Robot Trajectory Corridor for Wear Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robot trajectory planning techniques, such as shortest time and shortest path, lack flexibility and can result in sub-optimal paths due to complex transformations between joint and Cartesian spaces, leading to increased wear and reduced speed, especially when obstacles are encountered.
Innovation Solution
Calculating trajectory corridors that expand and encompass a seed path, allowing for multiple candidate paths to be determined and selected based on criteria like smoothness and minimal wear, while visually rendering potential obstacles and kinematic constraints for user adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If shortest time trajectory planning is used, then the robot moves fastest between two positions, but the path taken is complex and may intersect obstacles, reducing reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The trajectory planning is segmented into two independent phases: first determining a seed path that avoids obstacles, then calculating a trajectory corridor around that seed path. This segmentation allows the path planning and speed optimization to be decoupled, ensuring collision avoidance while enabling fast motion within the corridor boundaries.
Solution Approach 2:
The trajectory corridor acts as an intermediary structure between the simple seed path and the final optimized trajectory. It provides a constrained space within which the robot can move freely and quickly while still guaranteeing avoidance of obstacles, serving as a mediator that reconciles speed and safety requirements.
2Ease of operation
If shortest path trajectory planning is used, then the robot follows a straight line in Cartesian space, but the joint configurations become sub-optimal, increasing wear and reducing speed
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static straight-line path planning to dynamic trajectory optimization within a corridor. The robot can dynamically adjust its path within the trajectory corridor boundaries to optimize joint motion, avoiding sub-optimal configurations while maintaining the overall simplicity of the seed path approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the optimization parameters from simple Cartesian coordinates to include joint space considerations. By optimizing trajectories within the corridor based on joint configuration quality metrics, the system can avoid parameter combinations that cause excessive wear or slow motion while preserving the ease of specifying simple seed paths.
3Ease of operation
If the robot exactly follows a straight line between waypoints, then the path is simple to define, but the robot must stop frequently to change direction, increasing wear and reducing speed
Solution Approach 1:
The trajectory corridor allows for curved and smooth transitions between waypoints instead of sharp angular changes. By permitting the end effector to follow curved paths within the corridor boundaries, the robot can maintain momentum and avoid frequent stops, reducing mechanical wear while preserving the simplicity of waypoint-based specification.
4Ease of operation
If a fixed seed path is used, then the trajectory is easy to define, but flexibility is limited and may not satisfy optimality criteria
Solution Approach 1:
The invention adds a spatial dimension around the one-dimensional seed path by creating a trajectory corridor with width. This dimensional expansion transforms the fixed path constraint into a flexible volumetric region, allowing multiple possible trajectories while maintaining the simplicity of the original seed path definition. The corridor width provides the necessary flexibility for optimization.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, apparatus, systems, and computer-readable media are provided for calculating a trajectory corridor for a robot end effector. In some implementations, a seed path may be determined between first and second sites that is traversable by a reference point associated with an end effector of a robot. Then, a trajectory corridor may be calculated that encompasses and expands the seed path. In some implementations, a plurality of candidate paths may be determined through the trajectory corridor that are traversable by the reference point. In some implementations, a candidate path that satisfies a criterion may be selected.