Robot programming

A system comprising:

• one or more computers and one or more 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:
• generating an interactive user interface that illustrates a scene of a workcell that includes an object to be manipulated by a robot by using an end effector;
• generating, within the interactive user interface, a graphical representation of a surface normal vector in response to a user interaction with the interactive user interface, wherein generating the graphical representation of the surface normal vector comprises:
• receiving, within the interactive user interface, first user input data indicating a workcell location;
• computing the surface normal vector that points outward from a surface of an object in the workcell toward the workcell location;
• and
• presenting, within the interactive user interface, the graphical representation of the surface normal vector that points outward from the surface of the object in the workcell toward the workcell location;
• receiving, within the interactive user interface, second user input data selecting the workcell location;
• and
• generating pose data that defines a target pose of the robot using the surface normal vector that points outward from the surface of the object in the workcell toward the workcell location.

A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that are operable, when executed by data processing apparatus, to cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

• generating an interactive user interface that illustrates a scene of a workcell that includes an object to be manipulated by a robot by using an end effector;
• generating, within the interactive user interface, a graphical representation of a surface normal vector in response to a user interaction with the interactive user interface, wherein generating the graphical representation of the surface normal vector comprises:
• receiving, within the interactive user interface, first user input data indicating a workcell location;
• computing the surface normal vector that points outward from a surface of an object in the workcell toward the workcell location;
• and
• presenting, within the interactive user interface, the graphical representation of the surface normal vector that points outward from the surface of the object in the workcell toward the workcell location;
• receiving, within the interactive user interface, second user input data selecting the workcell location;
• and
• generating pose data that defines a target pose of the robot using the surface normal vector that points outward from the surface of the object in the workcell toward the workcell location.