Abb Research Ltd.

Ford Motor Company Limited

Abb Schweiz Ag

Abb Technology Ag

Texas State University

Heping Chen

Thomas A Fuhlbrigge

Gregory F Rossano

William John Eakins

Carlos Martinez

Biao Zhang

Sangeun Choi

George Q Zhang

Soenke Kock

Steven West

Jianjun Wang

Remus Boca

George Zhang

Arnold Bell

Harald Staab

David P Gravel

Hongtai Cheng

A method for robotic adaptive production includes modifying program instructions online while performing production activities in response to detecting a change in the production environment. A robotic adaptive production method includes modifying program instructions online while performing production activities to minimize a production task cycle time or improve a production task quality. A robotic adaptive production method includes estimating a relationship between a control parameter and a sensor input; and modifying the control parameter online to achieve an updated parameter based on the estimating. A robotic adaptive production method includes receiving sensor input relating to robotic performance during the performance of production tasks and online optimizing a process parameter based on robotic performance during the performance of the production tasks. A robotic adaptive production method includes determining the position and/or orientation of a feature based on a learned position and/or orientation of another feature and on a geometric relationship.

Method and system for robotic adaptive production

A method for process parameter optimization in a robotic manufacturing process includes identifying, in two or more successive iterations, a system model for the robotic manufacturing process. Manufacturing process parameters are optimized based on the model identified. The process may be a robotic assembly process.

Autonomous performance optimization in robotic assembly process

An industrial robot is used to assemble a part to a predetermined location on a randomly moving workpiece. The workpiece may be an automobile on an assembly line and the part may be a wheel (a tire mounted on a rim) to be assembled on one of the wheel hubs of the automobile. The robot has mounted on it a camera, a force sensor and a gripper to grip the part. After the robot grips the part, signals from both the force sensor and vision are used by a computing device to move the robot to a position where the robot can assemble the part to the predetermined location on the workpiece. The computing device can be the robot controller or a separate device such as a PC that is connected to the controller.

Robot parts assembly on a workpiece moving on an assembly line

A teleoperated robot system has a watchdog to determine if the rate of data transmission from a computing device such as a robot controller located in the station used by the operator of the teleoperated robot to the remotely located industrial robot has fallen below a minimum data rate or the time for transmission of data has exceeded a maximum time. Upon the occurrence of either or both of the foregoing, one or more types of corrective action are undertaken to bring the teleoperated robot and the processes performed by the robot.

Teleoperated industrial robots

A robot is used to pick parts from a bin. The robot has a compliant apparatus and one or more tools are connected to the apparatus to perform the picking. The compliant apparatus has mechanisms for monitoring and/or controlling its compliance. The compliant apparatus can have various embodiments. Force sensing can be used during removal of grasped parts from the bin to determine the force exerted on the picking tool(s). The signal indicative of the exerted force can be used by the robot controller to determine the weight of the parts that may be held by the picking tool(s). The robot has one or more devices which can be the picking tool to stir the parts in the bin.

Compliant end of arm tooling for a robot

Robotic picking of parts from a bin

A robot for picking one or more parts () randomly distributed in a bin (), this robot comprising a moveable arm (), a computing device () connected to said robot for controlling motion of said moveable arm and a tool () connected to said moveable arm for picking one or more of said parts from said bin,&#x2014;said robot using said picking tool by itself or another tool () mounted on the robot or grasped by the picking tool to stir one or more of said one or more randomly distributed parts in said bin when said computing device determines that a predetermined event requiring stirring of said parts has occurred.

A robot () is used to pick parts from a bin (in FIG.). The robot has a compliant apparatus () and one or more tools are connected to the apparatus to perform the picking. The compliant apparatus has mechanisms for monitoring and/or controlling its compliance. The compliant apparatus can have various embodiments. Force sensing can be used during removal of grasped parts from the bin to determine the force exerted on the picking tool (s). The signal indicative of the exerted force can be used by the robot controller to determine the weight of the parts that may be held by the picking tool(s). The robot has one or more devices (FIG.) which can be the picking tool to stir the parts in the bin.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Heping Chen