Abb Research Ltd.

Abb Schweiz Ag

Steven West

Thomas A Fuhlbrigge

Gregory F Rossano

Carlos Martinez

William John Eakins

Heping Chen

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.

Robotic picking of parts from a bin

A robot system () for picking parts () from a bin () uses the image from one or more cameras () to determine if the robot gripper () has picked one part or more than one part and uses one or more images from one or more cameras () to determine the position/orientation of a picked part. If the robot () has picked more than one part from the bin () then attempt is made to return the excess picked parts to the bin (). The position/orientation of a picked part that does not meet a predetermined criteria is changed.

Robotic picking of parts from a parts holding 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.

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Howell, MI, United States of America

Steven West