Abstract: A system has a virtual-world (VW) controller and a physical-world (PW) controller. The pairing of a PW element with a VW element establishes them as corresponding physical and virtual twins. The VW controller and/or the PW controller receives measurements from one or more sensors characterizing aspects of the physical world, the VW controller generates the virtual twin, and the VW controller and/or the PW controller generates commands for one or more actuators affecting aspects of the physical world. To coordinate the corresponding virtual and physical twins, (i) the VW controller controls the virtual twin based on the physical twin or (ii) the PW controller controls the physical twin based on the virtual twin. Depending on the operating mode, one of the VW and PW controllers is a master controller, and the other is a slave controller, where the virtual and physical twins are both controlled based on one of VW or PW forces.

Abstract: Methods, systems and apparatus for providing a notification of a wet floor are provided. A scrubbing robot for scrubbing a floor and having one or more liquid carrying components has a sensor coupled to it positioned for collecting data about an area of the floor proximate to the scrubbing robot and along a path over which the robot has travelled. An application is stored on the computer for determining that liquid is on the floor by analysing the data for a presence of a second set of parameters corresponding to or crossing (from above to below or from below to above) a set of threshold parameters that is indicative of the presence of liquid on the floor. A notification module coupled to the scrubbing robot issues at least one of a human detectable and a computer detectable notification in response to the application determining that liquid is on the floor.

Abstract: In various examples, a computer-implemented method of generating instructions for a welding robot. The computer-implemented method comprises identifying an expected position of a candidate seam on a part to be welded based on a Computer Aided Design (CAD) model of the part, scanning a workspace containing the part to produce a representation of the part, identifying the candidate seam on the part based on the representation of the part and the expected position of the candidate seam, determining an actual position of the candidate seam, and generating welding instructions for the welding robot based at least in part on the actual position of the candidate seam.

Abstract: A multi-level induction station is disclosed. The multi-level induction station includes multiple sorting levels arranged in a vertical stacked configuration; a vertically traveling automated lift that carries articles vertically between the sorting levels along a frame positioned proximate to the multiple sorting levels; an information acquisition device positioned to read information from an article on the lift; multiple transport devices positioned on the sorting levels to receive the articles; and a control system that directs the multi-level induction station to determine a destination for an article and direct the lift to a platform where a transport device is at an article-receiving position at the sorting level to receive the article.

Abstract: A method for controlling a robot is provided. The method includes the steps of: determining a first comparison axis with reference to a first target area specified by a camera module of a robot, and determining a second comparison axis with reference to a second target area specified by a scanner module of the robot and associated with the first target area; and correcting a reference coordinate system associated with the camera module with reference to a relationship between the first comparison axis and the second comparison axis.

Abstract: Systems and methods for real time feedback and for updating welding instructions for a welding robot in real time is described herein. The data of a workspace that includes a part to be welded can be received via at least one sensor. This data can be transformed into a point cloud data representing a three-dimensional surface of the part. A desired state indicative of a desired position of at least a portion of the welding robot with respect to the part can be identified. An estimated state indicative of an estimated position of at least the portion of the welding robot with respect to the part can be compared to the desired state. The welding instructions can be updated based on the comparison.

Abstract: An order fulfillment system controller receives orders for different objects, generates a number of batched tasks that is less than the number of received orders, and determines a set of the orders with a total distance between them that is greater than a total distance between other sets of the orders. The controller allocates a different order from the set of order to a different batched task, and allocates each unallocated order to a selected batched task based on the distance between objects of the unallocated order and objects previously allocated to the selected batched task being less than the distance between objects of the unallocated order and objects previously allocated to other batched tasks. The controller controls different agents according to the allocation of different subsets of orders to different batched tasks.

Abstract: When an EMV performs an action comprising moving a tool of the EMV through soil or other material, the EMV can measure a current speed of the tool through the material and a current kinematic pressure exerted on the tool by the material. Using the measured current speed and kinematic pressure, the EMV system can use a machine learned model to determine one or more soil parameters of the material. The EMV can then make decisions based on the soil parameters, such as by selecting a tool speed for the EMV based on the determined soil parameters.

Abstract: A patient cart for a robot surgical system can include a mobile base having a frame adapted and configured to support a medical robot, one or more motive devices operatively connected to the frame, and one or more motors connected to the motive devices to drive the motive devices to move the frame. The patient cart can include a drive control interface connected to the frame and configured to sense a user input and to operate the one or more motors to move the one or more motive devices as a function of the user input.

Abstract: A patient console for a robotic surgical system can include a base, a vertical lift attached to a top of the base and configured to provide up and down motion in a vertical axis, a yaw rotation device attached to the top of the vertical lift and configured to provide a yaw rotation about the vertical axis, a pitch rotation device attached to the top of the yaw rotation device and configured to provide a pitch rotation about a pitch axis orthogonal to the vertical axis, a translation device attached to the top of the pitch rotation device and configured to provide sliding translation along a translation axis, and a roll rotation device attached to the translation device to roll relative to the translation device about a roll axis to provide a roll to an instrument controller assembly. An angle of the translation axis and the roll axis relative to horizontal can be a function of the pitch rotation provided by the pitch rotation device.

Abstract: A tension compensation system for a robotically controlled medical device can include an instrument controller configured to operatively connect to a robotically controlled medical device to provide tension to one or more actuation cables of the robotically controlled medical device. The system can include an instrument control module configured to control the instrument controller to provide a compensation tension to at least one actuation cable of the one or more actuation cables to compensate for elongation of the at least one actuation cable of the one or more actuation cables based on actuation data associated with the at least one actuation cable of the one or more actuation cables.

Abstract: A collaborative autonomous ground vehicle or robot for traversing a ground surface is disclosed. The robot is a wheeled vehicle includes two camera groups and other sensors to sense the environment in which the robot will operate. The robot includes a control system configured to operate in a teach mode to learn a route by either following a person or preceding a person and to store the learned route as a taught route. The control system is configured for identifying persons and objects, such as obstacles, within the fields of view of the camera groups. When the robot is in its repeat mode it will take the taught route over the ground surface and take appropriate action if an obstacle is identified in the field of view.

Abstract: A method includes receiving, by the treatment system, during operation in an agricultural environment, one or more images comprising one or more agricultural objects in the agricultural environment, identifying, in real-time, one or more objects of interest from the one or more agricultural objects by analyzing the one or more images, wherein the analyzing results in a first object being identified as belonging to one or more target objects and a second object being identified as not belonging to the one or more target objects, logging one or more results of the identification of each of the one or more objects of interest and a corresponding treatment decision; and activating the treatment mechanism to treat the one or more target objects.

Abstract: A fully autonomous mobile robot is provided that transports items from one area to another. The mobile robot includes a variety of mechanisms that capture an item from a first surface and moves the item within the confines of the mobile robot. The item can then be transported to another surface either within the confines of the mobile robot or to another location.

Abstract: This description provides an autonomous or semi-autonomous excavation vehicle that is capable of determining a route between a start point and an end point in a site and navigating over the route. The sensors collect any or more of spatial, imaging, measurement, and location data to detect an obstacle between two locations within the site. Based on the collected data and identified obstacles, the excavation vehicle generates unobstructed routes circumventing the obstacles, obstructed routes traveling through the obstacles, and instructions for removing certain modifiable obstacles. The excavation vehicle determines and selects the shortest route of the unobstructed and obstructed route and navigates over the selected path to move within the site.

Abstract: Exemplary embodiments relate to improvements in soft robotic systems that permit a soft robotic end effector to be a self-contained system, without reliance on a tether to deliver inflation fluid to the actuator(s) of the end effector. According to some embodiments, a robotic system may be provided including a soft actuator and a hub. The body of the hub may include an integrated pressure source configured to supply inflation fluid through the actuator interface to the soft actuator. The pressure source may be, for example, a compressor (such as a twin-head compressor) or a reaction chamber configured to vaporize a fuel to create a high-temperature pressurized gas and deliver the pressurized gas to the actuator One or more accumulators may receive inflation fluid (or a partial vacuum) from the compressor over time, and store the inflation fluid under pressure, thus allowing actuation over a relatively short time period.

Abstract: Various embodiments of an apparatus, methods, systems and computer program products described herein are directed to an agricultural observation and treatment system and method of operation. The agricultural treatment system may determine a first real-world geo-spatial location of the treatment system. The system can receive captured images depicting real-world agricultural objects of a geographic scene. The system can associate captured images with the determined geo-spatial location of the treatment system. The treatment system can identify, from a group of mapped and indexed images, images having a second real-word geo-spatial location that is proximate with the first real-world geo-spatial location. The treatment system can compare at least a portion of the identified images with at least a portion of the captured images. The treatment system can determine a target object and emit a fluid projectile at the target object using a treatment device.

Abstract: A seating system includes a seat, with structures for supporting a user thereon, and actuators. Each actuator includes a deformable shell with an enclosed internal cavity containing a fluid dielectric contained, a pair of electrodes disposed on opposing sides of the deformable shell. The actuators are integrated into the structures and configured for providing at least one function, such as haptic feedback, seat adjustment, alert notification, vibratory signal, user input receiving, and massage function. A portion of the plurality of actuators may be enclosed within an encapsulating shell to form an encapsulated sheet of actuators. Each actuator may be a part of a button-on-demand system, wherein the actuator is normally in a collapsed position such that a user-facing surface of the encapsulating shell is substantially flat and, when activated by a user, the actuator is configured to expand such that the encapsulating shell is raised to form a button.

Abstract: A robot control system determines which of a number of discretizations to use to generate discretized representations of robot swept volumes and to generate discretized representations of the environment in which the robot will operate. Obstacle voxels (or boxes) representing the environment and obstacles therein are streamed into the processor and stored in on-chip environment memory. At runtime, the robot control system may dynamically switch between multiple motion planning graphs stored in off-chip or on-chip memory. The dynamically switching between multiple motion planning graphs at runtime enables the robot to perform motion planning at a relatively low cost as characteristics of the robot itself change.

Abstract: A robotic kitchen system for preparing food items in combination with at least one kitchen appliance such as a fryer comprises an automated bin assembly, a robotic arm, and a basket held by the robotic arm. The automated bin assembly comprises at least one automated bin for holding the food items. A camera or sensor array collects image data of the food items in the bin(s). A central processor is operable to compute and provide directions to the first robotic arm and automated bin assembly based on the image data and stored data to (a) move the robotic arm to the bin; (b) actuate the bin to drop the food items from the bin into the basket; (c) and to move the basket into the fryer all without human interaction. Related methods are also described.