Force/Torque Sensor Output Correction Using Environment Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Force/torque sensors used in robots experience output offset and error fluctuations due to varying installation locations and environments, lacking effective correction methods to address these issues.
Innovation Solution
A sensor control apparatus and method that acquires environment information, such as temperature and contact status, to continuously correct sensor output values, using interpolation or function-based correction values, and updates these values based on changing conditions like posture and material properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If force/torque sensor is used to control a robot, then the robot can detect force and torque in three axis directions and around each axis, but the offset of sensor output values and the magnitude of errors fluctuate depending on installation location and environment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by introducing temperature as a correction parameter. The correction value changes based on the detected temperature, allowing the sensor output to be adjusted according to environmental conditions. This resolves the contradiction by making the measurement precision adaptable to environmental variations without compromising output stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by detecting the actual sensor output and temperature, then using this information to calculate and apply correction values. The correction processing section continuously adjusts the sensor output based on feedback from the detection results, thereby maintaining measurement precision and output stability simultaneously.
2Adaptability or versatility
If correction values are set discretely with respect to temperatures, then correction can be applied at specific temperature points, but the correction value cannot vary continuously with temperature changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by transitioning from static discrete correction values to dynamic continuous correction values. The correction value is calculated based on the actual detected temperature using interpolation or function input, allowing it to vary continuously and adaptively with temperature changes. This resolves the contradiction by enabling both temperature adaptation and precise correction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses interpolation or temperature functions as intermediaries between discrete temperature points and continuous correction values. This intermediary mechanism allows the system to derive accurate correction values for any temperature within the range, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and precision.
3Reliability
If correction value is updated based on output value when no object is in contact with the surface, then the correction can adapt to environmental changes, but the system requires additional judgment of contact status
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-establishing the correction value update mechanism that operates automatically when no contact is detected. The system is designed in advance to recognize contactless states and apply correction updates accordingly, reducing the need for complex real-time decision-making and simplifying the overall control logic.
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
Effectively corrects force/torque sensor outputs to maintain accuracy and reliability in dynamic robot environments, reducing errors caused by temperature and material variations.
Implementation Method 1
the correction processing section may determine the correction value that varies continuously in keeping with the ambient temperature, by referencing correction values set discretely with respect to temperatures and by interpolating the referenced correction values
Implementation Method 2
the correction processing section may determine the correction value that varies continuously in keeping with the ambient temperature, by referencing a correction value set as a function of the temperature and by inputting the ambient temperature to the function
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor control apparatus includes an environment information acquisition section configured to acquire environment information indicative of an operating environment of a sensor that detects the force or the moment exerted on the surface of a housing, and a correction processing section configured to correct the output of the sensor on the basis of the environment information.