Mobile Robotics Frame System Spanning Large Workpieces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional robotic and automation systems are limited in their ability to reach large objects and have restricted payload capacity, making them impractical for many manufacturing industries where they cannot span across large workpieces or operate effectively in dynamic environments.
Innovation Solution
A mobile robotics frame system that includes a large, autonomous frame capable of moving in multiple directions, equipped with a positioning assembly allowing robotic arms to move in 6 degrees of freedom, enabling it to span across large workpieces and access hard-to-reach areas with sensor-guided navigation and autonomous control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional robotic systems are used, then they can perform automated tasks, but they are limited to fixed locations and cannot reach large workpieces
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system transitions from a fixed location to a mobile platform that can move across the factory floor. The mobile robotic device incorporates wheels or tracks for locomotion, allowing it to dynamically reposition itself to access different areas of large workpieces that would be unreachable by stationary robots.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system is divided into functional modules including a mobile base, manipulator arm, sensors, and control systems. This modular segmentation allows the robotic device to navigate to workpieces while maintaining manipulation capabilities, resolving the contradiction between mobility and functional complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If mobile robots are used, then they can reach large workpieces, but they have limited payload capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile robotic device incorporates counterweight mechanisms to balance the manipulator arm and payload. By positioning counterweights strategically, the system compensates for the weight of the arm and payload, reducing the energy required for movement and effectively increasing payload capacity without proportionally increasing the weight of the mobile platform.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces purely mechanical lifting mechanisms with a combination of electric motors, hydraulic actuators, and sensor feedback systems. This substitution allows for more efficient force application and better control over payload manipulation, enabling the mobile robot to handle heavier objects than would be possible with traditional mechanical systems alone.
3Manufacturing precision
If fixed automation systems are used, then they can perform precise tasks, but they cannot operate in dynamic environments
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile robotic device incorporates sensors (cameras, LIDAR, force sensors) that continuously monitor the environment and workpiece position. This feedback is processed by control systems that adjust the robot's navigation and manipulation actions in real-time, maintaining precision despite the dynamic mobile operating environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system uses dynamic motion planning and control algorithms that adapt to changing conditions during operation. The manipulator arm incorporates compliant control that can adjust to unexpected forces or position variations, maintaining task precision while operating from a mobile platform rather than a fixed installation.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for a mobile robotic frame system. In some implementations, a mobile robot includes a motorized frame that is configured to travel to a location. The mobile robot includes a positioning assembly coupled to the motorized frame, a robotic arm having a manipulator, and sensors coupled to the motorized frame. A control system is configured to process data from the sensors and, based on the data from the sensors, provide control data to (i) move the motorized frame, (ii) adjust one or more movable components of the positioning assembly, and (ii) move the robotic arm relative to the motorized frame. The one or more movable components and the robotic arm are operable to position the manipulator at any position in a three-dimensional work volume with 6 degrees of freedom while the motorized frame remains at the location.