Apparatus and method to enable a robot with vision to acquire, orient and transport workpieces
AssigneeUniversity of Rhode Island
InventorsRobert B. Kelley, John R. Birk, Dana L. Duncan, Richard P. Tella, Laurie J. Wilson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A robot assembly for acquiring unorientated workpieces from a bin. A sensing system views the bin and collects data. A computer analyzes the data to determine candidate holdsites on the workpiece. The hand of the robot assembly then engages a workpiece at a selected holdsite. The workpiece is moved to a pose where the position and orientation of the workpiece are determined. After this determination, the workpiece may be disengaged, or moved to an intermediate or final goal site.
Claims45
A robot system for acquiring unorientated unmodified workpieces from a bin which comprises:
- (a) a robot assembly which includes
- a hand to engage unorientated workpieces stored in the bin, at least some of the workpieces having uncertainty in three angular degrees of freedom for determining candidate holdsites and being structurally distinct from the sensing means;
- and
- an arm secured to the hand to translate and rotate the hand;
- (b) sensing means to provide data corresponding to the workpieces in the bin which data includes information based on the three angles of uncertainty and is sufficient to allow a candidate holdsite to be determined;
- (c) means to store data corresponding to the relative positions of the bin, the sensing means and the robot assembly, and the data provided by the sensing means;
- and
- (d) a computer communicating with the robot assembly, the sensing means and the means to store the data which includes
- means to determine the position of the candidate holdsites;
- and
- means to output data to the robot assembly to move the hand to engage the workpiece at the selective candidate holdsite and to remove subsequently the workpiece from the bin.
A robot system for determining the pose of an engaged unmodified workpiece which comprises:
- (a) a robot assembly which includes a hand to engage a workpiece and an arm to translate and rotate the hand;
- (b) sensing means to provide data corresponding to the position and orientation of the workpiece in six degrees of freedom, three of translation and three angles, the workpiece being structurally distinct from the sensing means;
- (c) means to store the data corresponding to the relative positions of the robot assembly and the sensing means, and the data provided by the sensing means;
- and
- (d) a computer communicating with the robot assembly, the sensing means and the means to store, which includes means to determine the pose of the workpiece and means to output data to the robot assembly to control movement of the workpiece.
A method of acquiring unoriented unmodified workpieces from a bin, the workpieces being structurally distinct from a sensing means which collects data, at least some of the pieces having uncertainty in three angular degrees of freedom for determining candidate holdsites which includes:
- (a) collecting data about candidate holdsites by a sensing system, the data including information based on three angles of uncertainty;
- (b) locating a candidate holdsite relative to the hand of a robot assembly, the robot assembly including an arm to translate and rotate the hand;
- (c) moving the hand to engage the selected holdsite;
- and
- (d) engaging the workpiece.
A method of determining the pose of a workpiece which includes:
- (a) engaging an unmodified workpiece with the hand of a robot assembly, the robot assembly including an arm to translate and rotate the hand;
- (b) moving the workpiece relative to a presentation pose;
- (c) collecting data about the pose of the workpiece by a sensing system in six degrees of freedom, three of translation and three angles, the workpiece being structurally distinct from the sensing system;
- and
- (d) establishing the position and orientation of the workpiece from the collected data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.