocity values, and the velocity differences, a current settled state confidence score for the time point; and
whenever the current settled state confidence score satisfies a threshold value, executing, by the robot, a command that causes the robot to move.

Assignees

• Intrinsic Innovation Llc

Inventors

• Ponton Junes Brahayam David
• Giftthaler Markus

Classifications

• B25J9/1638 Primary

  compensation for arm bending/inertia, pay load weight/inertia · CPC title