Robot Arm-Base Coordination for Extended Workspace Reach
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robotic arms face challenges in efficiently manipulating objects outside their workspace without requiring extensive computational resources, necessitating improved coordination between arm and body movements.
Innovation Solution
A decentralized control system that segregates task instructions into arm and base parameters, allowing the arm controller to determine necessary base movements to extend the workspace, minimizing computational load on the base controller.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the robotic arm attempts to manipulate objects outside its workspace, then the robot can access more areas, but the computational requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into two independent controllers: an arm controller that generates arm instructions and a base controller that generates base instructions. This segmentation allows the arm controller to focus on workspace coordination while the base controller handles mobility, reducing the computational burden on each individual controller and enabling extended workspace access without overwhelming computational requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The arm controller acts as an intermediary between the task request and the base controller. It determines the necessary base movements required to extend the workspace and generates base instructions accordingly. This intermediary role allows the system to access areas outside the original arm workspace while distributing computational tasks efficiently between controllers.
2Ease of operation
If a centralized control system is used to coordinate arm and base movements, then task execution is unified, but the computational load on the central controller increases
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized control system is divided into distributed controllers: the arm controller and base controller operate independently but coordinate through standardized instructions. This segmentation reduces the computational load on any single controller while maintaining unified task execution through the arm controller's workspace coordination capabilities.
3Device complexity
If the robotic arm operates independently without base coordination, then the control system is simpler, but the arm cannot access objects outside its workspace
Solution Approach 1:
The arm controller serves as an intermediary that determines base movements needed to extend the workspace. It receives task requests, calculates the necessary base repositioning, generates base instructions, and sends them to the base controller. This approach maintains relative control system simplicity while enabling extended workspace access through coordinated base movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The arm controller determines the necessary base movements in advance before the arm needs to access objects outside its current workspace. By calculating and sending base instructions proactively, the system prepares the base position beforehand, enabling the arm to access extended areas without complex real-time coordination.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method, when executed by data processing hardware of a robot having an articulated arm and a base, causes data processing hardware to perform operations. The operations include determining a first location of a workspace of the articulated arm associated with a current base configuration of the base of the robot. The operations also include receiving a task request defining a task for the robot to perform outside of the workspace of the articulated arm at the first location. The operations also include generating base parameters associated with the task request. The operations further include instructing, using the generated base parameters, the base of the robot to move from the current base configuration to an anticipatory base configuration.