Dental imaging system, and dental robot system including same

A dental robotic system, comprising:

• a fiducial marker adapted to engage an object;
• an articulating arm having:
• a dental tool operably engaged with a distal end thereof and having an end effector adapted to interact with the object, and
• an optical imaging device engaged with the dental tool or the end effector, and arranged such that a field-of-view thereof includes an interaction between the end effector and the object;
• a controller arranged in communication with the articulating arm, the dental tool, and the fiducial marker, the controller being arranged to:
• determine a disposition of the end effector in relation to the fiducial marker during movement of the end effector to interact with the object, and
• direct the articulating arm to physically control allowable movement of the dental tool, directly relative to the disposition of the end effector with respect to the fiducial marker engaged with the object;
• and
• a display in communication with the optical imaging device and arranged to display a real-time image of the interaction between the end effector and the object received from the optical imaging device.

A dental robotic system, comprising:

• an articulating arm having a proximal end and a distal end opposed thereto;
• one or more sensors operably engaged with the articulating arm and arranged to sense position data associated with the articulating arm;
• a dental tool operably engaged with the distal end of the articulating arm and having an end effector adapted to interact with an object;
• an optical imaging device engaged with the distal end of the articulating arm, the dental tool, or the end effector, in known relation to the end effector and arranged such that a field-of-view thereof includes an interaction between the end effector and the object, the optical imaging device being further arranged to capture imaging data;
• a controller arranged in communication with the articulating arm, the one or more sensors, the dental tool, and the optical imaging device, the controller being arranged to:
• receive the position data associated with the articulating arm from the one or more sensors, the position data indicating a disposition of the optical imaging device in relation to the proximal end of the articulating arm,
• receive the imaging data associated with an image of the object captured by the optical imaging device, the imaging data indicating a disposition of the object in relation to the optical imaging device,
• determine a disposition of the end effector in relation to the object, from the position data associated with the articulating arm and the imaging data associated with the image, during movement of the end effector to interact with the object, and
• direct the articulating arm to physically control allowable movement of the dental tool, directly relative to the disposition of the end effector with respect to the object;
• and
• a display in communication with the optical imaging device and arranged to display a real-time image of the interaction between the end effector and the object received from the optical imaging device.