Bin-Picking Robot Stirring Mechanism for Part Disentanglement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial robot manipulators face challenges in bin picking due to the variability of part locations and orientations, leading to errors such as collision, failure to grasp, and manual intervention requirements, as existing solutions are costly, inflexible, and have high failure rates.
Innovation Solution
A robot with a moveable arm and computing device, equipped with a compliant end-of-arm tool that can adjust its position and orientation using air pressure or spring-based compliance, allowing for dynamic adjustment to compensate for errors and reduce damage during bin picking, and incorporating force sensing for intelligent error handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid end-of-arm tool is used for bin picking, then the robot structure is simple and cost-effective, but parts are damaged due to lack of compliance and the robot cannot adapt to misalignments
Solution Approach 1:
The end-of-arm tool incorporates a compliant mechanism that changes its rigidity parameter dynamically. The mechanism transitions from a rigid state during normal operation to a compliant state during error recovery, allowing the robot to adapt to misalignments and prevent part damage while maintaining structural simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The end-of-arm tool employs a dynamic compliance mechanism that can switch between rigid and flexible states. This dynamic adjustment allows the robot to handle misaligned parts gracefully by allowing controlled movement and rotation, reducing damage while maintaining overall system simplicity
2Reliability
If the robot stops for manual intervention when errors occur, then error handling is thorough, but productivity decreases due to frequent interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The robot system incorporates automated error recovery capabilities where the compliant end-of-arm tool can independently handle misalignment errors through controlled stirring motions and rotation attempts. This self-service mechanism resolves common picking errors without requiring manual intervention, maintaining reliability while preserving productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary error detection and automated correction attempts before requiring manual intervention. The compliant mechanism proactively handles misalignments and the controller attempts multiple recovery strategies, ensuring thorough error handling while minimizing production stoppages
3Measurement precision
If vision system fails to recognize pickable parts, then measurement accuracy is maintained, but the robot cannot find valid grasp points leading to errors
Solution Approach 1:
The compliant end-of-arm tool enables the robot to adapt to cases where vision detection is insufficient. By allowing physical interaction and stirring motions, the system can discover pickable parts that were not initially detected, maintaining measurement precision for clearly visible parts while adding adaptability for borderline cases
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback from the compliant mechanism during stirring and exploration motions. When vision detection fails to identify pickable parts, the physical feedback from part contacts guides the robot to discover valid grasp points, combining precise vision-based detection with adaptive tactile exploration
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The compliant end-of-arm tool enhances the robot's ability to successfully pick parts by adjusting to misalignments and errors, reducing damage and increasing flexibility, while force sensing enables intelligent responses to errors, improving the reliability and efficiency of bin picking operations.
Implementation Method 1
adjust its position and orientation using air pressure or spring-based compliance
Implementation Method 2
adjust its position and orientation using air pressure or spring-based compliance
Implementation Method 3
incorporating force sensing for intelligent error handling
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A robot for picking one or more parts (41) randomly distributed in a bin (40), this robot comprising a moveable arm (16a, 16b), a computing device (14) connected to said robot for controlling motion of said moveable arm and a tool (24) connected to said moveable arm for picking one or more of said parts from said bin,- said robot using said picking tool by itself or another tool (96, 98) mounted on the robot or grasped by the picking tool to stir one or more of said one or more randomly distributed parts in said bin when said computing device determines that a predetermined event requiring stirring of said parts has occurred.