Adaptive damper for computer-aided system

Abstract

The invention relates to an adaptive damper for a computer-aided system. A computer-aided system may include a manipulator arm configured to support an instrument, an input device configured to accept a user command to move the instrument, and a damping system coupled to the input device. A controller of the computer-aided system may be configured to determine an instrument power metric and an input device power metric. The controller may also determine a damping to be applied to the input device based on the instrument power metric and the input device power metric, and cause the damping system to adjust the damping applied to the input device.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of Chinese Patent Application No. 2023800438263 (PCT / US2023 / 023797), entitled “Adaptive Damper for Computer-Aided Systems”, filed on May 30, 2023.

[0002] Cross-reference to related applications This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 347,304, filed May 31, 2022, pursuant to 35 U SC § 119(e), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The disclosed embodiments relate to adaptive dampers for computer-aided systems and related methods of use. Background Technology

[0004] The use of computer-aided electronic systems is becoming increasingly frequent, particularly in industrial, recreational, educational, and other settings. As a medical example, today's medical facilities contain a large number of electronic devices in operating rooms, interventional suites, intensive care units, emergency rooms, and / or similar locations. Many of these electronic devices are capable of autonomous or semi-autonomous movement. Personnel can remotely control the movement and / or operation of follower electronic devices using one or more leader input devices located at the user control system. For example, robotic telemedicine systems allow medical personnel to remotely operate instruments to perform medical procedures from the patient's side or from a remote location. As a specific example, minimally invasive robotic remote surgical systems allow surgeons to perform surgery on patients from the bedside or a remote location. Remote surgery generally refers to surgery performed using a surgical system where the surgeon uses some form of remote control, such as a servo mechanism, to manipulate the movement of surgical instruments rather than directly holding and moving them by hand. In some systems with actuator systems coupled to input devices, the actuator system can be driven to provide tactile feedback via the input device. Therefore, there is a need for improved devices and methods for operating computer-aided electronic systems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In some embodiments, a computer-aided system includes a manipulator arm configured to support an instrument, an input device configured to receive user commands for moving the instrument, a damping system coupled to the input device, and a controller including at least one processor. The controller is configured to: determine an instrument power metric indicating the amount of power required for instrument interaction, the instrument interaction including physical interaction between at least a portion of the instrument and an instrument environment containing the instrument; determine an input device power metric indicating the amount of power required for feedback provided by the input device in response to the instrument interaction; determine, based on the instrument power metric and the input device power metric, damping to be applied to the input device; and cause the damping system to apply damping to the input device.

[0006] In some embodiments, a method of controlling a computer-aided system configured to support an instrument, the computer-aided system including an input device configured to control movement of the instrument and a damping system configured to apply a force to the input device, the method comprising: determining a component of a force variation at the instrument, the component being related to a direction of movement of the input device; and determining a feedback force based at least in part on the environmental stiffness and the component of the force variation in response to determining that the instrument experiences an environmental stiffness exceeding a threshold stiffness. The method further includes causing the damping system to drive the input device to apply the feedback force. In some embodiments, a non-transient computer-readable storage medium may store instructions that, when executed by at least one processor associated with the computer-aided device, cause at least one processor to perform the method.

[0007] It should be understood that the concepts described above and the additional concepts discussed below can be arranged in any suitable combination, as this disclosure is not limited in this respect. Furthermore, other advantages and novel features of this disclosure will become apparent when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, through the following detailed description of various non-limiting embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0008] The accompanying drawings are not to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component shown in various figures may be represented by the same reference numerals. For clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings: Figure 1 These are illustrations of a computer-aided system according to some embodiments; Figure 2 This is a block diagram of a computer-aided system according to some embodiments; Figure 3 This is a diagram of a control loop for a computer-aided system according to some embodiments; Figure 4 This is a simplified illustration of a computer-aided system during operation according to some embodiments; Figure 5This is a simplified illustration of an input device for a computer-aided system according to some embodiments; Figure 6 This is a simplified illustration of a computer-aided system during operation according to some embodiments; Figure 7 The diagrams depict experimental results of computer-aided systems according to some exemplary embodiments described herein; and Figure 8 A flowchart is depicted illustrating a method for operating a computer-aided system according to some embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0009] Some computer-aided systems include follower devices that perform remote operation in response to user input received at an input device. In cases where such remote operation is performed using an input device coupled to an actuator system, the actuator system can be driven to provide tactile feedback via the input device based on forces determined to be experienced by parts of the follower device or components supported by the follower device. Controlling such an actuator system to provide this tactile feedback can be difficult or may result in unfavorable or inaccurate tactile feedback for the user of the computer-aided system. For example, in computer-aided systems where an input device is used to remotely operate a manipulator arm, phase loss may be introduced between the input device and the manipulator arm due to the physical separation of the input device from the manipulator arm and the associated time delay in the transmitted information. In some cases where a computer-aided system is used to facilitate the remote operation of a manipulator arm, the phase loss can be significant and often introduces instability in the control of the input device and / or the actuator of the manipulator arm. As another example, instability in the control of the actuator system used for the interaction experienced by a follower manipulator arm in a computer-aided system, where user feedback is provided via input devices, can also be caused by variations in the operating environment of the manipulator arm. For example, the manipulator arm may support a device that, in some operating environments and situations, may engage with materials (such as objects) of varying rigidity or compliance. For instance, the device may interact with one or more harder or more rigid object surfaces and one or more softer (e.g., less hard) or more compliant (e.g., less rigid) object surfaces. As another example, the device may interact with harder or more rigid object blocks / volumes in the environment and softer (e.g., less hard) or more compliant (e.g., less rigid) object blocks / volumes. As yet another example, the device may interact with non-solid materials in the environment, such as liquid or gel-like materials (e.g., blocks / volumes). As used herein, the hardness of an object can refer to the resistance of an object to surface deformation, and rigidity can be a measure of the resistance of an object or other material to volume deformation. When the instrument interacts with these different surfaces, volumes, or non-solid materials, changes in the rigidity or compliance of the environment it encounters may also introduce instability in the actuators of the control input devices to provide feedback to the user due to a rapid increase in forces at the instrument.

[0010] The techniques described in this disclosure can provide various benefits in computer-aided systems that include an input device and a manipulator arm controlled by the input device, wherein the interaction of the manipulator arm (or a component supported by the manipulator arm, such as a device) is used to provide tactile feedback to the user of the input device. Example benefits include helping to maintain the stability of the feedback provided by the input device and helping to improve or maintain the tracking accuracy between commands received at the input device and movements performed by the manipulator arm. In some embodiments, the disclosed techniques reduce the amount of damping applied to the input device and apply little or no damping (e.g., barely detectable or undetectable by human senses) when the manipulator arm, remotely operated by the input device, does not experience reaction forces from the operating environment (e.g., the manipulator arm or the device supported by the manipulator arm is not in contact with any material other than air or other gases, or is in free space).

[0011] In some embodiments, the disclosed technology provides a controller configured to compensate for the operating environment impedance encountered by the remotely operated manipulator arm, reducing the likelihood of a significant increase in control loop gain, which in turn reduces the likelihood of unstable force feedback at the input device. One potential benefit includes an adaptive controller for computer-aided systems that enhances stable force feedback for the input device by applying different damping to the feedback provided by the input device when the manipulator arm is experiencing higher environmental stiffness (e.g., contact with a more rigid object or a harder object surface) compared to when the manipulator arm is experiencing lower environmental stiffness (e.g., in free space, contact with a softer material). For example, without compensation, contact with a fundamentally rigid surface (e.g., bone or another instrument in a surgical example), a fundamentally rigid block, or some other highly rigid material (e.g., a more viscous fluid, a harder gel, etc.) could lead to a rapid increase in control loop gain due to a rapid increase in the input force measured at the instrument for a given amount of motion. As another example, the device can interact with harder, more rigid blocks of objects in the environment, as well as softer (e.g., less hard) and more compliant (e.g., less rigid) blocks of objects. As yet another example, the device can interact with non-solid materials in the environment, such as liquids or gels. As used herein, the hardness of an object can refer to its resistance to surface deformation, and rigidity can be a measure of the resistance of an object or other material to volumetric deformation. When the device interacts with these different surfaces, blocks, or non-solid materials, variations in the rigidity or compliance of the environment encountered can also introduce instabilities in the actuators of the control input device as they provide feedback to the user, due to rapid changes in the forces acting on the device for small movements.

[0012] In some embodiments, the disclosed technology provides a controller configured to compensate for variations in the structural stiffness of the kinematic chain including a remotely operated manipulator arm. For example, an extended manipulator arm may be more compliant and less stiff than a folded or retracted manipulator arm. Without compensation, compensating for the increased compliance and decreased stiffness could also result in an increase in control loop gain. Due to its physical configuration, an extended manipulator arm will typically have a different bending stiffness compared to a folded or retracted manipulator arm, making the force applied to the tip of the extended manipulator arm (compared to a folded or retracted manipulator arm) more likely to buckle the manipulator arm due to the increased lever arm.

[0013] In some embodiments, the disclosed techniques allow for the use of lower-quality input devices. Furthermore, in some embodiments, lower-quality input devices may be associated with increased control loop gain, which could make the input devices more susceptible to instabilities. The techniques described herein can also be applied to controllers configured to compensate for increases in feedback control loop gain caused by one or more sources of feedback force on the input device.

[0014] In some embodiments, the computer-aided system may employ a method in which a power metric is determined that indicates the amount of power required for the physical interaction between the manipulator arm and its corresponding environment. Similarly, a power metric based on a feedback force applied to an input device may be determined. Based on the determined power metrics for the input device and the manipulator arm, damping of the input device may be determined and applied to the input device. In this way, the damping of the input device can be automatically adjusted based on the feedback force applied to the input device and the physical interaction between the manipulator arm and its environment. Adaptive controllers according to exemplary embodiments described herein can be employed in any computer-aided robotic system with any associated machinery, including industrial computer-aided systems, medical computer-aided systems, and other suitable systems.

[0015] In some embodiments, the computer-aided system includes a manipulator arm configured to support an instrument and an input device configured to receive user commands to move the instrument. The manipulator arm may be configured to support multiple instruments that may interact with one or more surfaces, blocks, or other materials. The computer-aided system may also include an actuator system configured to apply a feedback force to the input device based on forces sensed at the manipulator arm. For example, in the case of a remotely operated computer-aided system, the actuator system may be driven to apply a force to the input device to reflect or represent a force sensed or detected at the manipulator arm located remotely from the input device. In this way, the actuator system can be employed to provide force feedback to the user of the input device. The computer-aided system may also include a controller configured to control the forces applied to the input device, wherein the controller includes at least one processor configured to execute programming instructions that cause the at least one processor to perform the exemplary methods described herein. (At least refer to...) Figures 1-2 An exemplary computer-aided system will be discussed further.

[0016] In some embodiments, a method of controlling a computer-aided system including a manipulator arm and an input device includes measuring or estimating the power (e.g., a power metric) flowing into the instrument supported by the manipulator arm from the environment surrounding the instrument. For example, the power may be measured or estimated based on contact between the instrument and a workpiece or contact between the instrument and another instrument. Measuring or estimating the power flowing into the instrument may include measuring forces elsewhere on the instrument or manipulator arm, and measuring or determining the velocity of the instrument. The method may also include measuring or estimating the power flowing into a user input device by measuring or determining a feedback force applied to the input device and measuring or determining the velocity of the input device. The method may also include comparing (after optional scaling) the power metrics for the manipulator arm and the input device. In some embodiments, the comparison may be a difference. Based on the comparison between the manipulator arm power metric and the input device power metric, a damping for the input device is determined. In some embodiments, this determination is primarily based on whether the manipulator arm power metric exceeds the input device power metric. When the manipulator arm power metric is larger (e.g., for a first range of the difference), for example, based on a strictly monotonic relationship (e.g., a positive monotonic relationship) between the damping and the difference between the manipulator arm power metric and the input device power metric, a larger damping may be applied to the input device. When the manipulator arm power metric is less than or equal to the input device power metric (e.g., for a second range of the difference), damping can be set to a baseline value (e.g., zero or a non-zero value). This baseline value can be left unset until the input device power metric exceeds or equals the manipulator arm power metric, to avoid introducing instability into the input device. In this way, damping is driven based on the difference between the relatively scaled power metrics for the input device and the manipulator arm. Refer to the example. Figure 8 Exemplary methods for controlling computer-aided systems are further discussed.

[0017] According to exemplary embodiments described herein, a power metric can represent power (e.g., energy) over a time period. For example, in some embodiments, a manipulator arm power metric can indicate the energy of the device interacting with its environment. Similarly, an input device power metric can indicate the feedback provided by the input device in response to device interaction. A power metric can include the accumulation of power over a follower time period (e.g., a period of time). The follower time period can begin at the moment the input device is used and feedback force is provided at the user input device, and can end until the input device is released and feedback force is no longer presented at the user input device. In some embodiments, the follower time period can be any length of time the user uses the input device. In some embodiments, the follower time period can be between 1 ms and 7 hours. According to such embodiments, a power metric can represent the energy of manipulator arm interaction and input device interaction over the follower time period. In some embodiments, the follower time period can consist of several integrals of instantaneous power over interval time periods. That is, in some embodiments, the overall integral of instantaneous power can be determined by the sum of multiple interval integrals over interval time periods. For example, determining a power metric can include repeatedly integrating instantaneous power over interval time periods and summing over each repeated interval integral. In some embodiments, the interval time period may be determined at least in part by the interval of a control loop or servo cycle for a computer-aided system. For example, the interval time period may be between 0.0005 ms and 10 ms (corresponding to a control loop or servo cycle frequency between 2000 and 100 Hz), but any suitable interval time period may also be used. Other exemplary time periods are further discussed with reference to other embodiments described herein. References Figures 4-6 An exemplary embodiment further discusses an example of determining a power metric.

[0018] In some embodiments, an adaptive damper is implemented for a computer-aided system, wherein a controller for the damper is capable of discarding excessive negative energy generation over time to avoid delaying damping increases in the event of changes in the manipulator arm's environmental interactions. For example, if excessive net negative energy is generated, the damping can be set to zero or near zero once the net energy reaches zero or is negative, and the damping can be maintained at zero or near zero until the generated net energy becomes positive again, a process that could take a considerable amount of time. By discarding negative energy in some embodiments, the time to increase the damping above or near zero can be reduced (e.g., the damping can recover faster than a control scheme that does not discard excessive negative energy). In some embodiments, the computer-aided system rapidly increases the damping applied to the input device (e.g., faster than embodiments that do not discard excessive negative energy) in response to changes in the power metric of the manipulator arm that may move into contact with a surface (e.g., a substantially rigid surface), a block, or other material (leading to a rapid increase in the power metric), resulting in a rapid increase in the power metric. As previously described, in some embodiments, determining the damping applied to the input device can be based on a comparison (e.g., a difference) between scaled power metrics for the input device and the manipulator arm. When the scaled power metric of the input device exceeds the scaled power metric of the manipulator arm (e.g., when the net power metric is negative), the damping of the input device can be set to a baseline minimum. In some embodiments, the baseline minimum can be zero. In other embodiments, the baseline minimum can be non-zero. In some embodiments, the method of controlling a computer-aided system includes decaying the excess input device power metric toward a net power metric of zero over time. That is, the method may include reducing the accumulation of power metric of instrument interaction over time, and may also include reducing the accumulation of power metric of input device interaction over time. For example, in some embodiments, a constant linear slew rate may be used to reduce the input device power metric until it equals the manipulator arm power metric. As another example, exponential decay may be used to reduce the net power metric. Any suitable profile may be used to reduce the input device power metric over time, as this disclosure is not limited thereto. In this way, when the manipulator arm power metric increases rapidly, damping can be applied to the input device without the delay introduced by the excess input device power metric.

[0019] In addition to the above, in some embodiments, a damping limit is used to constrain the amount of damping applied to the input device. Applying higher damping to the input device can provide more stable force feedback control on the input device; however, applying higher damping may reduce the user-perceived quality of the feedback or responsiveness of the computer-assisted system. For example, in some applications of computer-assisted systems according to exemplary embodiments described herein (e.g., robotic surgery), the movement of the input device may be undesirable when the input device resists the movement or is slow relative to an undamped input device. Therefore, in some cases, the damping limit increases at a limited rate of change, thereby reducing the likelihood of a large increase in damping applied to the input device over a short time span. The “short” time span may be based on the force, damping, and cycle time associated with the expected use of the computer-assisted system and may therefore vary from system to system. In some embodiments, the “short” time span may include an instantaneous increase (e.g., a step function). In some embodiments, a method of controlling a computer-assisted system may include limiting the amount of damping applied to the input device to a damping limit. In some embodiments, the method may include increasing the damping limit at a known rate in response to a determined amount of damping exceeding a damping threshold. In some embodiments, the damping threshold may be equal to the damping limit, and the damping threshold may also be variable based on the damping limit. For example, if the damping limit increases, the damping threshold may also increase accordingly. In this way, in some embodiments, the damping limit may only increase when the amount of damping continuously exceeds the increased damping limit. This rate may be a monotonic rate (e.g., a positive monotonic rate), a linear rate, an exponential rate, or any other suitable rate profile. In some embodiments, the damping limit may be increased to not exceed a maximum damping limit, which may be predetermined based on the specific kinematics of the input device. For example, the damping may be disproportionate to the range of the difference between the instrument power metric and the input device power metric because the damping is limited by the damping limit. In some embodiments, the damping limit may decrease in response to the amount of damping being less than the damping limit. For example, in some embodiments, the damping limit may decrease monotonically, linearly, or exponentially. In some embodiments, the damping limit may not decrease until a threshold time period has elapsed. This arrangement ensures that the damping limit remains high even if the amount of damping applied to the input device decreases instantaneously. Reference Figure 7Exemplary implementations of damping limits and thresholds are further discussed. According to the exemplary embodiments described herein, methods can be described without specifically referring to directionality. In some embodiments, the power metric and damping may be directional or assigned directionality. For example, the power metric and damping may be associated with three non-parallel translational degrees of freedom (e.g., x, y, and z directions). In such embodiments, the power metric and damping may be determined in each degree of freedom. In some embodiments, damping and the power metric may be determined in rotational degrees of freedom (e.g., pitch, roll, and yaw directions). In some embodiments, the power metric and damping may be determined in any number of translational and rotational degrees of freedom or any sub-combination of rotational and translational degrees of freedom. In some embodiments, the power metric may be a scalar assigned directionality for applying directional damping. Reference Figure 6 An example of assigning directionality to a power metric is further discussed.

[0020] According to the exemplary embodiments described herein, "damping" is a force opposite to the speed of the input device. Damping can be a resistance proportional to the speed of the input device. Therefore, an increase in the speed of the input device can result in a corresponding increase in the damping force applied opposite to the speed of the input device. According to the exemplary embodiments described herein, a method of controlling a computer-aided system includes applying damping to an input device using a damping system. Damping can be applied via an active force or a passive force. For example, in some embodiments, the actuator of an actuator system can be driven to apply an active damping force in the direction of or opposite to the movement of the input device in a damped manner. This damping force can be incorporated into the overall force output of the actuator system. As another example, in some embodiments, the damping system may include an adjustable physical damper (e.g., a braking system) that can apply a damping force to the input device. As yet another example, the physical damper can be physically adjusted to change the damping rate of the physical damper. Therefore, determining the amount of damping and applying it to such an input device may include adjusting the physical damper to achieve a desired amount of damping. Any combination of a physical damper and an actuator operating as a damper can be used as part of a damping system, as this disclosure is not limited thereto. While in some embodiments herein the damping is proportional to velocity (e.g., linear), in other embodiments the damping can be nonlinear, piecewise linear, etc.

[0021] According to the exemplary embodiments described herein, power metrics of the manipulator arm and the input device can be used to determine the damping to be applied to the input device. In some cases, the manipulator arm and the input device may be scaled with different scaling, such that when directly compared, the power metric of one may be much larger than that of the other. For example, the manipulator arm may move a distance on the order of 1 meter, while the input device may move a distance on the order of 10 centimeters. Therefore, when directly compared, the power metric of the manipulator arm may be an order of magnitude larger than that of the input device. Therefore, in some embodiments, the power metrics of the manipulator arm and the input device can be determined by appropriate scaling so that they can be properly compared. In some embodiments, such scaling may be based on a scaling factor for position tracking between the input device and the manipulator arm, or on a scaling factor for the force experienced on each side of the remote robot. Any suitable scaling factor for the power metric can be used, as this disclosure is not limited thereto. In the exemplary embodiments described herein, power metrics for the manipulator arm and input devices are typically described such that an increase in the power metric corresponds to an increase in the amount of power or energy, a decrease in the power metric corresponds to a decrease in the amount of power or energy, and a larger power metric corresponds to a larger amount of power or energy compared to a lower or smaller power metric. It is understood that mathematical manipulations that merely change the value of the power metric do not change the underlying amount of power associated with that value. For example, in a system, mathematical manipulations or calculations associate lower or smaller (including negative or more negative) values ​​with power metrics that correspond to a larger amount of power or energy.

[0022] According to exemplary embodiments described herein, a method for controlling a computer-aided system includes determining and applying damping as part of a control loop. In some embodiments, the control loop may operate at frequencies suitable for attenuating vibrations in a target frequency band. The method according to embodiments described herein can be used to attenuate vibrations of an input device less than or equal to 10 Hz. Accordingly, the control loop may operate at frequencies greater than 100 Hz to 1000 Hz. In some embodiments, the control loop may operate at a frequency range more than ten times the upper limit of the target frequency range. In some embodiments, the speed of the control loop may be determined by an accumulated time period for power measurement determined during the control loop cycle. In some embodiments, the power measurement may be accumulated (e.g., integrated) over a time period, which may be decomposed into the sum of multiple interval time periods (e.g., where the interval time periods are associated with the control loop cycle time or the servo cycle time). Depending on the specific computer-aided application, the control loop may operate at any other frequency, as this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0023] This disclosure describes various devices, components, and parts of computer-aided devices and components in their state in three-dimensional space. As used herein, the term "position" refers to the location of a component or part of a component. Orientation can be determined in any number of dimensions suitable for the system, such as in one-dimensional, two-dimensional, or three-dimensional space (e.g., three translational degrees of freedom along Cartesian x, y, and z coordinates). As used herein, the term "orientation" refers to the rotational placement of a component or part of a component. Orientation can be determined in any number of dimensions suitable for the system, such as in one, two, or three degrees of freedom (e.g., in three rotational degrees of freedom, such as roll, pitch, and yaw, which can be represented by angle-axis, rotation matrix, quaternion, and / or the like). As used herein, and for devices having a repositionable arm and / or other repositionable structure, the terms "proximal / proximal" refer to the direction along the kinematic chain of the computer-aided device toward the base of the computer-aided device, and "far / far" refer to the direction along the kinematic chain away from the base.

[0024] As used herein, the term “attitude” refers to the multi-degree-of-freedom (DOF) spatial position and orientation of a coordinate system of interest attached to a rigid body. Generally, attitude includes attitude variables for each DOF. For example, a full 6-DOF attitude for a rigid body in 3D space would include six attitude variables corresponding to three position DOFs (e.g., x, y, and z) and three orientation DOFs (e.g., roll, pitch, and yaw). Meanwhile, a 3-DOF position-only attitude for a rigid body would only include attitude variables for the three position DOFs. Furthermore, a 3-DOF orientation-only attitude for a rigid body would only include attitude variables for the three rotation DOFs. Additionally, attitude velocities capture the change in attitude over time (e.g., the first derivative of the attitude). For a full 6-DOF attitude for a rigid body, velocities would include three translational velocities and three rotational velocities (e.g., both angular and translational velocities). Attitudes with other numbers of DOFs would have corresponding numbers of velocities, translational, and / or rotational velocities. Other examples for rigid bodies include two translations and one rotation DOF, two or three translation DOFs, and two or three rotation DOFs.

[0025] This disclosure is described with reference to computer-aided systems and apparatuses, which may include remotely operated, remotely controlled, autonomous, semi-autonomous, robotic, and / or similar systems and apparatuses. Furthermore, aspects of this disclosure are described in accordance with embodiments using surgical systems. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the inventive aspects disclosed herein can be embodied and implemented in various ways, including robotic and (if applicable) non-robotic embodiments and implementations. Implementations on surgical systems are merely exemplary and should not be considered as limiting the scope of the inventive aspects disclosed herein. For example, the techniques described with reference to surgical instruments and surgical methods can be used in other contexts. Therefore, the instruments, systems, and methods described herein can be used for humans, animals, parts of human or animal anatomy, industrial systems, general-purpose robots, or remote operating systems. As a further example, the instruments, systems, and methods described herein can be used for non-medical purposes, including industrial use, general robotic use, sensing or manipulating non-tissue artifacts, cosmetic enhancements, imaging of human or animal anatomy, collecting data from human or animal anatomy, setting up or dismantling systems, training medical or non-medical personnel, and / or similar purposes. Additional example applications include procedures for tissue removed from human or animal anatomy (without returning the human or animal anatomy), and procedures for human or animal carcasses. Furthermore, these techniques can also be used in medical treatments or diagnostic procedures, with or without surgical involvement.

[0026] It should also be noted that while some embodiments described herein employ rigid linkage mechanisms, this disclosure is not limited thereto. The techniques and methods described herein can be applied to flexible robotic systems. For example, the methods described herein can be applied to rigid linkage robotic systems, flexible conduit systems, or other flexible robotic systems.

[0027] Turning to the accompanying drawings, specific, non-limiting embodiments are described in more detail. It should be understood that the various systems, components, features, and methods described with respect to these embodiments can be used individually and / or in any desired combination, as this disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein.

[0028] Figure 1 This is a simplified diagram of an example computer-aided system according to various embodiments. In some examples, the computer-aided system is a remote operating system 100. In a medical example, the remote operating system 100 may be a remotely operated medical system, such as a surgical system. As shown, the remote operating system 100 includes a follower device 104, which can be remotely operated by control from one or more leader input devices 106 configured to accept external input, as described in more detail below. A system including a leader device and a follower device is called a leader-follower system. Figure 1As shown, the input device is part of an input system that includes workstation 102 (e.g., a console). In other embodiments, the input system may be of any suitable form and may or may not include workstation 102.

[0029] exist Figure 1 In an exemplary embodiment, workstation 102 includes one or more input devices 106 configured to be contacted and manipulated by user 108. For example, workstation 102 may include one or more input devices 106 configured for use by user 108's hand, head, or some other body part. In this example, the input device 106 is supported by workstation 102 and may be mechanically grounded. In some embodiments, an ergonomic support 110 (e.g., a forearm rest) may be provided on which user 108 may rest his or her forearm. In some examples, user 108 may command follower device 104 to perform tasks at a work site during a program by using input device 106. In some embodiments, workstation 102 may be physically located near follower device 104. In other embodiments, workstation 102 may be located remotely from follower device 104 and may communicate with follower device via a local area network, wide area network, and / or via the Internet using one or more communication protocols.

[0030] like Figure 1 As shown, workstation 102 includes a display unit 112. The display unit 112 can display images for user 108 to view. In some embodiments, the display unit 112 can move with various degrees of freedom to adapt to the viewing position of user 108 and / or optionally provide control functions as another input device. In an example of the remote operating system 100, the displayed images may depict a work area where user 108 performs various tasks by manipulating input device 106 and / or display unit 112. In some examples, workstation 102 may receive images displayed by display unit 112 from one or more imaging devices arranged at the work area. In other examples, the images displayed by display unit 112 may be generated by display unit 112 (or by different connection devices or systems), such as for tools, virtual representations of work areas, or for user interface components.

[0031] according to Figure 1 In one embodiment, when using workstation 102, user 108 can sit in a chair or other support in front of workstation 102, positioning his or her eyes in front of display unit 112, manipulating input device 106, and resting his or her forearms on ergonomic support 110 as needed. In some embodiments, user 108 can stand at workstation or adopt other postures, and the positions (height, depth, etc.) of display unit 112 and input device 106 can be adjusted to suit user 108.

[0032] In some embodiments, one or more input devices 106 may be ungrounded (an ungrounded input device has no kinematic ground, such as an input device held by the hand of user 108 without additional physical support). Such an ungrounded input device may be used in conjunction with display unit 112. In some embodiments, user 108 may use display unit 112 located near the work site, allowing user 108 to manually operate instruments at the work site, such as laparoscopic instruments in a surgical example, while viewing images displayed by display unit 112.

[0033] The remote operating system 100 may also include a follower device 104 that can be commanded by workstation 102. In a medical example, the follower device 104 may be located near an operating table (e.g., a table, bed, or other support) where the patient may be positioned. In some medical examples, the work site is provided on the operating table, such as on or inside a patient, a simulated patient, or a model (not shown). The illustrated follower device 104 includes a plurality of manipulator arms 120, each configured to be coupled to an instrument assembly 122. The instrument assembly 122 may include, for example, instruments 126. In various embodiments, one or more of the instruments 126 may include imaging devices for capturing images (e.g., an optical camera, a hyperspectral camera, an ultrasound sensor, etc.). For example, one or more of the instruments 126 may be an endoscope assembly that includes an imaging device that can provide captured images of a portion of the work site to be displayed via display unit 112. One or more instruments 126 may also include instruments configured to function in an operating environment and physically interact with physical objects or properties of the operating environment (e.g., in a medical example, the operating environment may be a workspace inside or outside the patient's body). Examples of potential instruments 126 may include, but are not limited to, grippers, scalpels, staplers, imagers or other sensors, cauterization instruments, suction flushers, and scissors. Any suitable instrument may be used with the manipulator arm 120, as this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0034] In some embodiments, the manipulator arm 120 and / or instrument assembly 122 can be controlled to move and articulate the instrument 126 / articulate the instrument joints in response to manipulation of the input device 106 by the user 108, and in this way, remotely "follow" the input device 106. This enables the user 108 to perform tasks at a work site using the manipulator arm 120 and / or instrument assembly 122. The manipulator arm 120 and follower device 104 are examples of repositionable structures on which instruments (such as manipulators or / or imaging instruments including imaging devices) can be mounted. One or more repositionable structures of computer-aided systems include repositionable structure systems of computer-aided systems. For a surgical example, the user 108 can instruct the follower manipulator arm 120 to move the instrument 126 to perform surgical procedures at an internal surgical site through a minimally invasive orifice or natural opening. The manipulator arm 120 and / or instrument assembly 122 can also provide feedback information presented to the user 108 via one or more input devices 106. For example, in some embodiments, the manipulator arm 120 and / or the instrument assembly 122 may provide force information for applying a feedback force at one or more input devices 106.

[0035] As shown, the control system 140 is provided externally to and communicates with workstation 102. In other embodiments, the control system 140 may be provided within workstation 102 or within follower device 104. When user 108 moves input device(s) 106, sensed spatial information, including sensed position and / or orientation information, based on the movement of input device(s) 106, is provided to control system 140. Control system 140 may determine control signals or provide control signals to follower device 104 based on the received information and user input to control the movement of manipulator arm 120, instrument assembly 122, and / or instrument 126. In one embodiment, control system 140 supports one or more wired communication protocols (e.g., Ethernet, USB, and / or similar protocols) and / or one or more wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, IrDA (Infrared Data Communication), HomeRF (Home Radio Frequency), IEEE 1002.11, DECT (Digital Enhanced Wireless Communication), wireless telemetry, and / or similar protocols). In some embodiments, the control system 140 may be configured to implement the exemplary methods described herein and determine the feedback force to be applied to one or more input devices 106.

[0036] The control system 140 can be implemented on one or more computing systems. The one or more computing systems can be used to control the follower device 104. Furthermore, the one or more computing systems can be used to control the movement of components of the workstation 102, such as the display unit 112.

[0037] As shown in the figure, the control system 140 includes a processor 150 and a memory 160 of a storage control module 170. In some embodiments, the control system 140 may include one or more processors, non-persistent storage devices (e.g., volatile memory such as random access memory (RAM), cache memory), persistent storage devices (e.g., hard disks, optical drives such as compact disc (CD) drives or digital versatile disc (DVD) drives), flash memory, etc.), communication interfaces (e.g., Bluetooth interfaces, infrared interfaces, network interfaces, optical interfaces, etc.), and many other elements and functions. Furthermore, the functionality of the control module 170 can be implemented in any technically feasible software and / or hardware.

[0038] Each of the one or more processors in the control system 140 may be an integrated circuit for processing instructions. For example, the one or more processors may be one or more cores or microcores of a processor, central processing unit (CPU), microprocessor, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), graphics processing unit (GPU), tensor processing unit (TPU), and / or the like. The control system 140 may also include one or more input devices, such as a touch screen, keyboard, mouse, microphone, touchpad, electronic pen, or any other type of input device.

[0039] The communication interface of the control system 140 may include an integrated circuit for connecting the computing system to a network (not shown) (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet, a mobile network, or any other type of network) and / or another device, such as another computing system.

[0040] In addition, the control system 140 may include one or more output devices, such as display devices (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma displays, touch screens, organic LED displays (OLEDs), projectors, or other display devices), printers, speakers, external storage devices, or any other output devices. One or more of the output devices may be the same as or different from the input devices(s). Many different types of computing systems exist, and the aforementioned input and output devices(s) may take other forms.

[0041] In some embodiments, the control system 140 may be connected to or be part of a network. The network may include multiple nodes. The control system 140 may be implemented on a single node or a group of nodes. By way of example, the control system 140 may be implemented on nodes of a distributed system connected to other nodes. By another example, the control system 140 may be implemented on a distributed computing system with multiple nodes, wherein different functions and / or components of the control system 140 may reside on different nodes within the distributed computing system. Furthermore, one or more elements of the aforementioned control system 140 may be located at remote locations and connected to other elements via a network.

[0042] Software instructions in the form of computer-readable program code for performing embodiments of the present disclosure may be stored, in whole or in part, temporarily or permanently, on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a CD, DVD, storage device, disk, magnetic tape, flash memory, physical memory, or any other computer-readable storage medium. Specifically, the software instructions may correspond to computer-readable program code that, when executed by one or more processors (e.g., processor 150), is configured to perform embodiments of any of the methods described herein.

[0043] Figure 2 This is a block diagram of a computer-aided system according to some embodiments. For example... Figure 2 As shown, the computer-aided system includes an input device 200. The input device can be configured to receive external input from a user. For example, the input device provides a user interface through which the user can transmit physical movements and forces, which are reflected in a following manipulator arm. That is, the manipulator arm can move based on a predetermined scaling factor according to the input received at the input device. Figure 2 As shown, the input device includes one or more actuators 204. The one or more actuators 204 can be configured to apply force to the input device to provide feedback to the user of the input device. For example, the one or more actuators can be configured to apply force based on force sensed at the manipulator arm 250. The one or more actuators can include one or more motors, servos, stepper motors, brushless motors, pneumatic actuators, or any other suitable actuators. The actuator can be part of an actuator system that includes the one or more actuators and / or one or more other actuators. Therefore, although the one or more actuators are... Figure 2 The actuator is shown as part of an input device, but in other embodiments, it may be provided as a separate actuator system. Figure 2As shown, the input device may optionally include one or more dampers 206. The damper may be an adjustable damper such that the amount of damping applied to the input device is controlled by one or more processors (e.g., 302) according to the methods described herein. In some embodiments, the damper may include a brake that can apply a constant or variable braking force to the input device when engaged. In some embodiments, one or more actuators 204 may serve as a damper (e.g., by applying resistance opposite to the movement of the input device), in which case a physical damper may not be used. According to exemplary embodiments herein, one or more actuators and one or more dampers may form part of a damping system that may include components of the input device and other components. The damping system may be configured to apply a damping force to the input device. Some components of the damping system (e.g., actuators) may serve as part of both a feedback system and a damping system (e.g., the force output of the actuator may include both a damping force and a feedback force).

[0044] like Figure 2 As shown, the input device 200 also includes optional sensors(s) 208. These sensors may include accelerometers, inertial measurement units, contact sensors, force sensors, rotary encoders, potentiometers, position sensors, speed sensors, or other desired sensors configured to provide information about the input device and its environment to the processor(s) (e.g., 302). In some embodiments, actuator(s) 204 may provide information about the force applied to the input device and the position of the input device to the processor(s). For example, force can be measured by converting motor torque and / or current into force. As another example, position can be measured by monitoring the number of steps of a stepper motor or otherwise monitoring the speed of the motor over time. According to such examples, additional sensors may not be used in the input device. In some embodiments, the input device may include one or more processors (not shown). The processor(s) may be configured to execute programming instructions that allow the input device to communicate, sense user input, and provide feedback to the user based on the output at the manipulator arm 250.

[0045] according to Figure 2In one embodiment, the manipulator arm 250 is configured to cooperate with the input device 200. For example, the manipulator arm 250 may be configured to follow user input at the input device 200. Like the input device 200, the manipulator arm includes one or more actuators 254. The actuators 254 may be configured to apply force to the manipulator arm to move the manipulator arm and exert force on the instrument environment. Furthermore, the actuators may be used to operate one or more instruments associated with the manipulator arm 250. The actuators may be configured to move the manipulator arm based on movement of the input device 200. The actuators 254 may include one or more motors, servos, stepper motors, brushless motors, pneumatic actuators, or any other suitable actuators. Figure 2 As shown, the manipulator arm may optionally include one or more instruments 256. One or more instruments may be coupled to the manipulator arm and, in some embodiments, may be removable and interchangeable. The instruments 256 may include one or more of an imaging device, a gripper, a scalpel, a stapler, a knife, a cauterization instrument, and scissors.

[0046] like Figure 2As shown, the manipulator arm 250 also includes optional sensors(s) 258. These sensors may include accelerometers, inertial measurement units, contact sensors, force sensors, rotary encoders, potentiometers, position sensors, speed sensors, or other desired sensors configured to provide information about the manipulator arm and its environment to the processor(s)(e.g., 302). In some embodiments, the sensors(s) may be configured to provide information about contact forces on the manipulator arm, the position of the manipulator arm, and the velocity of the manipulator arm to the processor(s)(e.g., 302). In some embodiments, actuator(s) 254 may provide information about the forces applied to the manipulator arm and the position of the manipulator arm to the processor(s)(e.g., 302). For example, force can be measured by converting motor torque and / or current into force. As another example, position and / or velocity can be measured by monitoring the number of steps of a stepper motor or otherwise monitoring the speed of the motor over time. In some embodiments, the sensors(s) 258 may include force sensors located at the distal portion of the instrument. In some embodiments, the distal portion of the instrument includes the end effector of the instrument. The end effector is configured to interact with the environment, such as manipulating the environment and / or sensing data from the environment. Examples of end effectors include end effectors with manipulating components, such as fingers, suction devices, flushers, and cutters. Examples of end effectors also include end effectors with sensor components, such as optical imaging devices, temperature or force sensors, and ultrasonic probes. In some embodiments, sensor(s)258 may include one or more strain gauges positioned on a portion of the manipulator arm. The manipulator arm 250 may include any suitable number and type of sensors, as this disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the manipulator arm may include one or more processors (not shown). The processor(s) may be configured to execute programming instructions that may allow the manipulator arm to communicate, sense its environment, and interact with its environment based on input at input device 200.

[0047] according to Figure 2In some embodiments shown, the computer-aided system includes a control system 300 that can coordinate and control the interoperability between the input device 200 and the manipulator arm 250. The control system 300 can implement methods for controlling the operation of the input device 200 and the manipulator arm 250 according to exemplary embodiments described herein. Specifically, the control system receives input from the input device 200 and can provide feedback from the manipulator arm 250 to the input device. The control system also sends commands to the manipulator arm 250 based on input received at the input device 200 and receives sensor feedback from the manipulator arm. The control system 300 can control the outputs of one or more actuators of both the manipulator arm 250 and the input device 200 in one or more control loops. In some embodiments, the control system 300 can cooperate with one or more processors of the input device and the manipulator arm to control the input device and the manipulator arm.

[0048] like Figure 2 As shown, the control system includes one or more processors 302 configured to execute programming instructions that cause the one or more processors to perform the exemplary methods described herein. The programming instructions may be stored on a memory 304, which may be a non-transient memory. In some embodiments, the control system 300 may include, or communicate with, any processor(s) of the input device and / or any processor of the manipulator arm to control the input device and the manipulator arm. In some embodiments, the control system may be physically implemented in a single electronic circuit (e.g., an integrated circuit). In other embodiments, the control system may be physically implemented in multiple electronic circuits (e.g., multiple integrated circuits) that are physically co-located or distributed relative to each other. In some embodiments, the processor of the control system may be physically disposed in or on the input device, the manipulator arm, the auxiliary tower or user console, another part of the computer-aided system, or any combination thereof. In the example described herein, the control system 300 also includes a communication interface 306 that facilitates communication of commands, requests, and information between the manipulator arm, the input device, and the control system 300. The communication interface 306 may include circuitry for connecting the control system to a network (not shown) (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, a mobile network, or any other type of network) and / or to another device (such as another control system). In some embodiments, the manipulator arm 250 and the input device 200 may also include communication interfaces to facilitate communication with the control system 300.

[0049] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating a control loop for a computer-aided system according to some embodiments. For example... Figure 3As shown, the input to the control loop is a force from the user. This force can be applied to the input device and monitored by one or more processors on the input device. That is, one or more processors on the input device can receive information from one or more sensors and / or actuators on the input device, which can be used to determine the force input from the user. In block 400, the overall motion and force of the input device are represented. The motion and force are the result of a combination of the force input by the user and feedback from the control loop. In block 402, the positional movement and / or force of the input device are scaled. This scaling can be based on the kinematic differences between the input device and the manipulator arm. For example, the range of motion of the input device can be much smaller than the range of motion of the manipulator arm, such that the motion and force of the input device are scaled to match the larger range of motion of the manipulator arm. In some embodiments, when information is passed from the physical input device to the physical manipulator arm, the scaled motion and force are used to command the virtual manipulator arm. Such a step can employ inverse kinematics to provide the commanded position or motion to the virtual or physical manipulator arm. Alternatively, such a step may not employ inverse kinematics. For example, some systems utilize user input devices to command manipulator arms having similar or identical kinematics to the input device, and such systems can directly command the joint positions or movements of the manipulator arm based on the joint positions or movements of the input device without employing inverse kinematics. In block 406, filters can be used to reduce noise or adjust phase. Any suitable filter can be used, as this disclosure is not limited thereto. In block 408, the manipulator arm is controlled based on a filtered signal provided by the virtual manipulator arm. That is, the manipulator arm moves proportionally based on the movement at the input device in block 400.

[0050] like Figure 3 As shown, the manipulator arm at block 408 provides a feedback signal. This feedback signal can be based on a force measured at the manipulator arm, which can be presented to the input device so that the user feels feedback in response to the force experienced by the manipulator arm. Specifically, in block 410, the manipulator arm can interact with its environment. Due to this interaction, one or more sensors on the manipulator arm can be used to measure the force. In block 412, the force signal can be filtered to reduce noise or target-specific frequency response range. The force feedback filter at block 412 can include determining damping and applying it to the input device to avoid instability in the input device. Therefore, block 412 can represent the exemplary method described herein. In other embodiments, a separate branch of the loop can extend from block 400, which can provide a damped input to the input device output. For example, an additional loop can apply a force based on the determined damping and the speed of the input device. In block 414, a force feedback gain can be applied to the filtered force feedback signal to change the amount of feedback force presented to the user at the input device. Figure 3As shown, the force feedback is then fed back to the input device, thus forming a closed control loop. This will be discussed further below. Figure 3 The control loop shown may include determining the damping and applying it to the input device.

[0051] Figure 4 This is a simplified illustration of a computer-aided system during operation, based on some embodiments, illustrating a method for controlling the computer-aided system. Figure 4 As shown, the computer-aided system includes an input device 106 and a manipulator arm 120. The manipulator arm includes an instrument 126 with a distal portion 107 (e.g., an end effector, etc.) that physically interacts with the environment 500. Depending on the specific application, the environment may include different objects with different mechanical properties (e.g., tables, work surfaces, components, floors, walls, ceilings) and / or different objects with different non-solid materials (e.g., gels, liquids, gases). Examples of objects include subjects (e.g., patients, parts of patient anatomy, industrial workpieces, training equipment). As previously described, the input device 106 and the manipulator arm 120 can be remotely positioned relative to each other and can communicate via a control system configured to coordinate the operation of the input device and the manipulator arm. The manipulator arm can be configured to proportionally follow the movements and forces applied by the user to the input device. That is, user input received at the input device can be the basis for commands sent to the manipulator arm to move and interact with the environment 500.

[0052] according to Figure 4 An embodiment is shown, illustrating parameters for determining the damping level for an input device. Specifically, according to... Figure 4 In one embodiment, the damping of the input device 106 is determined based on power metrics associated with the input device and the manipulator arm 120. For example... Figure 4 As shown, the power metric between the manipulator arm and the environment can be determined as P_env. This power can be calculated by determining the force and velocity of the portion of the manipulator arm that engages with the environment 500. For example, the power metric can be calculated as the force at the distal portion 107 multiplied by the velocity of the distal portion. In some embodiments, the power metric can be determined by the product of the rotational speed and the applied torque. In some embodiments, the power metric can be determined by the product of the translational speed and the translational force, such as... Figure 4 As shown. Figure 4As shown, the power metric of the input device can be determined as a combination of the power P_ffb of the force feedback and the power P_Damper of the damper. In some embodiments, these power metrics can be determined by multiplying the speed of the input device 106 by the force applied to the input device by one or more actuators. Based on the combination of these power metrics, the damping of the input device 106 can be determined. In particular, in some embodiments, excess power can be determined based on a comparison of the power metrics according to the following equation: Where α is the scaling factor. In some embodiments, if P_excess is less than or equal to 0, the damping of the input device can be set to zero. In some embodiments, if P_excess is greater than 0, the damping can be set based on the following equation: Where K is the gain factor, which can be set depending on the specific kinematics of the computer-aided system. In some embodiments as described above, the damping of the input device can be determined by accumulating a power metric. For example, excess energy E_excess can be determined by integrating P_excess over a specific time period. In this embodiment, the damping factor can be set using energy when it is greater than zero, according to the following equation: Here, K is the gain factor, which can be set depending on the specific kinematics of the computer-aided system. Therefore, the damping for the input device can be determined and applied to the input device based on power measurements at the input device and the manipulator arm.

[0053] Figure 5 This is a simplified illustration of an input device 106 of a computer-aided system according to some embodiments. Figure 5 As shown, input device 106 includes a virtual damper 103. According to some embodiments, the virtual damper 103 has a damping coefficient B_A.Damper, which can be referenced above. Figure 4 The process described is used to determine this. Figure 5 In one embodiment, the damper can be virtual because the actuator is configured to apply an active force in the direction opposite to the direction of the input device's velocity. In other embodiments, the damper can be a physical damper with an adjustable damping rate. Although in Figure 5 The embodiment shown depicts a damper in one direction, but in other embodiments, damping can be applied in multiple degrees of freedom, including translational degrees of freedom (e.g., Cartesian directions x, y, and z), rotational degrees of freedom (e.g., pitch, roll, and yaw directions), or any combination or sub-combination thereof. (See reference...) Figure 6 Further description of applying damping in multiple directions.

[0054] Figure 6 This is a simplified illustration of a computer-aided system during operation according to some embodiments. Specifically, Figure 6 Directivity is shown in determining and applying damping to input device 106. Figure 5 The implementation is the same as the previous one. Figure 6 The computer-aided system includes a manipulator arm 120. The manipulator arm includes a device 126 having a distal portion 107 (e.g., an end effector) that physically interacts with an environment 500. Depending on the specific application, the environment may include objects with different mechanical properties and / or different non-solid materials, similar to a combination... Figure 4 As described in the embodiments.

[0055] according to Figure 6 The embodiment illustrates two Cartesian directions, representing two translational degrees of freedom for the input device 106 and the manipulator arm 120. That is, both the input device 106 and the manipulator arm 120 are capable of movement in the x and y directions, such as... Figure 6 As shown. In some embodiments, the Cartesian direction reference frame may differ between the input device 106 and the manipulator arm 120. That is, in the global reference frame, the x-direction of the input device may not be parallel to the x-direction of the manipulator arm. Instead, movement of the input device in the x-direction may be transformed into movement of the manipulator arm in the x-direction based on the local reference frame of the manipulator arm. In some embodiments, in the global reference frame, the Cartesian direction of the input device may be parallel to the Cartesian direction of the manipulator arm, as this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0056] according to Figure 6 In one embodiment, the power metric of the input device 106 and the manipulator arm 120 is determined in three non-parallel translational degrees of freedom (e.g., x, y, and z directions). In other embodiments, power may also be determined in one or more rotational degrees of freedom or any subset of translational and rotational degrees of freedom, as this disclosure is not limited thereto. As previously stated, the power metric can be determined as the product of force measurements and velocity measurements. In some embodiments, the instrument power metric can be determined by projecting the force applied to the input device onto the translational degrees of freedom (or other degrees of freedom) of the input device. In some embodiments, such projection can be achieved by employing a dot product. The projected force can then be multiplied by the input device velocity in each corresponding direction to determine the input device power metric matrix. Similarly, the instrument power metric can be determined by projecting the force measured at the instrument onto the translational degrees of freedom (or other degrees of freedom) of the instrument. The projected instrument force can then be multiplied by the instrument velocity in each corresponding direction to determine the instrument power metric matrix. The net power generation can then be obtained by comparing the input device power matrix and the instrument power matrix, as referenced. Figures 4-5 This can be used to determine the damping of the input device. Multiple values ​​in the matrix can correspond to different degrees of freedom of the damped input device. In practice, this process allows for the determination of the damping coefficients of virtual dampers, each corresponding to a degree of freedom of the input device. In this way, damping can be applied only in the direction where the power comparison produces excess power. According to this method, damping can be applied in an anisotropic manner, where the damping varies along each degree of freedom based on the magnitude of the excess power along each corresponding degree of freedom. When the user operates the input device, damping can be applied only in the direction of movement of the user's input device.

[0057] Figure 6 The axes shown are exemplary and, in some embodiments, may vary with changes in the interaction with the instrument environment or the input device environment. For example, in Figure 6 In the example, if the environmental contact direction is rotated 45 degrees about the axis directly exiting the page, the axis used to determine the power measurement and damping can also be rotated 45 degrees about the same axis. Therefore, the damping coordinate system can be based on the direction of the force applied between the instrument and the instrument environment and the input device and the input device environment.

[0058] Figure 6 An exemplary instrument power metric and associated virtual damper corresponding to the x and y translational degrees of freedom are depicted. The input device 106 may have one or more additional degrees of freedom, but for simplicity, only the x and y translational degrees of freedom are shown. Figure 6 The right side shows the "follower" section of the manipulator. (As shown...) Figure 6 As shown on the right, the distal portion 107 of the device 126 is pressed against the environment 500 with a force in the negative y-direction. This force in the negative y-direction is opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow P_y. The environment 500 can be a surface perpendicular to the y-direction. Therefore, as... Figure 6 As shown, the device power metric can reflect the force and velocity in the y-direction indicated by arrow P_y. However, for simplicity, and based on the fact that the force applied by device 126 and the movement of device 126 are directly along the direction indicated by arrow P_y, no force is applied to the device in the x-direction. In this example, the power metric in the x-direction will be a value that is not effectively associated with any power or energy (e.g., "zero" or some other baseline value), and is not in the x-direction. Figure 6 As shown in the image. Figure 6The left side shows the "leader" section of the input device. On the input device side, an x-direction damper 103x and a y-direction damper 103y are shown. These dampers can be dummy dampers and represent passive or active forces applied to the input device based on a damping level determined according to the exemplary method described herein. For simplicity, dampers 103x and 103y are described here as being modeled using purely viscous damping; however, in other embodiments, dampers with more complex or nonlinear damping responses may be used. Figure 6 In the example, the x-direction damper 103 has a damping coefficient B_x, and the y-direction damper 103y has a damping coefficient B_y. Figure 6 In the example shown, the instrument power metric P_y can be "non-zero" and effectively indicates a power or energy quantity different from no power or no energy (e.g., the power metric P_y can be zero, or a baseline value). A non-zero power metric P_y can result in excess energy, which is used to determine the y-direction damping coefficient B_y. For example, B_y can be set to be proportional to the difference between the instrument power metric P_y and the corresponding y-direction input device power metric. Therefore, the input device 106 can be damped in the y-direction. Conversely, since the instrument power metric in the x-direction is zero or less than or equal to the x-direction input device power metric, the x-direction damping coefficient B_x can be set to zero or another baseline value. In this way, damping can be applied to the input device in directions that generate excess power to avoid instability in force feedback in those directions, while maintaining little or no damping in other stable directions without excess power to avoid hindering the user's sensation in those directions.

[0059] In some embodiments as described above, the power metric matrix can be integrated or otherwise accumulated over time to obtain an energy matrix. In some embodiments, this energy matrix can be used to determine multiple damping coefficients associated with each degree of freedom of the input device. In some embodiments, damping can be determined by multiplying the gain value by the net energy matrix. Therefore, the methods described herein with reference to one or more power matrices can be replaced by energy calculations.

[0060] It should be noted that, although in the planar example, the reference Figure 6 Two translational degrees of freedom (x and y) are shown and described, but in other embodiments, any suitable degrees of freedom can be used, including any combination of translational and / or rotational degrees of freedom. For example, in some embodiments, power measurement and damping can be applied only in the rotational degree of freedom instead of as shown. Figure 6 The translational degrees of freedom are determined as shown.

[0061] Figure 7Graphs depicting experimental results for computer-aided systems according to some exemplary embodiments described herein. In particular, Figure 7 The data shown represent the movement of the instrument in its environment to and from contact with a surface. In particular, the instrument moves sequentially to and from contact in one direction. Figure 7 The data shown represents a single direction used to determine force, power metrics, and damping; however, Figure 7 The data can be extended to multiple directions corresponding to multiple degrees of freedom.

[0062] As previously mentioned, in some embodiments, the method of controlling a computer-aided system includes limiting the amount of damping applied to an input device. Figure 7 The results of implementing this technique are depicted, which improves the user's performance experience while allowing for increased damping under unstable conditions. In some embodiments, determining the amount of damping applied to the input device may include limiting the amount of damping to a damping limit. This damping limit is illustrated in the lower diagram. In some embodiments, the damping limit may be static, while in other embodiments the damping limit may be adjusted to accommodate additional damping as appropriate. In some such embodiments, the damping limit may be configured to increase at a certain rate when the determined amount of damping exceeds a damping threshold. In some cases, the damping threshold and the damping limit may be the same, such that determining an amount of damping greater than the imposed damping limit causes the damping limit to increase at this rate. This rate may be a maximum rate, configured to limit the rate at which the damping limit increases, thereby eliminating rapid spikes in the damping of the input device. In some embodiments, the damping limit may increase proportionally to the determined amount of damping. Examples of increasing the damping limit are shown in... Figure 7 As shown in the illustration. In the depicted embodiment, the rate at which damping increases is limited by a linear slew rate. As the damping limit increases, the amount of damping applied to the input device can also increase. In some embodiments, the damping limit can be limited to a maximum damping limit, which can be determined based on the specific kinematics and application of the computer-aided system.

[0063] exist Figure 7 In some of the embodiments shown, the damping limit can also return to its original value when no additional damping is required. In some embodiments, the damping limit can be reduced when the amount of damping is less than the damping limit for a threshold time period. Figure 7 In the example, this is shown as the damping limit decreasing when the damping characteristic value drops below the limit. The threshold time period can be any suitable time period, including periods between 0 and 1 second, between 0.01 and 0.1 seconds, between 0.1 and 0.5 seconds, or any other suitable range. In some embodiments, a time period may not be used, and the damping limit can be reduced once the determined amount of damping is less than the damping limit. In such cases... Figure 7In some embodiments shown, the damping limit can decrease at a different rate. That is, the damping limit can be configured to decrease at an upper limit rate so that the damping limit does not immediately return to its original value. This arrangement can be beneficial in providing stability during periods of time during which there may be rapid, continuous, and multiple interactions between the instrument and its environment. Figure 7 In this embodiment, the rate of decrease is a linear oscillation, but other arrangements are also contemplated, including exponential decay or other monotonically decreasing rates.

[0064] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating a method for operating a computer-aided system according to some embodiments is depicted. In block 600, a device power metric is determined, indicating the amount of power indicative of a device interaction. Device interaction includes a physical interaction between at least a portion of the device (e.g., a distal portion of the device, such as an end effector of the device) and a device environment containing the device. In some embodiments, device interaction may include interaction with tissue or other objects or non-solid materials, such as interaction with surfaces or blocks of such objects or solid materials. As previously described, in some embodiments, the power metric may be determined relative to multiple degrees of freedom, including any subset of the translational and rotational degrees of freedom of the device. As previously described, the device power metric may represent the energy of the interaction between the device and the device environment (e.g., instantaneous power measured over a time period, the amount of energy applied or received during that time period). In block 602, an input device power metric is determined, indicating the amount of power indicative of feedback provided by an input device in response to the device interaction. In some embodiments, the input device power metric may be determined over multiple degrees of freedom, including any subset of the translational and rotational degrees of freedom of the input device. The input device power metric may be determined, for example, as referenced... Figure 4 As stated above.

[0065] like Figure 8As shown, in block 604, damping to be applied to the input device is determined based on an instrument power metric and an input device power metric. For example, in some embodiments, the input device power metric and the instrument power metric are compared. This comparison may produce an excess power metric generated by a control loop for a computer-aided system (e.g., a net energy comparison between input device environmental interaction and instrument environmental interaction). This excess power metric may be used to determine damping. In some embodiments, damping may be proportional to excess power. As previously described, power metrics may represent energy (e.g., power over a time period), and in some embodiments, power may be integrated or summed over time to determine power metrics that can be compared and used to determine the damping applied by the damping system. In block 606, this causes the damping system to apply the determined damping to the input device. In some embodiments, the damping system may include a physical damper, such as a brake, which may be adjusted to apply the determined damping. In other embodiments, the damping system may include an actuator system or cooperate with an actuator system to apply a primary force against the movement of the input device based on the determined damping. In this arrangement, the applied damping can be incorporated into the total force output commanded to a particular actuator. That is, in some embodiments, the application of damping can be incorporated into the total output force of the actuator. For example... Figure 8 As shown, this method can be repeated as part of a control loop for computer-aided systems.

[0066] The embodiments of the technology described herein can be implemented in any of a variety of ways. For example, embodiments can be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the software code can execute on any suitable processor or set of processors, whether provided in a single computer or distributed across multiple computers. Such a processor can be implemented as an integrated circuit having one or more processors within an integrated circuit component, including commercially available integrated circuit components known in the art, such as CPU chips, GPU chips, microprocessors, microcontrollers, or coprocessors. Alternatively, the processor can be implemented in a custom circuit system, such as an ASIC, or in a semi-custom circuit system resulting from configuring a programmable logic device. As another alternative, the processor can be part of a larger circuit or semiconductor device, whether commercial, semi-custom, or custom. As a specific example, some commercial microprocessors have multiple cores, such that one or a subset of these cores can constitute the processor. However, the processor can be implemented using any suitable format of circuit system.

[0067] Furthermore, it should be understood that a computer can be embodied in any of a variety of forms, such as a rack-mounted computer, desktop computer, laptop computer, or tablet computer. Additionally, a computer can be embedded in devices that are not typically considered computers but have appropriate processing capabilities, including personal digital assistants (PDAs), smartphones, or any other suitable portable or stationary electronic devices.

[0068] In addition, a computer may have one or more input and output devices. Among other things, these devices can be used to present a user interface. Examples of output devices that can be used to provide a user interface include printers or displays for visual presentation of output, and speakers or other sound-generating devices for auditory presentation of output. Examples of input devices that can be used for a user interface include keyboards and pointing devices such as mice, touchpads, and digitizers. As another example, a computer may receive input information through speech recognition or other auditory formats.

[0069] Such computers can be interconnected through one or more networks of any suitable form, including local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks (WANs), such as corporate networks or the Internet. Such networks can be based on any suitable technology and can operate according to any suitable protocol, and can include wireless networks, wired networks, or fiber optic networks.

[0070] Furthermore, the various methods or processes outlined in this paper can be encoded as software that can be executed on one or more processors employing any of a variety of operating systems or platforms. Moreover, such software can be written using any of a variety of suitable programming languages ​​and / or programming or scripting tools, and can also be compiled into executable machine language code or intermediate code that executes on a framework or virtual machine.

[0071] In this regard, the embodiments described herein can be embodied as a computer-readable storage medium (or multiple computer-readable media) (e.g., a computer memory, one or more floppy disks, compact discs (CDs), optical discs, digital video discs (DVDs), magnetic tape, flash memory, a circuit configuration in a field-programmable gate array or other semiconductor device, or other tangible computer storage medium) encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on one or more computers or other processors, perform the methods implementing the various embodiments described above. It is evident from the above examples that a computer-readable storage medium can retain information for a sufficiently long time to provide computer-executable instructions in a non-transient form. Such a computer-readable storage medium can be transportable, such that one or more programs stored thereon can be loaded onto one or more different computers or other processors to implement the various aspects of this disclosure as described above. As used herein, the term "computer-readable storage medium" covers only non-transient computer-readable media that can be considered an article of manufacture (i.e., an article of manufacture) or a machine. Alternatively or additionally, this disclosure can be embodied as a computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, such as a propagating signal.

[0072] The terms “program” or “software” are used herein in a general sense to refer to any type of computer code or set of computer-executable instructions that can be used to program a computer or other processor to implement the various aspects of this disclosure as described above. Furthermore, it should be understood that, according to one aspect of this embodiment, one or more computer programs that perform the methods of this disclosure when executed do not need to reside on a single computer or processor, but can be distributed in a modular manner among multiple different computers or processors to implement the various aspects of this disclosure.

[0073] Computer-executable instructions can take many forms, such as program modules that are executed by one or more computers or other devices. Typically, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. Generally, in various embodiments, the functionality of program modules can be combined or distributed as desired.

[0074] Furthermore, data structures can be stored in any suitable form on a computer-readable medium. For simplicity, a data structure can be shown as having fields related by positions within the data structure. This relationship can also be achieved by allocating storage in a computer-readable medium for fields with positions, conveying the relationship between the fields. However, any suitable mechanism can be used to establish relationships between information in the fields of a data structure, including by using pointers, labels, or other mechanisms to establish relationships between data elements.

[0075] The various aspects of this disclosure can be used individually, in combination, or in various arrangements not specifically discussed in the above embodiments, and therefore their application is not limited to the details and arrangements of the components shown in the above description or drawings. For example, an aspect described in one embodiment can be combined in any way with aspects described in other embodiments.

[0076] Furthermore, the embodiments described herein can embody a method, examples of which have been provided. Actions performed as part of this method can be ordered in any suitable manner. Therefore, embodiments can be constructed that perform actions in a different order than that shown, which could include performing some actions simultaneously, even if they are shown as sequential actions in the illustrative embodiments.

[0077] Furthermore, some actions are described as being taken by a “user.” It should be understood that a “user” is not necessarily a single individual, and in some embodiments, actions initiated by a “user” may be performed by a team of individuals and / or individuals in combination with computer-aided tools or other mechanisms.

[0078] While this teaching has been described in conjunction with various embodiments and examples, it is not intended to limit this teaching to these embodiments or examples. Rather, those skilled in the art will understand that this teaching encompasses various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents. Therefore, the above description and figures are merely illustrative.

Claims

1. A computer-aided system, comprising: Manipulator arm; An input device configured to accept user commands for moving the manipulator arm; A damping system coupled to the input device; as well as A controller, comprising at least one processor, is configured to: A device power metric is used to determine the amount of power involved in device interactions, which include physical interactions between at least a portion of the device and a device environment containing the device, the device being supported by the manipulator arm. An input device power metric is used to determine the amount of power that indicates the feedback provided by the input device in response to the instrument interaction. The damping to be applied to the input device is determined based on the instrument power metric and the input device power metric, and This causes the damping system to apply the damping to the input device.

2. The computer-aided system of claim 1, wherein the portion of the instrument includes the distal portion of the instrument.

3. The computer-aided system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine the damping in the following manner: In response to the input device power metric being greater than or equal to the instrument power metric, the amount of damping is set to minimum damping.

4. The computer-aided system of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to further determine the damping by: In response to the input device power metric being less than the instrument power metric, the amount of damping is set to a higher damping than the minimum damping.

5. The computer-aided system of claim 1, wherein when the instrument power metric is greater than the input device power metric, the amount of damping to be applied to the input device has a positive monotonic relationship with the amount by which the instrument power metric is greater than the input device power metric.

6. The computer-aided system according to claim 5, wherein the positive monotonic relation is a strictly monotonic relation.

7. The computer-aided system of claim 5, wherein the amount by which the instrument power metric is greater than the input device power metric comprises the amount of the instrument power metric minus the amount of the input device power metric.

8. The computer-aided system according to claim 1, wherein: The controller is configured to determine the damping in the following manner: The damping coefficient is determined based on the difference between the power metric of the instrument and the power metric of the input device.

9. The computer-aided system of claim 8, wherein when the instrument power metric is greater than the input device power metric, the damping coefficient is proportional to the difference for a first range of the difference.

10. The computer-aided system according to claim 9, wherein: When the power metric of the instrument is greater than the power metric of the input device, the damping coefficient is not proportional to the difference for a second range of the difference, wherein the second range is different from the first range; or When the power measurement of the instrument is not greater than the power measurement of the input device, the damping coefficient is not proportional to the difference for the third range of the difference.

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