Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling an operation of a service robot is disclosed. The method includes measuring, by processing circuitry, an evaluation index of the service robot based on sensor data in a service mode; determining, by the processing circuitry, an operation mode of the service robot from a set of at least two operation modes based on the measured evaluation index; selecting, by the processing circuitry, a behavior to be applied to the operation of the service robot from a set of at least two behaviors based on the operation mode; and controlling, by the processing circuitry, the operation of the service robot based on the behavior.

Abstract: A medical support system that includes a support arm including one or more active joints having an actuator, and one or more passive coupling mechanisms including a passive joint and a telescopic extension arm, the passive joint having no actuator; and processing circuitry configured to obtain information indicating a change due to movement of the one or more passive coupling mechanisms, and control the actuator of each of the one or more active joints based on the obtained information indicating the change, and the telescopic extension arm is positioned between (1) an active joint of the one or more active joints on a first side of the telescopic extension arm, and (2) the passive joint on a second side of the telescopic extension arm, the first side being closer to an proximal end of the support arm than a distal end of the support arm.

Abstract: Proposed is a method for determining, by a movable robot, a position of a speaker, wherein the movable robot includes first to fourth microphones installed at four vertexes of a quadrangle of a horizontal cross section of the robot respectively, wherein the method includes: receiving a wake-up voice through first and third microphones disposed respectively at first and third vertices in a diagonal direction; obtaining a first reference value of the first microphone and a second reference value of the third microphone based on the received wake-up voice; comparing the obtained first and second reference values to select the first microphone; selecting a second microphone disposed at a second vertex, wherein the first and second microphones are on a front side of the quadrangle; calculating a sound source localization (SSL) value based on the selected first and second microphones; and tracking a position of the speaker based on the SSL value.

Abstract: A machining control system includes: a numerical control device controlling a machine tool; and a robot control device communicating with the numerical control device and controlling a robot having a plurality of drive axes. The numerical control device includes: a coordinate position command generation unit generating a coordinate position command specifying a target coordinate position at each time of a leading end part of the robot, based on a machining program; and a communication unit sending the current target coordinate position to the robot control device. The robot control device includes: a target drive position calculation unit calculating a target drive position of each of the plurality of drive axes to position the leading end part at the target coordinate position; and a drive command generation unit generating a drive command to each of the drive axes to position the drive axes at the calculated target drive position.

Abstract: A system for use in surgery includes a central body, a visualization system operably connected to the central body, a video rendering system, a head-mounted display for displaying images from the video rendering system, a sensor system, and a robotic device operably connected to the central body. The visualization system includes at least one camera and a pan system and/or a tilt system. The sensor system tracks the position and/or orientation in space of the head-mounted display relative to a reference point. The pan system and/or the tilt system are configured to adjust the field of view of the camera in response to information from the sensor system about changes in at least one of position and orientation in space of the head-mounted display relative to the reference point.

Abstract: An attitude control apparatus for a satellite includes: at least three electric motors, wherein the at least three electric motors are arranged in such a way that a torque may be generated with any orientation of an associated torque vector, and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to drive the at least three electric motors based on a torque controller. The torque controller is adapted to operate the at least three electric motors outside a rest state only when an acceleration torque and a braking torque are required to execute an agile attitude change maneuver. There is also described an associated method.

Abstract: A substrate conveying robot has a robot arm including an end effector having a substrate holding unit holding a substrate, arm drive unit for driving the robot arm, an elevating drive unit for elevatingly driving the end effector, a robot control unit controlling the arm drive unit, the elevating drive unit, and the substrate holding unit, and a substrate detection unit having a substrate detection unit which detects a vertical position of the substrate and elevates coordinately with an elevating operation of the end effector. By this configuration, a vertical position of a substrate to be conveyed is detected with high accuracy so that a robot operation can be controlled based on the detection result.

Abstract: A wearable system includes an exosuit or exoskeleton; an actuator(s) configured to generate force in the exosuit or exoskeleton; a sensor(s) configured to measure information for evaluating an objective function associated with providing physical assistance to the wearer, an interaction between the wearer and the exosuit or exoskeleton, and/or an operation of the exosuit or exoskeleton; and a controller(s) configured to: actuate the actuator(s) according to an actuation profile(s), evaluate the objective function based on the information measured by the at least one sensor to determine a resulting change in the objective function, adjust a parameter(s) of the actuation profile(s) based on the resulting change in the objective function, and continue to actuate, evaluate, and adjust to optimize the actuation parameter(s) for maximizing or minimizing the objective function.

Abstract: A method for determining possible transitions of system states in an industrial system with a plurality of agents with discrete agent states. The method comprises the steps of defining a plurality of rules, each rule comprising a pre-condition of at least one agent state that is to be changed, a post-condition of the at least one agent state, and an action or actions resulting in a corresponding transition of the at least one agent state; defining a plurality of nodes, each node comprising a system state; and evaluating for a plurality of pairs of nodes, whereby one node of each pair acts as a pre- condition node and the other node of each pair acts as a post-condition node, whether the pair can, given the rules, be directly connected by an edge, each edge comprising an action or actions required for a transition between the respective pre- and post-condition system states.

Abstract: According to other embodiments, a method planning of motions to lift heavy objects using a robot system comprising a robot and an end effector, includes identifying data comprising (a) rigid bodies included in the robot and the end effector, (b) joints connecting the rigid bodies, and (c) torque limits for each of the joints. The torque limit for a joint indicates a maximum supported torque by a drive operating the joint. A motion path searching algorithm is applied to the input data to identify feasible robot paths. The motion path searching algorithm determines torque of each of joint when evaluating points for inclusion in a feasible robot path. An evaluated point is only included in a feasible robot path if the torque of each of the joints do not exceed the torque limits. At least one of the feasible robot paths is transferred to a controller associated with the robot.

Abstract: Certain aspects relate to systems and techniques for surgical robotic arm setup. In one aspect, there is provided a system including a first robotic arm configured to manipulate a medical instrument, a processor, and a memory. The processor may be configured to: determine a minimum stroke length of the first robotic arm that allows advancing of the medical instrument by the first robotic arm to reach a target region from an access point via a path, determine a boundary for an initial pose of the first robotic arm based on the minimum stroke length and a mapping stored in the memory, and during an arm setup phase prior to performing a procedure, provide an indication of the boundary during movement of the first robotic arm.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed involving an instrument, an instrument tracking device for tracking movement of the instrument, a first boundary tracking device for tracking movement of a first virtual boundary associated with an anatomy of a patient to be treated by the instrument, and a second boundary tracking device for tracking movement of a second virtual boundary associated with a periphery of an opening in the patient to be avoided by the instrument. One or more controllers receive information associated with the tracking devices including positions of the instrument relative to the first and second virtual boundaries, detect movement of the first and second virtual boundaries relative to one another, and generate a response upon detecting movement of the first and second virtual boundaries relative to one another.

Abstract: A system including a controller, and at least two agents that communicatively access the controller. At least one of the agents is a robot. The system includes at least one processor communicatively coupled to the agents, and at least one storage device, communicatively coupled to the processor(s), that stores processor-executable instructions which, when executed, cause the processor(s) to: receive first job set of instructions provided by the controller, for a first agent included in at least two agents; and send, on behalf of the first agent, a sham status message before actual completion of the first job. The processor-executable instructions may, when executed, further cause the at least one processor to: update a data store to reflect the first job set of instructions; and receive for a second one of the at least two agents a second job set of instructions before completion of the first job.

Abstract: A robot including a motor is used to machine a workpiece. The robot further includes the following components: a controller configured to output a speed command and commanded-position information; an encoder; a position sensor configured to output, as a differential signal, the amount of displacement of the position of the workpiece W from a predetermined position; a servo driver configured to control the motor upon receiving the speed command, the output signal of the encoder, and the differential signal; and a safety unit configured to detect a fault in the encoder. When controlling the motor based on the speed command, the output signal, and the differential signal, the servo driver sends the differential signal to the controller. The controller sends the safety unit new commanded-position information, which is generated by adding a correction value based on the differential signal to the commanded-position information.

Abstract: An automatic path generation device includes a preprocessing unit creating teacher data based on a temporary motion path which is a motion path between a plurality of motion points where a robot moves and which is automatically generated with a motion planning algorithm and an actual motion path which is a motion path between the motion points and which is created by a skilled worker and a motion path learning unit generating a learned model which has learned a difference between the temporary motion path and the actual motion path with teacher data created by the preprocessing unit.

Abstract: A robot arm includes a joint and links connected via the joint, a first encoder configured to detect information related to a position of the joint, a second encoder configured to detect information related to the position of the joint independently from the first encoder, and a controller configured to control an operation of the joint. The second encoder includes a scale in which a pattern is formed and a detector configured to detect position information of the joint by reading the pattern of the scale. The controller is configured to, in a case where a reading error occurs in the detector of the second encoder, execute encoder redetection processing of driving the joint of the robot arm on a basis of the detection result of the first encoder and redetecting the position information by the second encoder.

Abstract: A work robot system including a conveying apparatus that conveys an object, a robot that performs a predetermined task on a target portion of the object being conveyed by the conveying apparatus, a controller that controls the robot, a sensor that is attached to the robot and successively detects a position, relative to the robot, of the target portion of the object being conveyed by the conveying apparatus, and a force detector that detects a force generated by a contact between the object and a part supported by the robot. When the robot is performing the predetermined task, the controller performs force control based on a detection value of the force detector while controlling the robot by using a detection result of the sensor.

Abstract: An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes at least one processor and a memory. The memory stores instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to identify a task corresponding to a task execution instruction acquired by an input device of the electronic device, identify user information corresponding to the task, identify a target spot of the electronic device for executing the task, based on the task and the user information, with respect to a position of a user corresponding to the identified user information, and control a driving circuit of the electronic device to move the electronic device to the identified target spot.

Abstract: A vehicle, system and method of operating the vehicle. A sensor measures a dynamic parameter of the vehicle. A processor determines a lateral force on a first tire based on the dynamic parameter of the vehicle, determines a longitudinal force on the first tire that achieves a maximal grip of the first tire for the lateral force, and adjusts a first torque on the first tire in order to achieve the determined longitudinal force at the first tire.

Abstract: A set of electric vehicles required to be serviced is determined based at least in part on the data associated with the availability of the at least the subset of electric vehicles. A display indicating for each electric vehicle included in the set of electrical vehicles required to be serviced a corresponding location of the electric vehicle and a price offered to retrieve, service, and redeploy the electric vehicle is provided via a communication interface to each of a plurality of users. A selection to retrieve at least one of the electrical vehicles included in the set of electric vehicles required to be serviced is received from a device associated with one of the plurality of users. The display indicating for each electric vehicle included in the set of electrical vehicles required to be serviced is updated based on the selection.