System for providing input to a robotic manipulator

Abstract

To improve performance of input to a robot manipulator by a user.SOLUTION: The sensor unit is designed to record an input variable applied to the robotic manipulator by the user manually guiding the robotic manipulator, wherein the input variable is a kinematic variable or a force and / or a moment. The sensor unit is designed to transmit the input variables to the computing unit, and the computing unit is designed to convert the input variables by means of a predetermined input variable mapping, wherein the input variable mapping defines a mathematical mapping of the input variables to coordinates of the graphical user interface or to settings of the virtual control elements.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for implementing inputs to a robotic manipulator and a method for implementing inputs to a robotic manipulator. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0002] An object of the present invention is to improve the performance of user input to a robotic manipulator.

[0003] The invention is defined by the features of the independent claims. Advantageous developments and embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] A first aspect of the present invention relates to a system for implementing inputs to a robotic manipulator, the system comprising: a robotic manipulator having a plurality of limbs connected to one another by joints and having actuators; a computing unit connected to the robot manipulator, a sensor unit connected to a computing unit; and wherein the sensor unit is designed to record input variables applied by a user by manually guiding the robot manipulator on the robot manipulator, the input variables being kinematic variables or forces and / or moments, and the sensor unit is designed to transmit the input variables to the computing unit; Here, the computing unit is designed to transform input variables by a predefined input variable mapping, which defines a mathematical mapping of the input variables to coordinates of a graphical user interface or settings of virtual control elements.

[0005] The coordinates of the graphical user interface correspond in particular to the coordinates on the screen in the case of a screen, or to the coordinates of the virtual reality goggles in the case of the graphical user interface being presented in virtual reality goggles.

[0006] According to the first aspect of the invention, and hereinafter, an end effector may also be understood to be a "limb" of a robotic manipulator, and an end effector is typically located in a distal limb of the robotic manipulator.

[0007] The input variables in this respect are preferably kinematic variables, i.e., the position and / or orientation of at least one limb or predefined point on the robot manipulator, or its time derivative, i.e., velocity or acceleration, or preferably a force applied to the robot manipulator by a user or a moment applied to the robot manipulator by a user, in the case of the latter moment or force, the computing unit is preferably designed to actuate the actuators of the robot manipulator so that the robot manipulator behaves as a rigid body, i.e., to the extent allowed by the actuators, said actuators generate a reaction moment to an attempted movement of the robot manipulator by the user. The sensor unit therefore comprises at least sensors suitable for determining the position and / or orientation of a limb or a point on the robot manipulator or limbs, and optionally also force and / or moment sensors.

[0008] If the graphical user interface is displayed on a screen, in particular the mapping of the input variables is a projection of the input variables onto the two-dimensional plane of the screen, taking into account in particular the geometric limits of the screen, and advantageously the robotic manipulator (and in particular its actuators) are actuated by the computing unit in such a way that in the case of such an input variable that correlates with reaching one of the limits of the screen, the actuators provide artificial resistance to further movements of the robotic manipulator.

[0009] The virtual control element is preferably an emulation of a real physical control element, for example a rotary or sliding controller, and has in particular a lower and upper limit, between which are defined settings that can be used in particular as parameters of the robot manipulator.

[0010] An advantageous effect of the present invention is that a user of a robot manipulator can intuitively input data to the robot manipulator by correspondingly applying forces or moments to the robot manipulator, resulting in corresponding movements of the robot manipulator. User inputs to the robot manipulator can include, in particular, numerical values ​​related to a graphical user interface (GUI) or commands to the robot manipulator, so that the user inputs can be advantageously used for menu control with a mouse pointer (controlled by input variables) or by toggling between marked menu entries or objects on the GUI. Thus, the user can advantageously use the robot manipulator universally as an input device, since a corresponding reference to a GUI or virtual control element is established as a result of a predefined input variable mapping. In particular, the recording of forces or moments, or the recording of position changes, can be advantageously defined as haptic gestures, in each case triggered by manual guidance on the user's side on the robot manipulator, that can control, in particular, menus or functional areas of the GUI.

[0011] Furthermore, advantageously, the system according to the first aspect of the invention can also be used in a system comprising a first robotic manipulator and a second robotic manipulator, in particular the first robotic manipulator being used to perform inputs according to the first aspect of the invention and in particular the second robotic manipulator being designed to perform the first aspect of the invention in the alternative.

[0012] According to an advantageous embodiment, the computing unit for executing predefined movements of the robot manipulator is executed depending on transformed input variables or coordinates or settings.

[0013] A predefined action of the robot manipulator here is in particular the activation of an object on a graphical surface, and preferably a subsequent action of the robot manipulator, such as parameterizing a function or a robot program, and / or starting the execution of such a program or such a function, and / or switching off the robot manipulator, saving the current position value or the current orientation value of the robot manipulator.

[0014] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the system comprises a display unit, the display unit being designed to display at least one of the following: - input variables, - the amount of input variables, - transformed input variables, - the amount of transformed input variables.

[0015] The display unit is preferably one of a screen, a projector, virtual reality display goggles, an LED unit, and advantageously provides the user with immediate feedback as to what type of input and / or at what level the user is performing the input at a given time. In particular, the display unit is designed to display a mouse pointer with its current coordinates as mouse pointer coordinates and / or to display the current settings of the virtual control elements.

[0016] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the sensor unit is designed to record a current position and / or orientation of the robot manipulator and transmit the current position and / or orientation to the computing unit, the computing unit being designed to activate an actuator during manual guiding of the robot manipulator to the predefined geometric structure to generate resistance to a movement of the robot manipulator caused by the manual guiding, and the computing unit being designed to activate a predefined function if a predefined limit value of the resistance is exceeded or if a predefined limit value of the distance of a predefined point of the robot manipulator to the geometric structure is undershot. Advantageously, this embodiment results in the omission of input elements on the robot manipulator, so that, for example, mouse click functions can be generated or other functions on a graphical user interface can be activated purely by user gesture control.

[0017] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the predefined function is the activation of an object on the graphical user interface if at least the coordinates match a predetermined coordinate range of the object. According to this embodiment, at the current position, in particular the current position of the end effector of the robot manipulator, the function is activated in a manner similar to a mouse click, and the current input variables and / or the past history of the input variables determine the current coordinates of the graphical user interface, so that a subsequent mouse click or double click can activate the respective object under the mouse pointer, in a manner similar to guiding a mouse pointer to an object in the graphical user interface.

[0018] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the predefined geometric structure is a plane, the plane being invariant with respect to its orientation and position relative to the terrestrial coordinate system.

[0019] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the computing unit is designed to actuate the actuators in such a way that the robot manipulator outputs haptic and / or tactile feedback of the recorded current and / or transformed input variables during manual guiding of the robot manipulator.

[0020] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the haptic and / or tactile feedback in each case comprises at least one of the following: - Position-dependent grids, which depend especially on the position of the end-effector, - Resistive limitations of the working area in which the robot manipulator can be manually guided, i.e. artificial walls generated by reaction forces, feedback when the input variables and / or the current position and / or the current orientation and / or the transformed input variables of the robot manipulator match an object on a graphical user interface, where the coordinates of the graphical user interface are assigned to the input variables and / or the current position and / or the current orientation and / or the transformed input variables of the robot manipulator; - Signals if the coordinates match the predefined coordinate range of an object in the graphical user interface.

[0021] According to a further advantageous embodiment of the system, the display unit is a screen.

[0022] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the computing unit is designed to operate the robot manipulator with gravity compensation. In the case of operating the robot manipulator with gravity compensation, the actuators are activated in such a way that the force of gravity acting on the robot manipulator is compensated, so that when moving from a static rest position without the influence of external forces and without acceleration, the robot manipulator remains in this rest position. This advantageously facilitates manual guidance of the robot manipulator for a user.

[0023] An additional aspect of the invention relates to a method for executing inputs to a robotic manipulator having a plurality of limbs connected to each other by joints and having actuators, the robotic manipulator being connected to a computing unit and performing the following steps: - recording input variables applied by a user by manually guiding the robot manipulator on the robot manipulator by means of a sensor unit connected to the computing unit, wherein the input variables are kinematic variables or forces and / or moments; - transmitting input variables by the sensor unit to the computing unit; and - Transforming the input variables by the computing unit using a predefined input variable mapping, where the input variable mapping defines a mathematical mapping of the input variables to coordinates of a graphical user interface or settings of virtual control elements of the computing unit.

[0024] According to an advantageous embodiment, the method further comprises the following steps: - Displaying the mouse pointer at the current mouse pointer coordinates and / or displaying the current settings of the virtual control elements by the display unit.

[0025] According to an advantageous embodiment, the method further comprises the following steps: - Execute predefined operations of the robot manipulator depending on the transformed input variables or coordinates or settings.

[0026] Advantages and preferred developments of the proposed method can be derived from the corresponding analogous translation of the explanations given above in connection with the proposed system.

[0027] Further advantages, features and details can be derived from the following description, which, if necessary, refers to the drawings and describes in detail at least one embodiment, in which identical, similar and / or functionally identical elements are designated with the same reference signs. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] This is shown in the figure below.

[0029] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a system for implementing inputs to a robotic manipulator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates a method for implementing input to a robotic manipulator according to an additional embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] The representations in the drawings are schematic and not to scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a system 100 for implementing inputs to a robotic manipulator 1, including: a robotic manipulator 1 having a number of limbs connected to each other by joints and having actuators 3; a computing unit 5 arranged at the base of the robot manipulator 1; a sensor unit 7 connected to the computing unit 5;

[0032] The sensor unit 7 is used to record input variables applied by a user by manually guiding the robot manipulator 1 on the robot manipulator 1, where the input variables are forces applied by the user to the robot manipulator 1, and the sensor unit 7 is designed to transmit the input variables to the computing unit 5. The computing unit 5 is here used to transform the input variables by a predefined input variable mapping, where the input variable mapping is a mathematical mapping of the input variables to coordinates of a graphical user interface or settings of virtual control elements. The system 100 further comprises a display unit 9, which is designed to display at least one of the following: - input variables, - the amount of input variables, - transformed input variables, - the amount of transformed input variables.

[0033] In particular, the display unit is designed to display the mouse pointer at the current mouse pointer coordinates. Accordingly, the sensor unit 7 is used to record the current position and / or orientation of the robot manipulator 1 and transmit the current position and / or orientation to the computing unit 5, which is designed to activate the actuator 3 to generate resistance to the movement of the robot manipulator 1 caused by manual guiding during manual guiding of the robot manipulator 1 along a predefined, spatially fixed, defined plane. The computing unit 5 is further used to activate a predefined function when a predefined limit value of the resistance is exceeded or when a predefined limit value of the distance of a predefined point of the robot manipulator 1 relative to a geometric structure is undershot. The predefined function is the activation of an object in the graphical user interface when at least the coordinates match a predefined coordinate range of the object. The predefined function is the activation of an object in the graphical user interface when at least the coordinates match a predefined coordinate range of the object. Furthermore, the computing unit 5 is designed to activate the actuators 3 in such a way that during manual guidance of the robot manipulator 1, the robot manipulator 1 outputs haptic and / or tactile feedback of the recorded current input variables and / or transformed input variables, in each case haptic and and / or the tactile feedback includes at least one of the following: - Position dependent grid, - limitations due to resistance in the working area in which the robot manipulator 1 can be manually guided, feedback when the input variables and / or the current position and / or the current orientation of the robot manipulator 1 match an object on a graphical user interface, where the coordinates of the graphical user interface are assigned to the input variables and / or the current position and / or the current orientation of the robot manipulator 1; , - a signal if the coordinates match a predefined coordinate range of an object of a graphical user interface, where the display unit 9 is a screen.

[0034] Figure 2 shows a method for executing inputs on a robotic manipulator 1 having several limbs connected to each other by joints and having actuators 3, connected to a computing unit 5 with the following steps: recording S1 input variables applied by a user by manually guiding the robot manipulator 1 on the robot manipulator 1 by means of a sensor unit 7 connected to the computing unit 5, wherein the input variables are kinematic variables or forces and / or moment, sending S2 the input variables by the sensor unit 7 to the computing unit 5, - converting S3 the input variables by the computing unit 5 using a predefined input variable mapping, where the input variable mapping defines a mathematical mapping of the input variables to coordinates of a graphical user interface or settings of virtual control elements of the computing unit 5; - displaying the mouse pointer at the current mouse pointer coordinates and / or displaying the current settings of the virtual control elements by means of the display unit S4.

[0035] Although the present invention has been described in detail above using preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the disclosed examples, and other modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, it is clear that multiple modifications are possible. It is also clear that the illustrated embodiments are merely examples in nature and should not be understood as limiting, for example, the scope of protection, potential applicability, or the configuration of the present invention. Rather, the above description and the illustrations in the drawings enable those skilled in the art to specifically implement the illustrated embodiments, and those skilled in the art, having knowledge of the disclosed inventive concepts, may make numerous modifications, for example, to the function or configuration of individual elements described in the illustrated embodiments, without departing from the scope of protection defined by the claims and their legal equivalents, e.g., further explanations in the specification. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1: Robot manipulator 3: Actuator 5: Computing Unit 7: Sensor unit 9: Display unit 100: System S1: Recording S2: Send S3:Conversion S4:Display

Claims

1. A system (100) for executing inputs to a robotic manipulator (1), comprising: A robot manipulator (1) having a plurality of limbs connected to each other by joints and having actuators (3); a computing unit (5) connected to said robot manipulator (1); a sensor unit (7) connected to the computing unit (5), the sensor unit (7) is designed to record input variables applied to the robot manipulator (1) by a user manually guiding the robot manipulator (1); the input variables are kinematic variables or forces and / or moments; said sensor unit (7) being designed to transmit said input variables to said computing unit (5); The computing unit (5) is designed to transform the input variables according to a predefined input variable mapping, which defines a mathematical mapping of the input variables to coordinates or settings of virtual control elements of a graphical user interface. A system (100) comprising:

2. The system (100) comprises a display unit (9), The display unit (9) The input variables, The amount of input variables and the transformed input variables; the amount of transformed input variables, and a graphical user interface and an object on said graphical user interface; The mouse pointer and is designed to display at least one of The system (100) of claim 1, characterized in that:

3. the sensor unit (7) is designed to record a current position and / or orientation of the robot manipulator (1) and to transmit the current position and / or orientation to the computing unit (5); the computing unit (5) is designed to operate the actuators (3) to generate resistance to a movement of the robot manipulator (1) caused by a manual guide when the robot manipulator (1) is manually guided to a specific geometric structure; The computing unit (5) is designed to activate a predefined function if the resistance exceeds a predetermined limit value or if the distance of a predefined point of the robot manipulator (1) relative to the geometric structure undershoots a predetermined limit value. A system (100) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that

4. The predefined function is to activate the object at least when the coordinates match a predetermined coordinate range of an object on the graphical user interface.

4. The system (100) of claim 3.

5. The predefined geometric structure is a plane, and the plane is invariant with respect to orientation and position relative to a ground coordinate system. A system (100) according to claim 3 or claim 4, characterized in that

6. The computing unit (5) is designed to operate the actuators (3) so that the robot manipulator (1) outputs haptic feedback and / or tactile feedback of the recorded current input variables and / or transformed input variables when the robot manipulator (1) is manually guided. A system (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that

7. The haptic and / or tactile feedback in each case may include: a position-dependent grid; Resistance limitations on the working area in which the robot manipulator (1) can be manually guided; feedback when the input variables and / or the current position and / or the current orientation of the robot manipulator (1) match an object on the graphical user interface; a signal if the coordinates match a predefined coordinate range of an object of the graphical user interface; and The coordinates of the graphical user interface are assigned to the input variables and / or the current position and / or current orientation of the robot manipulator (1).

7. The system (100) of claim 6.

8. The display unit (9) is a screen A system (100) according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that

9. The computing unit (5) is designed to operate the robot manipulator (1) with gravity compensation. A system (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that

10. the input variable mapping defines a mathematical mapping of the input variables to coordinates of a graphical user interface; The system (100) comprises a display unit (9), said display unit (9) being designed to display said graphical user interface and objects on said graphical user interface; The display unit (9) is designed to display the mouse pointer with the current coordinates as the mouse pointer coordinates. The system (100) of claim 1, characterized in that:

11. the input variable mapping defines a mathematical mapping of the input variables to settings of virtual control elements; the computing unit (5) is designed to operate the actuators (3) so that the robot manipulator (1) outputs haptic feedback and / or tactile feedback of the recorded current input variables and / or transformed input variables when the robot manipulator (1) is being manually guided, The haptic and / or tactile feedback is related to the resistance limits of a working area in which the robot manipulator (1) can be manually guided so that it behaves as a rigid body within the limits permitted by actuators for the robot manipulator movements attempted by the user. The system (100) of claim 1, characterized in that:

12. A method for executing inputs on a robotic manipulator (1) having a plurality of limbs connected to each other by joints and having actuators (3), said robotic manipulator (1) being connected to a computing unit (5), said method comprising the steps of: recording (S1) by a sensor unit (7) connected to the computing unit (5) of input variables applied by the robot manipulator (1) by a user manually guiding the robot manipulator (1); The input variables are input to the computing unit ( 5) (S2), The computing unit (5) transforms (S3) the input variables using a predefined input variable mapping, the input variables are kinematic variables or forces and / or moments; The input variable mapping defines a mathematical mapping of the input variables to the coordinates of a graphical user interface or to the settings of virtual control elements of the computing unit (5). A method characterized by:

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