Industrial robot with controlled flexibility and simulated force for automated assembly
AssigneeABB Research Ltd.
InventorsHui Zhang, Zhongxue Gan, Torgny Brogardh, Jianjun Wang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An industrial robot that uses a simulated force vector to allow a work piece held by the robot end effector to be mated with a work piece whose location and orientation is not precisely known to the robot. When the end effector makes contact with the location and orientation in which the other work piece is held the robot provides a velocity command to minimize the force of the contact and also provides a search pattern in all directions and orientations to cause the end effector to bring the work piece it is holding in contact with the other work piece. The search pattern and the velocity command are continued until the two work pieces mate.
Claims8
A system for operating an industrial robot that has an end effector for holding a first work piece to be mated to a second work piece held at a location and orientation not precisely known to said robot, and a predetermined number of articulated joints, each joint having its own actuation device and motion measurement device comprising:
- a computing device having therein program code usable by said computing device, said program code comprising:
- code configured to superimpose on a force measurement from said robot at least one force vector that subjects said end effector to a force that causes said end effector to move said first work piece towards said location and orientation in which said second work piece is held.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.