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US 12,427,672 B2Granted
Robotic manipulator with visual guidance and tactile sensing
AssigneeKhalifa University of Science and Technology and The Aerospace Holding Company LLC
InventorsAbdulla Amer Hasan Ayyad, Rajkumar Muthusamy, Mohamad Abdul Mouti Halwani, Yahya Hashem Zweiri, Seneviratne Mudigansalage Seneviratne, Andre Dewald Swart
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A robotic manipulator includes one or multiple end effectors that can engage with an object, and one or multiple cameras that simultaneously observe each end effector, and the surrounding environment. For example, an end effector can include a contact surface including tactile markers which can deform when the end effector contacts the object.
Claims20
A robotic manipulator, comprising:
- a first end effector comprising a contact surface configured to make physical contact with an object, wherein the contact surface has an exterior surface which makes contact with the object and an interior surface which does not directly contact the object;
- and
- an event camera that is couplable with the robotic manipulator and configured to receive an interior optical signal associated with a visually-detectable deformation of visual markers distributed on the interior surface of the contact surface in response to making contact with the object, wherein the event camera is configured to receive an exterior optical signal of an exterior environment at least partially surrounding the first end effector, and the interior optical signal is reflected within a first channel of the first end effector to the event camera and the exterior optical signal is reflected within a second channel of a second end effector to the event camera.
A robotic manipulator, comprising:
- a machining tool;
- a first end effector comprising a contact surface configured to engage with an object, wherein the contact surface has an exterior surface which makes contact with the object and an interior surface which does not directly contact the object;
- an event camera coupled with the robotic manipulator and configured to receive an interior optical signal associated with a visually-detectable deformation of visual markers distributed on the interior surface of the contact surface in response to making contact with the object, wherein the event camera is configured to receive an optical signal of an environment at least partially surrounding the first end effector;
- and
- a second end effector positioned on an opposing side of the machining tool from the first end effector and comprising a lens configured to focus exterior light and a mirror positioned to direct the focused exterior light to the event camera, wherein the interior optical signal is reflected within a first channel of the first end effector to the event camera and an exterior optical signal is reflected within a second channel of the second end effector to the event camera.
2 more elements
A method, comprising:
- engaging a contact surface of a first end effector of a robotic manipulator to an object, wherein the contact surface has an exterior surface which makes contact with the object and an interior surface which does not directly contact the object;
- and
- receiving, from an event camera that is coupled with the robotic manipulator, an interior optical signal associated with visually-detectable deformation of visual markers distributed on the interior surface of the contact surface in response to making contact with the object, wherein the event camera receives an exterior optical signal of an environment at least partially surrounding the first end effector, and the interior optical signal is reflected within a first channel of the first end effector to the event camera and the exterior optical signal is reflected within a second channel of a second end effector to the event camera;
- and
- in response to receiving the interior optical signal or the exterior optical signal, controlling the first end effector to i) align the contact surface, ii) change a force of the contact surface, or iii) both.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.