Control modes and processes for positioning of a robotic manipulator

A method for teardown of a robotic surgical system, the method comprising:

• from an undocked pose in which a surgical robotic arm that is coupled to a patient table has been i) decoupled from a cannula that is inside a patient who is on the patient table and ii) moved away from the patient,
• driving a plurality of joints of the surgical robotic arm to guide the robotic arm through an ordered sequence of progressively folded poses which include
• a plurality of on-plane folded poses where more distal joints in the robotic arm fold before more proximal joints so as to reduce the overall volume that the robotic arm sweeps during the ordered sequence of progressively folded poses,
• a table clear pose in which the robotic arm is not entirely underneath the patient table, and
• a storage pose where the robotic arm is stored substantially underneath the patient table,
• wherein the robotic arm comprises a first portion that is pivotally coupled to a second portion at an actuatable joint of the plurality of joints,
• from the table clear pose, the first portion pivots inward relative to the patient table until the storage pose is reached, and
• the second portion of the robotic arm folds towards the first portion until, in the storage pose, the second portion collapses onto or nested adjacent to the first portion and both the first and second portions are underneath the patient table.

A robotic surgical system, comprising:

• a surgical robotic arm coupled to a patient table and comprising a plurality of joints, a first portion, and a second portion, wherein the second portion is pivotally coupled to the first portion at one of the plurality of joints;
• and
• a processor configured to control movement of the robotic arm from an undocked pose in which the robotic arm has been i) decoupled from a cannula that is inside a patient who is on the patient table and ii) moved away from the patient, by driving the plurality of joints to guide the robotic arm through an ordered sequence of progressively folded poses which include
• a plurality of on-plane folded poses where more distal joints in the robotic arm fold before more proximal joints in the robotic arm,
• a table clear pose in which the robotic arm is not entirely underneath the patient table, and
• a storage pose where the robotic arm is stored substantially underneath the patient table,
• wherein from the table clear pose, the first portion pivots inward relative to the patient table until the storage pose is reached, and
• the second portion folds towards the first portion until, in the storage pose, the second portion is collapsed onto or nested adjacent to the first portion and both the first and second portions are underneath the patient table.