Virtual Robot Control With Forcefields and Haptic Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a desire for improved and more intuitive control of industrial robots, particularly in scenarios where direct control methods are limited by the need for precise manipulation and interaction with complex environments.
Innovation Solution
A modelling unit that controls a virtual model of a robot in a virtual environment, integrating real-world data and user input to manage the robot's movement and forces, using a mass-spring-damper relationship to link virtual and real-world elements, and incorporating virtual constraints and forcefields to enhance control and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If direct control methods are used for industrial robots, then control precision is maintained, but control intuitiveness and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
A virtual model serves as an intermediary between the user and the real-world robot. The virtual model receives user inputs and translates them into appropriate control commands for the physical robot, enabling more intuitive control while maintaining precision through the mediation layer.
Solution Approach 2:
A virtual copy or digital twin of the robot is created in a simulated environment. This copy mirrors the physical robot's mechanics, constraints, and environment, allowing users to interact with an intuitive virtual representation while the underlying control system maintains precision through the defined linkage to the real apparatus.
2Ease of operation
If virtual constraints and forcefields are added to enhance control, then control intuitiveness and safety are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual model acts as an intermediary that incorporates constraints and forcefields in the virtual environment without adding physical complexity to the real system. These virtual elements provide intuitive control guidance and safety boundaries while the physical robot remains relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
Virtual constraints and forcefields modify the virtual environment parameters rather than the physical system parameters. By changing the virtual model's properties (mass-spring-damper characteristics, constraint forces), the system achieves enhanced control intuitiveness and safety without increasing physical device complexity.
3Reliability
If real-world data is integrated into the virtual model, then control accuracy and safety are improved, but data processing requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Real-world sensor data from the robot and environment is fed back into the virtual model to update its state. This feedback loop improves control safety and accuracy by ensuring the virtual model reflects actual conditions, while the defined linkage ensures this integration is done efficiently through the mass-spring-damper relationship.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual model creates a digital copy of the physical system that processes and visualizes real-world data. This copy handles the data processing burden, allowing the physical system to remain relatively simple while still benefiting from enhanced reliability through data-driven virtual representations.
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
Enables precise and intuitive control of industrial robots, reducing the risk of collisions and improving ergonomic interaction by allowing virtual models to anticipate and adjust for real-world conditions, providing stable and responsive haptic feedback.
Implementation Method 1
The defined linkage between corresponding elements of the virtual apparatus and the real-world apparatus may comprise a mass-spring-damper (mathematical) relationship between the corresponding elements of the virtual apparatus and the real-world apparatus
Implementation Method 2
The modelling unit may be configured to control the virtual model to include a (repulsive or attractive) forcefield at least partially surrounding at least a part of the virtual environment or virtual apparatus
Data Source
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AI summary
A modelling unit configured to control a virtual model of a virtual apparatus in a virtual environment corresponding to a real-world apparatus in a real-world environment; receive real-world data of the real-world apparatus and input data; and output a control signal to control the real-world apparatus, wherein the modelling unit is further configured to: control the virtual apparatus based on the real-world data so that movement of the real-word apparatus and/or one or more forces applied to the real-world apparatus represented in the real-world data affect movement of the virtual apparatus; control the virtual apparatus based on the input data so that the input data affects movement of the virtual apparatus; and control the real-word apparatus based on the virtual apparatus so that movement of the virtual apparatus governs movement of the real-world apparatus.