Work Robot Gripping Order for Randomly Oriented Workpieces

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing work robots face inefficiencies in gripping workpieces placed in random orientations and positions due to burdensome recognition processing and potential interference with non-target pieces, leading to prolonged processing times and reduced efficiency.

Innovation Solution

A work robot system that includes an image-capturing device for capturing workpieces, an image processing device for recognizing workpiece regions and determining holding orders based on area and distance, and a control device for managing the gripping sequence, allowing efficient handling of multiple workpieces by considering their orientation and position.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the articulated robot performs recognition processing on each workpiece individually to determine gripping feasibility, then the gripping accuracy is improved, but the processing time increases and work efficiency deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvegripping accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary recognition processing on all workpieces in the container before gripping operations begin. The image processing device identifies and stores information about all workpieces including their positions, orientations, and potential interference relationships in advance, so that during actual gripping operations, the robot can quickly retrieve pre-analyzed data without performing time-consuming recognition processing for each individual workpiece

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Speed

If the target workpiece is gripped first without considering adjacent non-target workpieces, then the gripping speed is improved, but the position of adjacent workpieces may change causing subsequent gripping failures

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvegripping speedVSAvoidsubsequent gripping accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis to identify potential interference relationships between workpieces before gripping operations begin. The image processing device determines which workpieces are adjacent to each other and predicts potential position changes. Based on this pre-analyzed interference information, the control device adjusts the gripping sequence to grip workpieces in an order that prevents interference, ensuring both high gripping speed and reliable subsequent operations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

3Productivity

If the robot performs comprehensive recognition processing on all workpieces collectively, then the overall processing efficiency is improved, but the complexity of recognition processing increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvework efficiencyVSAvoidrecognition processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The recognition processing is segmented into distinct functional modules: an image acquisition module that captures images of all workpieces, an image processing module that identifies workpiece regions and extracts features, and a control module that determines gripping sequences based on the extracted information. This modular segmentation allows the system to perform comprehensive recognition processing on multiple workpieces simultaneously while managing complexity through divided responsibilities across specialized components

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4032663B1Work robot and work system
Publication Date: 2026.04.22 FUJI CORP
  • EP4032663B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4032663B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP4032663B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

A work robot sequentially holds multiple workpieces supplied to a supply area and moves the held workpieces to a work area. The work robot includes an image-capturing device configured to capture images of the multiple workpieces supplied to the supply area in random orientations and positions, an image processing device configured to recognize multiple workpiece regions from the images captured by the image-capturing device, obtain an area and a position of each of the recognized multiple workpiece regions, and obtain a distance between each workpiece region and the work area or the work robot, and a control device configured to determine a holding order of the workpiece based on the areas of the multiple workpiece regions and the distance between each workpiece region and the work area or the work robot as obtained by the image processing device.