# US 12,109,682 B2 · Assistance for robot manipulation > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,109,682 B2 - Document ID: US12109682B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/816,727 - Filed: 2022-08-02 - Published: 2022-11-24 - Granted: 2024-10-08 - Earliest claimed: 2020-02-03 - Applicants: Tokyo Institute of Technology; Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki - Inventors: Masayuki Fujita; Takeshi Hatanaka; Junya Yamauchi; Kosei Noda; Keita Shimamoto; Koji Sokabe; Ryokichi Hirata; Masaru Adachi - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12109682B2 ## CPC - B25J 13/06: Control stands, e.g. consoles, switchboards - B25J 9/1605: {Simulation of manipulator lay-out, design, modelling of manipulator} - B25J 9/163: {learning, adaptive, model based, rule based expert control} - G05B 2219/40527: Modeling, identification of link parameters - B25J: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50}) - G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G) ## Abstract A robot control system includes circuitry configured to: acquire an input command value indicating a manipulation of a robot by a subject user; acquire a current state of the robot and a target state associated with the manipulation of the robot; determine a state difference between the current state and the target state; acquire from a learned model, a degree of distribution associated with a motion of the robot, based on the state difference, wherein the learned model is generated based on a past robot manipulation; set a level of assistance to be given during the manipulation of the robot by the subject user, based on the degree of distribution acquired; and generate an output command value for operating the robot, based on the input command value and the level of assistance. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A robot control system comprising circuitry configured to: acquire an input command value indicating a manipulation of a robot by a subject user; acquire a current state of the robot and a target state associated with the manipulation of the robot; determine a state difference between the current state and the target state; acquire from a learned model, a degree of distribution associated with a motion of the robot, based on the state difference, wherein the learned model includes a first model generated based on a past manipulation by another user different from the subject user, and a second model generated based on a past manipulation by the subject user, and wherein the degree of distribution includes a first degree of distribution acquired from the first model and a second degree of distribution acquired from the second model; set a level of assistance to be given during the manipulation of the robot by the subject user, based on the degree of distribution acquired, wherein the level of assistance includes a first level of assistance that is set based on the first degree of distribution, and a second level of assistance that is set based on the second degree of distribution; and generate an output command value for operating the robot, based on the input command value and the level of assistance. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The robot control system according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to acquire from the learned model, a predicted command value which is predicted based on the past manipulation by the other user, and wherein the output command value is generated based further on the predicted command value. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The robot control system according to claim 2, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: calculate weighted values of the input command value and of the predicted command value according to respective weights associated with the level of assistance; add the weighted values to obtain a combined command value; and generate the output command value based on the combined command value. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The robot control system according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: identify a task to be executed by the robot; and select the learned model from a plurality of learned models corresponding to a plurality of tasks executable by the robot, based on the task identified. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The robot control system according to claim 4, wherein the task to be executed by the robot is identified based on sensor data indicating a response of the robot to the input command value. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The robot control system according to claim 1, wherein the degree of distribution is a variance calculated based on a Gaussian process. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The robot control system according to claim 1, wherein the degree of distribution indicates a degree of certainty of manipulation by the other user that is associated with the state difference. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The robot control system according to claim 1, wherein the level of assistance is set to increase in response to a decrease in the degree of distribution. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The robot control system according to claim 1, wherein, the other user has a greater skill level in robot manipulation than the subject user. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The robot control system according to claim 9, wherein the output command value is generated based on the input command value, the first level of assistance, and the second level of assistance. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The robot control system according to claim 10, wherein the second degree of distribution indicates a degree of similarity between the manipulation indicated by the input command value and the past manipulation by the subject user that is associated with the state difference. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The robot control system according to claim 10, wherein the second level of assistance is set to increase in response to a decrease in the second degree of distribution. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The robot control system according to claim 10, wherein the output command value is generated based on a comparison of the second level of assistance with a threshold. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The robot control system according to claim 13, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: acquire from the first model, a predicted command value which is predicted based on the past manipulation by the other user; calculate weighted values of the input command value and of the predicted command value according to respective weights associated with the first level of assistance; and add the weighted values to obtain a combined command value, wherein the output command value is generated based on the combined command value, in response to the second level of assistance being equal to or greater than the threshold. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The robot control system according to claim 13, wherein the output command value is generated by setting the input command value as the output command value, in response to the second level of assistance being less than the threshold. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The robot control system according to claim 1, further comprising the robot. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The robot control system according to claim 1, further comprising a manipulation controller configured to receive the manipulation by the subject user. ### Claim 18 A robot control method executable by a robot control system including at least one processor, the method comprising: acquiring an input command value indicating a manipulation of a robot by a subject user; acquiring a current state of the robot and a target state associated with the manipulation of the robot; determining a state difference between the current state and the target state; acquiring from a learned model, a degree of distribution associated with a motion of the robot, based on the state difference, wherein the learned model includes a first model generated based on a past manipulation by another user different from the subject user, and a second model generated based on a past manipulation by the subject user, and wherein the degree of distribution includes a first degree of distribution acquired from the first model and a second degree of distribution acquired from the second model; setting a level of assistance to be given during the manipulation of the robot by the subject user, based on the degree of distribution acquired, wherein the level of assistance includes a first level of assistance that is set based on the first degree of distribution, and a second level of assistance that is set based on the second degree of distribution; and generating an output command value for operating the robot, based on the input command value, the first level of assistance, and the second level of assistance. ### Claim 19 A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions to: acquire an input command value indicating a manipulation of a robot by a subject user; acquire a current state of the robot and a target state associated with the manipulation of the robot; determine a state difference between the current state and the target state; acquire from a learned model, a degree of distribution associated with a motion of the robot, based on the state difference, wherein the learned model includes a first model generated based on a past manipulation by another user different from the subject user, the other user having a greater skill level in robot manipulation than the subject user, and a second model generated based on a past manipulation by the subject user, and wherein the degree of distribution includes a first degree of distribution acquired from the first model and a second degree of distribution acquired from the second model; set a level of assistance to be given during the manipulation of the robot by the subject user, based on the degree of distribution acquired, wherein the level of assistance includes a first level of assistance that is set based on the first degree of distribution, and a second level of assistance that is set based on the second degree of distribution; and generate an output command value for operating the robot, based on the input command value and the level of assistance. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The robot control method according to claim 18, wherein the second degree of distribution indicates a degree of similarity between the manipulation indicated by the input command value and the past manipulation by the subject user that is associated with the state difference.