ROBOTS AND METHODS FOR PROTECTING FRAGILE COMPONENTS THEREOF
The present disclosure relates to protecting fragile members of robots from damage during fall events. In response to detecting a fall event, a fragile member of a robot can be actuated to a defensive configuration to avoid or reduce damage. An actuatable protective member can be actuated to protect a fragile member to avoid or reduce damage to the fragile member. Actuatable protective members can be dedicated protective members, or can be other members of the robot which serve different functionality outside of a fall event but act as a protective member during a fall event.
The present robots and methods generally relate to fall events and particularly relate to protecting fragile members from damage during fall events.
BACKGROUNDRobots can be prone to falling. For example, robots can trip, lose balance, have control problems, or any number of issues that can result in the robot not being stable and falling towards the ground or other objects in an unintended way. Further, robots can be equipped with fragile members. For example, in order to interact with objects in the world, robots can have complicated, expensive, or easily damaged or breakable end effectors (e.g. hands). As another example, robots can have other complicated, expensive, or easily damaged or breakable features, such as aesthetic coatings, covers, masks, etc. A fall event can break, damage, scratch, chip, or otherwise harm such fragile members.
BRIEF SUMMARYAccording to a broad aspect, the present disclosure describes a robot comprising: a body; a fragile member; at least one processor; at least one sensor communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot to: detect, by the at least one processor, a fall event of the body based on sensor data from the at least one sensor; in response to detecting the fall event, actuate at least one member of the robot to protect the fragile member.
The processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot to actuate at least one member of the robot to protect the fragile member may cause the robot to: actuate the fragile member to a defensive configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event. The defensive configuration may be a contracted configuration. The fragile member may include an end effector comprising a plurality of finger-shaped members coupled to a palm-shaped member; and the defensive configuration may be a fist-shaped configuration. The fragile member may include a plurality of gripper-members; and the defensive configuration may be a configuration in which the gripper-members are closed together.
The robot may include at least one actuatable member; and the processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot to actuate at least one member of the robot to protect the fragile member may cause the robot to: actuate the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event. The at least one actuatable member may comprise at least one support member coupled to the body and stored in a contracted configuration; and the processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot to actuate the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration may cause the at least one actuatable member to extend from the body to an extended configuration which braces the body during the fall event. The at least one actuatable member may comprise at least one support member; and the processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot to actuate the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration may cause the at least one actuatable member to extend from a stowed configuration to a support configuration which braces the fragile member during the fall event. The fragile member may include a plurality of fragile members; the at least one actuatable member may include a plurality of actuatable members; and the processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot to actuate the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event may cause the robot to: actuate each actuatable member of the plurality of actuatable members to a respective protective configuration which protects a respective fragile member of the plurality of fragile members from damage during the fall event.
The robot may include at least one actuatable member; and the processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot to actuate at least one member of the robot to protect the fragile member may cause the robot to: actuate the fragile member to a defensive configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event; and actuate the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event. The defensive configuration may be a contracted configuration, and the protective configuration may be an extended configuration. The fragile member may comprise an end effector coupled to the body by the at least one actuatable member; the processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot to actuate the fragile member to a defensive configuration may cause the robot to actuate the fragile member to move towards the body; and the processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot to actuate the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration may cause the robot to actuate the at least one actuatable member to extend away from the body. The fragile member may comprise a hand-shaped end effector; the at least one actuatable member may comprise an arm member including an elbow portion; the hand-shaped end effector may be coupled to the body by the arm member; the processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot to actuate the fragile member to a defensive configuration may cause the robot to actuate the hand-shaped end effector to move towards the body; and the processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot to actuate the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration may cause the robot to actuate the arm member to extend the elbow portion away from the body. The hand-shaped member may include two hand-shaped members; and the at least one arm member may include two arm members. The robot may further comprise at least one support structure coupled to the at least one actuatable member which protects the at least one actuatable member from damage during the fall event. The at least one support structure may be selected from a group of structures consisting of: at least one pad; at least one pedestal; and at least one spring. The at least one actuatable member may comprise an arm member having an elbow portion; and the at least one support structure may comprise at least one elbow pad positioned at or proximate the elbow portion. The processor-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may further cause the robot to, in response to detecting the fall event: actuate the elbow pad to cover the elbow portion. The support structure may be actuatable between a stowed configuration in which the support structure is stowed, and a support configuration in which the support structure supports the at least one actuatable member; and the processor-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may further cause the robot to, in response to detecting the fall event, actuate the at least one support structure from the stowed configuration to the support configuration.
The at least one sensor may comprise at least one sensor selected from a group of sensors consisting of: an accelerometer; a gyroscope; an inertial measurement unit; a visual sensor; a LI DAR sensor; an audio sensor; and a tactile sensor.
The robot may further comprise two actuatable leg members. The two actuatable leg members may be actuatable to move the robot by bipedal motion. The at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium may store further instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot to: move by bipedal motion of the two actuatable leg members.
According to another broad aspect, the present disclosure describes a method comprising: detecting, by at least one processor of a robot, a fall event of a body of the robot based on sensor data from at least one sensor of the robot communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; in response to detecting the fall event, actuating at least one member of the robot to protect a fragile member of the robot.
Actuating at least one member of the robot to protect the fragile member may comprise: actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event. Actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration may comprise actuating the fragile member to a contracted configuration. The fragile member may include an end effector comprising a plurality of finger-shaped members coupled to a palm-shaped member; and actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration may comprise actuating the finger-shaped members to move towards the palm-shaped member to a fist-shaped configuration. The fragile member may include a plurality of gripper-members; and actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration may comprise actuating the gripper members to close together.
The robot may include at least one actuatable member; and actuating at least one member of the robot to protect the fragile member may comprise: actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event. The at least one actuatable member may comprise at least one support member coupled to the body and stored in a contracted configuration; and actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration may comprise: extending the at least one actuatable member from the body to an extended configuration which braces the body during the fall event. The at least one actuatable member may comprise at least one support member; and actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration may comprise extending the at least one support member from a stowed configuration to a support configuration which braces the fragile member during the fall event. The fragile member may include a plurality of fragile members; the at least one actuatable member may include a plurality of actuatable members; and actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event may comprise: actuating each actuatable member of the plurality of actuatable members to a respective protective configuration which protects a respective fragile member of the plurality of fragile members from damage during the fall event.
The robot may include at least one actuatable member; and actuating at least one member of the robot to protect the fragile member may comprise: actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event; and actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event. Actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration may comprise actuating the fragile member to a contracted configuration, and actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration may comprise actuating the at least one actuatable member to an extended configuration. The fragile member may comprise an end effector coupled to the body by the at least one actuatable member; actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration may comprise actuating the fragile member to move towards the body; and actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration may comprise actuating the at least one actuatable member to extend away from the body. The fragile member may comprise a hand-shaped end effector; the at least one actuatable member may comprise an arm member including an elbow portion; the hand-shaped end effector may be coupled to the body by the arm member; actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration may comprise actuating the hand-shaped end effector to move towards the body; and actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration may comprise actuating the arm member to extend the elbow portion away from the body. The fragile member may comprise two hand-shaped end effectors; the at least one actuatable member may comprise two arm members, each arm member including a respective elbow portion; each hand-shaped end effector may be coupled to the body by a respective one of the arm members; actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration may comprise actuating each of the hand-shaped end effectors to move towards the body; and actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration may comprise actuating each of the arm members to extend each respective elbow portion away from the body. The robot may include at least one support structure coupled to the at least one actuatable member, the support structure may be actuatable between a stowed configuration in which the support structure is stowed, and a support configuration in which the support structure supports the at least one actuatable member; and the method may further comprise, in response to detecting the fall event, actuating the at least one support structure from the stowed configuration to the support configuration. The at least one support structure may comprise at least one pad positioned at or proximate the at least one actuatable member; and the method may further comprise, in response to detecting the fall event, actuating the pad to cover the at least one actuatable member. The at least one actuatable member may comprise an arm member having an elbow portion; the at least one support structure may comprise at least one elbow pad positioned at or proximate the elbow portion; and actuating the at least one support structure from the stowed configuration to the support configuration may comprise actuating the elbow pad to cover the elbow portion. The at least one support structure may comprise at least one pedestal positioned at the at least one actuatable member; and actuating the at least one support structure from the stowed configuration to the support configuration may comprise actuating the pedestal to extend from the at least one actuatable member. The at least one support structure may comprise at least one spring positioned at the at least one actuatable member; and actuating the at least one support structure from the stowed configuration to the support configuration may comprise actuating the spring to extend from the at least one actuatable member.
The method may further comprise collecting, by the at least one sensor, sensor data selected from a group of data consisting of: acceleration data; orientation data; angular velocity data; velocity data; inertial data; visual data; LI DAR data; audio data; and tactile data. The method may further comprise moving the robot in bipedal motion, by two actuatable leg members of the robot.
The various elements and acts depicted in the drawings are provided for illustrative purposes to support the detailed description. Unless the specific context requires otherwise, the sizes, shapes, and relative positions of the illustrated elements and acts are not necessarily shown to scale and are not necessarily intended to convey any information or limitation. In general, identical reference numbers are used to identify similar elements or acts.
The following description sets forth specific details in order to illustrate and provide an understanding of the various implementations and embodiments of the present robots and methods. A person of skill in the art will appreciate that some of the specific details described herein may be omitted or modified in alternative implementations and embodiments, and that the various implementations and embodiments described herein may be combined with each other and/or with other methods, components, materials, etc. in order to produce further implementations and embodiments.
In some instances, well-known structures and/or processes associated with computer systems and data processing have not been shown or provided in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily complicating or obscuring the descriptions of the implementations and embodiments.
Unless the specific context requires otherwise, throughout this specification and the appended claims the term “comprise” and variations thereof, such as “comprises” and “comprising,” are used in an open, inclusive sense to mean “including, but not limited to.”
Unless the specific context requires otherwise, throughout this specification and the appended claims the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents. For example, reference to “an embodiment” and “the embodiment” include “embodiments” and “the embodiments,” respectively, and reference to “an implementation” and “the implementation” include “implementations” and “the implementations,” respectively. Similarly, the term “or” is generally employed in its broadest sense to mean “and/or” unless the specific context clearly dictates otherwise.
The headings and Abstract of the Disclosure are provided for convenience only and are not intended, and should not be construed, to interpret the scope or meaning of the present robots and methods.
The various embodiments described herein provide robots and methods for protecting fragile members from damage during fall events. Generally, “fragile member” refers to a member which is easily damaged or broken (relative to other members of a robot). However, in the context of this disclosure, “fragile member” can also refer to a member which is problematic if broken or damaged, even if said fragile member is not more easily damaged or broken relative to certain other members of a robot. This could be for example because the member could be expensive, difficult or time consuming to manufacture, difficult or time consuming to replace/repair, or usability of the robot could be significantly impaired due to the damage, as non-limiting examples. Alternative terms for “fragile member” could include “susceptible member”, “vulnerable member”, “breakable member”, “precious member”, “important member”, or any other appropriate term which conveys the relative importance or susceptibility to damage of the member. Several exemplary fragile members are discussed throughout this disclosure.
Members 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, and/or 118 can be actuatable relative to other components. Actuators, motors, or other movement devices can couple together actuatable members. Driving said actuators, motors, or other movement driving mechanism causes actuation of the actuatable members. For example, rigid limbs in a humanoid robot can be coupled by motorized joints, where actuation of the rigid limbs is achieved by driving movement in the motorized joints. In some implementations, such actuators, motors, or other movement driving mechanisms can be included in corresponding actuatable members. It is not required that each of components 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, and/or 118 be actuatable; some of these components can be non-actuatable. As one example, head 111 could be rigidly coupled to torso 110 by a rigid neck 112. It is also possible that any or all of components 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, and/or 118 be actuatable. As one example, head 111 could be actuated by actuation of neck 112. Further any of the members can include sub-members, and said sub-members can be actuatable. As one example, head 111 could include sub-members such as eyebrows, eyes, lips, or any other appropriate sub-members, which can be actuated (e.g. to emulate human emotions).
Robot 100 is also illustrated as including sensors 120, 122, 124, 126, and 128, which collect sensor data. In the example, sensors 120 and 122 are image sensors (e.g. cameras) that capture visual data. LI DAR sensors which capture LIDAR data could also be used. Sensors 124 and 126 are audio sensors (e.g. microphones) that capture audio data. Sensor 128 can include at least one motion or orientation sensor, such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, an inertial measurement unit, a compass, or a magnetometer. Such sensors could capture, for example, acceleration data, orientation data, angular velocity data, velocity data, inertial data, or any other appropriate type of data. Although not illustrated, robot 100 could also include a tactile sensor, which captures tactile data. Many types of sensors are illustrated and discussed with reference to the example of
Robot 100 is also illustrated as including at least one processor 132, communicatively coupled to at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium 134. The at least one processor 132 can control actuation of members 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, and 118; can receive and process data from sensors 120, 122, 124, 126 and 128; and can perform fall detection as discussed later with reference to
In emulating human anatomy, it can be helpful or desirable for a robot to not only emulate physical features of human anatomy, but to also emulate how a human moves. For example, bipedal motion (a form of locomotion where movement occurs by means of two legs) can be emulated. This makes a robot (such as robot 100) resemble a human more closely aesthetically, and also better enables the robot to conduct itself in human environments. In particular, human environments are typically designed and constructed in ways that are conducive to human anatomy (such as in ways that are suited to bipedal motion). Examples of this include stairs or ladders, as non-limiting examples, which are challenging for other forms of locomotion like wheels. Additionally, even if not specifically designed by and constructed for humans, it can be desirable for a robot to be operable in environments which humans operate in, including flat terrain, hilly terrain, rocky terrain, mountainous terrain, or terrain with obstacles, as non-limiting examples—all of which are traversable by bipedal walking.
To this end, robot 100 as shown in
However, bipedal motion is difficult to emulate, and can increase the likelihood that a robot will lose balance and experience a fall event. Conventionally, when a bipedal human experiences a fall event, the human will extend their hands and try to catch themselves by falling on their hands. In implementations of the present systems, devices, and methods in which the robot's hands are fragile members, it is desirable to avoid this instinctive “catch/absorb a fall with the hands” behavior. Thus, while it can be advantageous to enable a robot to emulate human function and behavior by designing and operating a robot to achieve bipedal walking, in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods a bipedal robot may be purposefully designed and operated away from the conventional “catch/absorb a fall with the hands” behavior that is inherent in other bipedal systems (such as humans) and after which a bipedal robot may otherwise be modeled. Instead, a bipedal robot may be designed and operated to protect its hands (and/or other fragile member(s)) when it falls by, for example, curling the hands into a protected configuration, directing its elbows (or support structure) towards the fall, and catching/absorbing the fall with its elbows (or support structure) as described in more detail herein.
At act 202, the at least one processor 132 detects a fall event of body 101 of robot 100, based on sensor data from at least one sensor communicatively coupled to the at least one processor 132 (e.g. any of sensors 120, 122, 124, 126, or 128). As one example, if the at least one sensor includes a visual sensor, the at least one processor 132 could detect a fall event based on a sudden shift in captured visual data (from the visual sensor experiencing movement of the fall event). As another example, if the sensor includes a LI DAR sensor, the at least one processor 132 could detect a fall event based on a sudden shift in captured LI DAR data (from the LI DAR sensor experiencing movement of the fall event). As another example, if the at least one sensor includes an accelerometer, the at least one processor 132 could detect a fall event based on acceleration of body 101 (e.g. sudden acceleration of body 101 downwards). As yet another example, if the at least one sensor includes a gyroscope, compass, or magnetometer, the at least one processor 132 could detect a change in orientation of the body 101 (e.g. body 101 tipping over). As yet another example, if the at least one sensor includes an inertial measurement unit, the at least one processor 132 could detect an inertial change of body 101, such as acceleration or angular acceleration (such as sudden acceleration or rotation of body 101). As yet another example, if the at least one sensor includes an audio sensor, the at least one processor 132 could detect a sound of air on a microphone, or a sound of clattering robot parts (sounds of body 101 falling). As yet another example, if the at least one sensor includes a velocity sensor, the at least one processor can detect sudden changes in velocity (body 101 experiencing motion of the fall event). As yet another example, if the at least one sensor includes a tactile sensor, the at least one processor 132 could detect impact against body 101 (e.g. from at least one member of body 101 colliding against each other or against another object during the fall event). In some implementations, sensor data from a plurality of sensors can be captured and processed, such that different types of sensor data can be synthesized or processed, to accurately detect fall events and minimize occurrence of false positive detections or false negative errors.
At act 204, in response to detecting the fall event, at least one member of the robot is actuated to protect a fragile member of the robot. In some implementations, the fragile member itself can be actuated to a defensive configuration to protect the fragile member from damage during the fall event, as discussed later with reference to
As mentioned above, in some implementations, actuating at least one member of the robot to protect the fragile member as in act 204 of method 200 in
Due to their complicated mechanical nature, and relatively small components (compared to other parts of a robot), end effectors can be more easily broken or damaged than other components of a robot, and can be more expensive to manufacture and replace than other components of a robot. For example, joints 541, 543, 551, 554, 557, 581, 583, and 585 may be designed for motion of finger-shaped members and sub-members towards the palm-shaped member 530 (as illustrated in
Further, the closed configuration of
As mentioned above, in some implementations, the robot comprises an actuatable member (in addition to the fragile member), and actuating at least one member of the robot to protect the fragile member as in act 204 of method 200 in
In the example of
The contracted configuration of support member 615 discussed above and shown in
In the example of
The contracted configuration of support member 710 discussed above and shown in
Although
Although
In addition to actuating an actuatable member to a protective configuration, a fragile member can be actuated to a defensive configuration to protect the fragile member. That is, compound actuation can occur to provide better protection. In the example of
One difference between
It is possible for a single actuatable member of a plurality of actuatable members to be actuated to a protective configuration to protect a single respective fragile member of a plurality of fragile members during a fall event (i.e., actuatable members can protect fragile members as respective pairs). However, this is not strictly required. In some implementations, multiple actuatable members can be actuated to protect fewer fragile members (e.g., in
One difference between
Further, although
In some implementations, at least one support structure can be coupled to the at least one actuatable member which protects the at least one actuatable member from damage during the fall event. Several examples are illustrated in
Because elbow portion 1112 is actuated to a protective configuration in which elbow portion 1112 will receive impact during a fall event, it can be helpful to protect elbow portion 1112 from damage with a support structure. In the example of
In other implementations, the support structure can be actuated to the support configuration as needed. In the example of
One difference between
In other implementations, the support structure can be actuated to the support configuration as needed. In the example of
Although
Similar to the example of
In other implementations, the support structure can be actuated to the support configuration as needed. In the example of
Although
The examples of
Throughout this specification and the appended claims the term “communicative” as in “communicative coupling” and in variants such as “communicatively coupled,” is generally used to refer to any engineered arrangement for transferring and/or exchanging information. For example, a communicative coupling may be achieved through a variety of different media and/or forms of communicative pathways, including without limitation: electrically conductive pathways (e.g., electrically conductive wires, electrically conductive traces), magnetic pathways (e.g., magnetic media), wireless signal transfer (e.g., radio frequency antennae), and/or optical pathways (e.g., optical fiber). Exemplary communicative couplings include, but are not limited to: electrical couplings, magnetic couplings, radio frequency couplings, and/or optical couplings.
Throughout this specification and the appended claims, infinitive verb forms are often used. Examples include, without limitation: “to encode,” “to provide,” “to store,” and the like. Unless the specific context requires otherwise, such infinitive verb forms are used in an open, inclusive sense, that is as “to, at least, encode,” “to, at least, provide,” “to, at least, store,” and so on.
This specification, including the drawings and the abstract, is not intended to be an exhaustive or limiting description of all implementations and embodiments of the present systems, devices, and methods. A person of skill in the art will appreciate that the various descriptions and drawings provided may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. In particular, the teachings herein are not intended to be limited by or to the illustrative examples of computer systems and computing environments provided.
This specification provides various implementations and embodiments in the form of block diagrams, schematics, flowcharts, and examples. A person skilled in the art will understand that any function and/or operation within such block diagrams, schematics, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, and/or firmware. For example, the various embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in one or more: application-specific integrated circuit(s) (i.e., ASICs); standard integrated circuit(s); computer program(s) executed by any number of computers (e.g., program(s) running on any number of computer systems); program(s) executed by any number of controllers (e.g., microcontrollers); and/or program(s) executed by any number of processors (e.g., microprocessors, central processing units, graphical processing units), as well as in firmware, and in any combination of the foregoing.
Throughout this specification and the appended claims, a “memory” or “storage medium” is a processor-readable medium that is an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, semiconductor, or other physical device or means that contains or stores processor data, data objects, logic, instructions, and/or programs. When data, data objects, logic, instructions, and/or programs are implemented as software and stored in a memory or storage medium, such can be stored in any suitable processor-readable medium for use by any suitable processor-related instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the data, data objects, logic, instructions, and/or programs from the memory or storage medium and perform various acts or manipulations (i.e., processing steps) thereon and/or in response thereto. Thus, a “non-transitory processor-readable storage medium” can be any element that stores the data, data objects, logic, instructions, and/or programs for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, and/or device. As specific non-limiting examples, the processor-readable medium can be: a portable computer diskette (magnetic, compact flash card, secure digital, or the like), a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM), digital tape, and/or any other non-transitory medium.
The claims of the disclosure are below. This disclosure is intended to support, enable, and illustrate the claims but is not intended to limit the scope of the claims to any specific implementations or embodiments. In general, the claims should be construed to include all possible implementations and embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
Claims
1. A method comprising:
- detecting, by at least one processor of a robot, a fall event of a body of the robot based on sensor data from at least one sensor of the robot communicatively coupled to the at least one processor;
- in response to detecting the fall event, actuating at least one member of the robot to protect a fragile member of the robot.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein actuating at least one member of the robot to protect the fragile member comprises: actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration comprises actuating the fragile member to a contracted configuration.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein:
- the fragile member includes an end effector comprising a plurality of finger-shaped members coupled to a palm-shaped member; and
- actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration comprises actuating the finger-shaped members to move towards the palm-shaped member to a fist-shaped configuration.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein:
- the robot includes at least one actuatable member; and
- actuating at least one member of the robot to protect the fragile member comprises: actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein:
- the at least one actuatable member comprises at least one support member coupled to the body and stored in a contracted configuration; and
- actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration comprises: extending the at least one actuatable member from the body to an extended configuration which braces the body during the fall event.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein:
- the at least one actuatable member comprises at least one support member; and
- actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration comprises extending the at least one support member from a stowed configuration to a support configuration which braces the fragile member during the fall event.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein:
- the fragile member includes a plurality of fragile members;
- the at least one actuatable member includes a plurality of actuatable members; and
- actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event comprises: actuating each actuatable member of the plurality of actuatable members to a respective protective configuration which protects a respective fragile member of the plurality of fragile members from damage during the fall event.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein:
- the robot includes at least one actuatable member; and
- actuating at least one member of the robot to protect the fragile member comprises: actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event; and actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration which protects the fragile member from damage during the fall event.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration comprises actuating the fragile member to a contracted configuration, and actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration comprises actuating the at least one actuatable member to an extended configuration.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein:
- the fragile member comprises an end effector coupled to the body by the at least one actuatable member;
- actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration comprises actuating the fragile member to move towards the body; and
- actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration comprises actuating the at least one actuatable member to extend away from the body.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein:
- the fragile member comprises a hand-shaped end effector;
- the at least one actuatable member comprises an arm member including an elbow portion;
- the hand-shaped end effector is coupled to the body by the arm member;
- actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration comprises actuating the hand-shaped end effector to move towards the body; and
- actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration comprises actuating the arm member to extend the elbow portion away from the body.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein:
- the fragile member comprises two hand-shaped end effectors;
- the at least one actuatable member comprises two arm members, each arm member including a respective elbow portion;
- each hand-shaped end effector is coupled to the body by a respective one of the arm members;
- actuating the fragile member to a defensive configuration comprises actuating each of the hand-shaped end effectors to move towards the body; and
- actuating the at least one actuatable member to a protective configuration comprises actuating each of the arm members to extend each respective elbow portion away from the body.
14. The method of claim 9, wherein:
- the robot includes at least one support structure coupled to the at least one actuatable member, the support structure being actuatable between a stowed configuration in which the support structure is stowed, and a support configuration in which the support structure supports the at least one actuatable member; and
- the method further comprises, in response to detecting the fall event, actuating the at least one support structure from the stowed configuration to the support configuration.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein:
- the at least one support structure comprises at least one pad positioned at or proximate the at least one actuatable member; and
- the method further comprises, in response to detecting the fall event, actuating the pad to cover the at least one actuatable member.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein:
- the at least one actuatable member comprises an arm member having an elbow portion;
- the at least one support structure comprises at least one elbow pad positioned at or proximate the elbow portion; and
- actuating the at least one support structure from the stowed configuration to the support configuration comprises actuating the elbow pad to cover the elbow portion.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein:
- the at least one support structure comprises at least one pedestal positioned at the at least one actuatable member; and
- actuating the at least one support structure from the stowed configuration to the support configuration comprises actuating the pedestal to extend from the at least one actuatable member.
18. The method of claim 14, wherein:
- the at least one support structure comprises at least one spring positioned at the at least one actuatable member; and
- actuating the at least one support structure from the stowed configuration to the support configuration comprises actuating the spring to extend from the at least one actuatable member.
19. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises collecting, by the at least one sensor, sensor data selected from a group of data consisting of:
- acceleration data;
- orientation data;
- angular velocity data;
- velocity data;
- inertial data;
- visual data;
- LIDAR data;
- audio data; and
- tactile data.
20. The method of claim 1, further comprising moving the robot in bipedal motion, by two actuatable leg members of the robot.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 11, 2022
Publication Date: Jul 6, 2023
Inventor: Connor Richard Shannon (Vancouver)
Application Number: 17/985,310