Robotic item manipulation using magnetic coupling
AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.
InventorDavid William Guerin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods for determining item manipulation strategies using magnetic manipulation are described herein. For example, item information describing properties of an item may be accessed. The item information may indicate that the item includes a magnetic patch. Using this item information, a manipulation strategy for manipulating the item may be determined. The manipulation strategy may include a strategy for manipulating the item using one or more end effectors of a robotic manipulator. The manipulation strategy may be provided to the robotic manipulator for manipulation of the item by magnetically coupling an end effector of the one or more end effectors with the magnetic patch connected to the item.
Claims20
A system, comprising:
- a robotic manipulator comprising one or more end effectors, a first end effector of the one or more end effectors comprising a magnet;
- and
- a computing device in communication with the robotic manipulator, the computing device configured to:
- access item information describing a plurality of properties of an item;
- determine whether to apply a magnetic patch to the item based at least in part on the item information;
- based at least in part on determining whether to apply the magnetic patch, instruct application of the magnetic patch to the item, the magnetic patch comprising an iron-infused paint;
- update the item information based at least in part on the magnetic patch being applied to the item;
- determine, based at least in part on the updated item information, a manipulation strategy for manipulating the item by the robotic manipulator;
- and
- instruct the robotic manipulator to manipulate the item using at least the first end effector by magnetically coupling the magnet with the magnetic patch on the item.
A computer-implemented method, comprising:
- accessing item information describing a plurality of properties of an item comprising at least a magnetic manipulation property, the magnetic manipulation property representative of at least one of (i) the item not being naturally magnetic or (ii) the item being capable of manipulation using a magnetic patch connected to the item;
- determining, based at least in part on the item information, a manipulation strategy for manipulating the item by one or more end effectors of a robotic manipulator;
- and
- providing the manipulation strategy to the robotic manipulator for manipulating the item by magnetically coupling an end effector of the one or more end effectors with the magnetic patch connected to the item.
A system, comprising:
- a robotic manipulator comprising a plurality of end effectors;
- a sensor package in communication with the robotic manipulator;
- and
- a computing device in communication with the robotic manipulator and the sensor package, the computing device configured to:
- receive sensor information representing an item from the sensor package;
- identify the item based at least in part on the sensor information, the item comprising a magnetic patch;
- select, based at least in part on identifying the item, at least one end effector of the plurality of end effectors for manipulating the item using at least the magnetic patch;
- and
- cause the robotic manipulator to manipulate the item by magnetically coupling the at least one end effector with the magnetic patch.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.