Compliant End of Arm Tooling for Robotic Bin Picking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robotic bin picking systems struggle with accurately picking complex 3D parts from randomly organized bins due to the rigidity of end-of-arm tools, leading to system errors, part damage, and limited flexibility, especially when parts are randomly distributed and have variable orientations.
Innovation Solution
A compliant end-of-arm tooling system with multiple compliant devices providing adjustable compliance in various degrees of freedom, allowing for dynamic adjustment of position and orientation to facilitate the extraction of parts, using air pressure or spring-based compliance, and integrated sensors for real-time feedback to prevent damage and improve grasping accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a rigid end-of-arm tooling is used for bin picking, then the structure is simple and cost-effective, but the system causes part damage and grasp failure when vision errors or misalignments occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the rigidity parameter of the end-of-arm tooling by introducing compliant mechanisms that allow controlled flexibility. This enables the tooling to adapt to position and orientation errors detected by the vision system, thereby improving grasp success rate while maintaining structural simplicity through standardized compliant components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the static rigid tooling structure into a dynamic compliant one that can adapt its configuration during the grasping process. The compliant tooling can dynamically adjust to accommodate variations in part position and orientation, resolving the contradiction between structural simplicity and grasp reliability
2Reliability
If a compliant end-of-arm tooling is used to accommodate vision errors, then the grasp success rate improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the compliance parameters of the tooling to provide just enough flexibility to handle typical vision errors without over-engineering the system. By tuning the compliance characteristics, the patent achieves improved grasp success while controlling device complexity through optimized parameter selection rather than adding excessive mechanical complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces compliant elements as intermediary components between the rigid robot arm and the grasping mechanism. These intermediaries absorb the complexity of adapting to vision errors while keeping the overall tooling structure relatively simple and maintainable
3Adaptability or versatility
If the compliant tooling provides compliance in multiple degrees of freedom, then the adaptability to random part orientations improves, but the difficulty of determining the tooling state increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms that monitor the state of the compliant tooling during operation. By providing real-time feedback on the compliance element deformation, the system can determine the tooling state even with multiple degrees of freedom, thereby maintaining adaptability to random part orientations while controlling the difficulty of state detection
Solution Approach 2:
The compliant tooling elements are designed to provide self-indicating features that reveal their state through observable characteristics such as deformation patterns or position changes. This self-service approach reduces the complexity of state determination by allowing the tooling to communicate its own state without requiring complex external sensing systems
4Measurement precision
If expensive sensing means are used to determine the tooling state, then the measurement precision improves, but the cost-effectiveness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the compliant tooling elements themselves as intermediaries that provide mechanical indication of their state. By designing the compliance elements to naturally indicate their deformation state through observable features, the system achieves sufficient measurement precision without requiring expensive electronic sensors or complex measurement systems, thereby maintaining cost-effectiveness
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 tooling system enhances the robot's ability to pick complex 3D parts by compensating for misalignments and reducing damage during collisions, improving the success rate of part extraction and reducing the need for expensive sensing systems, while maintaining cost-effectiveness and flexibility.
Implementation Method 1
one or more compliant devices providing compliance in one or more degrees of freedom
Implementation Method 2
using air pressure or spring-based compliance
Implementation Method 3
using air pressure or spring-based compliance
Data Source
AI summary
A robot is used to pick parts from a bin. The robot has a compliant apparatus and one or more tools are connected to the apparatus to perform the picking. The compliant apparatus has mechanisms for monitoring and/or controlling its compliance. The compliant apparatus can have various embodiments. Force sensing can be used during removal of grasped parts from the bin to determine the force exerted on the picking tool(s). The signal indicative of the exerted force can be used by the robot controller to determine the weight of the parts that may be held by the picking tool(s). The robot has one or more devices which can be the picking tool to stir the parts in the bin.