Surgical robotic arm admittance control

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed, cause at least one computing device to:

• determine a force at a reference point on a robotic arm comprising a torque sensor based on an output of the torque sensor, the robotic arm further comprising:
• two linkages, a joint connecting the two linkages, and a motor configured to adjust the position of the two linkages, the torque sensor configured to detect torque between the two linkages;
• receive an indication of a direction of movement of the reference point;
• determine that a component of the force is in the same direction as the direction of movement of the reference point;
• generate, based on the determination that the component of the force is in the same direction as the direction of movement of the reference point, at least one parameter indicative of a target resistance to movement of the robotic arm;
• and
• control the motor, based on the at least one parameter, to move the robotic arm in accordance with the target resistance.

A method of positioning a robotic arm, comprising:

• determining a force at a reference point on the robotic arm comprising a torque sensor based on an output of the torque sensor, the robotic arm further comprising:
• two linkages, a joint connecting the two linkages, and a motor configured to adjust the position of the two linkages, the torque sensor configured to detect torque between the two linkages;
• receiving an indication of a direction of movement of the reference point;
• determining that a component of the force is in the same direction as the direction of movement of the reference point;
• generating, based on the determination that the component of the force is in the same direction as the direction of movement of the reference point, at least one parameter indicative of a target resistance to movement of the robotic arm;
• and
• controlling the motor, based on the at least one parameter, to move the robotic arm in accordance with the target resistance.