A method is described for collision-free motion planning of a first manipulator with closed kinematics. The method includes defining a dynamic optimization problem, solving the optimization problem using a numerical approach, and determining a first movement path for the first manipulator based on the solution of the optimization problem. The dynamic optimization problem includes a cost function that weights states and control variables of the first manipulator, a dynamic that defines states and control variables of the first manipulator as a function of time, and at least one inequality constraint for a distance to collisions. Furthermore, the optimization problem includes at least one equality constraint for the closed kinematics.

Systems and methods for dispensing a liquid or viscous material onto a substrate are disclosed herein. One exemplary method of positioning an applicator of a dispensing system to apply a liquid or viscous material to an electronic substrate includes generating a two-dimensional image of the electronic substrate using a camera communicatively connected to the dispensing system. Based on the two-dimensional image of the electronic substrate, a first set of one or more sub-regions of the electronic substrate having one or more components that protrude above the surface of the electronic substrate is identified. The method further includes using height information relating to the one or more sub-regions having the one or more components to determine a control program for the dispensing system to position the applicator relative to the electronic substrate and dispense the liquid or viscous material onto the electronic substrate.

According to one embodiment, a monitor apparatus includes a memory and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry acquires first information indicating a position and a moving direction of a target, acquires second information indicating a position of each of moving objects and sensors which are provided in the moving objects, selects at least one of a first moving object for monitoring the target from among the moving objects or a first sensor for monitoring the target from among the sensors, based on the first information and the second information, and transmits third information indicating the target and at least one of the first moving object or the first sensor.

A method of planning works for robots includes creating a work plan for a plurality of robots, each having a work tool, sharing at at least one station a work to a plurality of work parts of the workpiece. The method includes the steps of calculating a distribution of the work parts to the robots, calculating, as a robot operation, a work order of the work parts and a moving path of the work tool for each of the robots based on the calculated work distribution, and calculating a disposed location of each of the robots with respect to the workpiece and a station where the robot is disposed so that an inter-robot interference does not occur during execution of the calculated robot operation.

When occurrence of an obstruction has been detected during action of a robot, a path generation section acquires environment information at a periphery of the robot after obstruction occurred, robot specification information, and safe pose information representing a recovery-pose for the robot, and generates a path of the robot from a pose after obstruction occurred to a safe pose based on the acquired information.

Methods for optimizing energy savings and reducing cycle time for mutating an industrial robotic path when a collision is detected. A method includes initializing a plurality of clone paths where a collision was detected, wherein a clone path is a clone of the initial path and the initial path comprises a source location, a plurality of intermediate locations, and a target location; for each clone path, determining a candidate path to store in a population, determining an optimal breed comprising the candidate path with an optimal rating, wherein the optimal rating is determined by the lowest breed rating in the population, and returning the optimal breed.

A grabbing method for an industrial robot is disclosed. The method includes obtaining an object information file. The object information file includes numbers and/or positions of detected objects. The method further includes determining collision boundary lines and collision representative objects according to the object information file. In addition, the method includes determining a collision-free grabbing path of a gripper of the industrial robot based on the determined collision boundary lines and the collision representative objects. The collision-free grabbing path is a linear path that satisfies joint limits of the industrial robot. The disclosure further relates to a grabbing device for an industrial robot, a computer storage medium, and an industrial robot.

A path planning apparatus is provided with a path planning unit that generates a path of a robot using a plurality of different path planning methods that respectively correspond to a plurality of different constraints determined from the posture of the robot and the characteristics of one or more obstacles that obstruct movement of the robot, an acquisition unit that acquires posture information indicating an initial posture of a robot for which a path is to be generated and a target posture of the robot, and obstacle information indicating a target obstacle that obstructs movement of the robot from the initial posture to the target posture, and a controller that controls the path planning unit so as to generate a path of the robot using a path planning method corresponding to a constraint determined from the posture information and the obstacle information acquired by the acquisition unit.

Various approaches to ensuring safe operation of industrial machinery in a workcell include disposing multiple image sensors proximate to the workcell and acquiring, with at least some of the image sensors, the first set of images of the workcell; registering the sensors to each other based at least in part on the first set of images and, based at least in part on the registration, converting the first set of images to a common reference frame of the sensors; determining a transformation matrix for transforming the common reference frame of the sensors to a global frame of the workcell; registering the sensors to the industrial machinery; acquiring the second set of images during operation of the industrial machinery; and monitoring the industrial machinery during operation thereof based at least in part on the acquired second plurality of images, transformation, and registration of the sensors to the industrial machinery.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for controlling robotic movements. One of the methods includes receiving, for a robot, an initial plan specifying a path and a local trajectory; receiving an updated observation of an environment of the robot; generating an initial modified local trajectory for the robot based on the updated observation in the environment of the robot; repeatedly following the initial modified local trajectory for the robot while generating a modified global path for the robot, comprising: obtaining data representing a workspace footprint for the robot, the workspace footprint defining a volume for a workspace of the robot, and generating the modified global path to avoid causing the robot to cross a boundary of the volume defined by the workspace footprint; and causing the robot to follow the modified global path for the robot.