Robot Teleoperation With Mapped Virtual Safety Constraints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Teleoperation of industrial robots is challenging due to the difficulty in defining and editing virtual constraints, especially when controlling robots with multiple degrees of freedom, and the lack of real-time communication that can lead to safety issues and equipment damage from delayed feedback.
Innovation Solution
A system with a control station and a machine having a two-way real-time communication link, where safety limits are automatically mapped from the machine to the control station, allowing for the definition and editing of virtual constraints using a graphical user interface and haptic devices, ensuring the operator adheres to mechanical limits and safety zones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If virtual constraints are manually defined and edited for teleoperated robots, then operational safety can be ensured, but the complexity of defining and editing constraints increases significantly with multiple degrees of freedom
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically maps safety limits from the robot controller to the control station without requiring manual definition by the operator. The robot controller itself provides the safety constraint data through automated extraction and mapping processes, eliminating the need for complex manual constraint configuration while maintaining safety requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements real-time two-way communication between the robot and control station, where safety limit information is continuously exchanged and updated. This feedback mechanism ensures that the control station has current safety constraint data without requiring manual intervention, resolving the contradiction between safety and complexity
2Productivity
If real-time two-way communication is implemented between robot and control station, then safety and operational efficiency are improved, but system complexity and communication requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential safety limit parameters from the complex robot controller communication protocol and maps them to simplified virtual constraint representations at the control station. This extraction approach enables real-time communication of critical safety information without requiring the full complexity of the robot's internal communication systems
Solution Approach 2:
The safety limit mapping system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it extracts safety parameters, transforms them into virtual constraints, transmits them in real-time, and enables operator control within safety boundaries. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated systems for each function, managing overall system complexity
3Object-affected harmful factors
If safety limits are automatically mapped to the control station, then the risk of equipment damage is reduced, but data processing and communication overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs safety limit extraction and mapping in advance during system initialization and before teleoperation begins. By pre-processing safety parameter mappings, the system reduces real-time data processing requirements during actual operation, minimizing energy overhead while maintaining equipment protection
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms safety limit parameters from the robot controller's internal representation format into standardized virtual constraint parameters suitable for the control station. This parameter transformation enables efficient data communication and processing by using optimized data formats and structures
Data Source
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AI summary
A machine that has at least one actuated mechanism is remotely located from a control station. A two way real-time communication link connects the machine location with the control station. An interface at the control station allows an operator to select one or more virtual constraints on operation of the machine when the machine is performing a predetermined function. The virtual constraints are transmitted over the two way real-time communication link to the machine location. The machine has predetermined safety limits that are stored in a controlling device at the machine location. The stored predetermined safety limits are extracted and automatically mapped to the control station using the two way real-time communication link. The controlling device maps the predetermined safety limits to the virtual constraints.