ABSTRACT
Abstract
Some robotic arms may include vacuum-based grippers. Detecting the seal quality between each vacuum assembly of the gripper and a grasped object may enable reactivation of some vacuum assemblies, thereby improving the grasp. One embodiment of a method may include activating each of a plurality of vacuum assemblies of a robotic gripper by supplying a vacuum to each vacuum assembly, determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a first grasped object, deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the first respective seal qualities, and reactivating each of the deactivated vacuum assemblies within a reactivation interval.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/989,337, filed Nov. 17, 2022, entitled, âROBOTIC GRIPPER WITH SEAL DETECTION,â which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 63/288,360, filed Dec. 10, 2021, and entitled, âROBOTIC GRIPPER WITH SEAL DETECTION,â the entire contents of each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
A robot is generally defined as a reprogrammable and multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for a performance of tasks. Robots may be manipulators that are physically anchored (e.g., industrial robotic arms), mobile robots that move throughout an environment (e.g., using legs, wheels, or traction-based mechanisms), or some combination of a manipulator and a mobile robot. Robots are utilized in a variety of industries including, for example, manufacturing, warehouse logistics, transportation, hazardous environments, exploration, and healthcare.
SUMMARY
During robotic pick-and-place tasks in logistics scenarios (e.g., depalletizing, truck unloading, order building, etc.), a firm grasp of the object being manipulated is often desirable. For a robotic manipulator with a vacuum-based gripper, grasp quality may be related to the number of vacuum assemblies of the gripper that are able to form a good seal with the object being manipulated. A high-quality grasp may be enabled by engaging a large number of vacuum assemblies with the object at certain times and/or deactivating vacuum assemblies that fail to make a good seal with the object at certain times. In some scenarios, a vacuum assembly may initially fail to make a good seal with the object and may be deactivated, but may later be capable of making a good seal (or better seal) if it were activated (e.g., due to changing conditions during a grasp). In some embodiments, the methods described herein include alternatingly activating and deactivating vacuum assemblies of a vacuum-based robotic gripper to increase the number of vacuum assemblies that form a good seal with an object, thereby increasing the overall quality of the grasp.
One aspect of the disclosure provides a method. The method comprises activating each of a plurality of vacuum assemblies of a robotic gripper by supplying a vacuum to each vacuum assembly; determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a first grasped object; deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the first respective seal qualities; and reactivating each of the deactivated vacuum assemblies within a reactivation interval.
In another aspect, the method further comprises determining, for each of the reactivated vacuum assemblies, a second respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly; and deactivating one or more of the reactivated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the second respective seal qualities.
In another aspect, determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly comprises sensing, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective pressure level of the vacuum assembly.
In another aspect, deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the first respective seal qualities comprises deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies when the first sensed pressure levels are below a threshold level.
In another aspect, the threshold level is greater than or equal to 20% of a vacuum source pressure and less than or equal to 99% of the vacuum source pressure.
In another aspect, the threshold level is greater than or equal to 60% of the vacuum source pressure and less than or equal to 98% of the vacuum source pressure.
In another aspect, the reactivation interval is greater than or equal to 5 milliseconds and less than or equal to 5000 milliseconds.
In another aspect, the reactivation interval is greater than or equal to 50 milliseconds and less than or equal to 1000 milliseconds.
In another aspect, the reactivation interval is greater than or equal to 100 milliseconds and less than or equal to 500 milliseconds.
In another aspect, the method further comprises repeatedly performing the determining, the deactivating, and the reactivating until a stop criterion is satisfied.
In another aspect, the stop criterion comprises a number of deactivated cups being below a threshold number of cups.
In another aspect, the stop criterion comprises reaching a threshold number of deactivation/reactivation cycles.
In another aspect, the stop criterion comprises exceeding a threshold time limit.
In another aspect, the stop criterion is based, at least in part, on an output of a model associated with an interaction between the robotic gripper and the first grasped object.
In another aspect, activating each of the plurality of vacuum assemblies of the robotic gripper comprises supplying a pulse of vacuum to each vacuum assembly, determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a first grasped object comprises determining an amplitude of a pressure signal inside a respective activated vacuum assembly in response to application of the pulse of vacuum, and deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the first respective seal qualities comprises deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies when the respective amplitude of the pressure signal inside the respective activated vacuum assembly is below a threshold level.
In another aspect, activating each of the plurality of vacuum assemblies of the robotic gripper comprises supplying a steady state vacuum to each vacuum assembly, determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a first grasped object comprises determining a steady state pressure signal inside a respective activated vacuum assembly after the steady state vacuum has been supplied to the respective activated vacuum assembly for a particular amount of time, and deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the first respective seal qualities comprises deactivating a respective activated vacuum assembly when the respective steady state pressure inside the respective activated vacuum assembly is below a threshold level.
One aspect of the disclosure provides a mobile robotic device. The mobile robotic device comprises a robotic gripper and at least one computer processor. The mobile gripper comprises a plurality of vacuum assemblies and at least one pressure sensor associated with each vacuum assembly of the plurality of vacuum assemblies. The at least one computer processor is programmed to activate each vacuum assembly supplying a vacuum to each vacuum assembly; determine, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a first grasped object; deactivate one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the first respective seal qualities; and reactivate each of the deactivated vacuum assemblies within a reactivation interval.
In another aspect, the at least one computer processor is programmed to determine, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly using a first respective pressure level of the vacuum assembly from a respective pressure sensor of the robotic gripper.
One aspect of the disclosure provides a method of grasping an object. The method comprises activating a plurality of vacuum assemblies of a robotic gripper; sealing at least one of the activated vacuum assemblies with a surface of the object, thereby deforming the surface; deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies; reactivating each of the deactivated vacuum assemblies; and sealing at least one of the reactivated vacuum assemblies with the deformed surface of the object.
In another aspect, deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies comprises deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on a determined seal quality of the activated vacuum assemblies.
In another aspect, the determined seal quality of the activated vacuum assemblies is based, at least in part on a pressure level of the vacuum assembly.
In another aspect, the reactivation interval is greater than or equal to 5 milliseconds and less than or equal to 5000 milliseconds.
In another aspect, the reactivation interval is greater than or equal to 50 milliseconds and less than or equal to 1000 milliseconds.
In another aspect, the reactivation interval is greater than or equal to 100 milliseconds and less than or equal to 500 milliseconds.
In another aspect, sealing the at least one of the activated vacuum assemblies with the surface of the object deforms the surface.
In another aspect, sealing the at least one of the activated vacuum assemblies with the surface of the object displaces the object.
In another aspect, the method further comprises repositioning the robotic gripper relative to the object prior to reactivating each of the deactivated vacuum assemblies.
In another aspect, the method further comprises repeatedly performing the determining, the deactivating, and the reactivating until a stop criterion is satisfied.
In another aspect, the stop criterion comprises a number of deactivated cups being below a threshold number of cups.
In another aspect, the stop criterion comprises reaching a threshold number of deactivation/reactivation cycles.
In another aspect, the stop criterion comprises exceeding a threshold time limit.
In another aspect, the stop criterion is based, at least in part, on an output of a model associated with an interaction between the robotic gripper and the first grasped object.
It should be appreciated that the foregoing concepts, and additional concepts discussed below, may be arranged in any suitable combination, as the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. Further, other advantages and novel features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of various non-limiting embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures may be represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 A is a perspective view of one embodiment of a robot;
FIG. 1 B is another perspective view of the robot of FIG. 1 A ;
FIG. 2 A depicts robots performing tasks in a warehouse environment;
FIG. 2 B depicts a robot unloading boxes from a truck;
FIG. 2 C depicts a robot building a pallet in a warehouse aisle;
FIG. 3 A depicts a robotic gripper prior to engaging an object;
FIG. 3 B depicts the robotic gripper of FIG. 3 A partially engaging the object;
FIG. 3 C depicts the robotic gripper of FIG. 3 B more fully engaging the object;
FIG. 3 D depicts the robotic gripper of FIG. 3 C fully engaging the object;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process for controlling a robotic gripper in accordance with some embodiments;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process for grasping an object in accordance with some embodiments;
FIG. 6 A depicts a robotic gripper prior to engaging an object with a partially angled surface;
FIG. 6 B depicts the robotic gripper of FIG. 6 A partially engaging the object;
FIG. 6 C depicts the robotic gripper of FIG. 6 B fully engaging the object;
FIG. 7 A depicts a robotic gripper approaching an object from an
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/989,337, filed Nov. 17, 2022, entitled, âROBOTIC GRIPPER WITH SEAL DETECTION,â which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 63/288,360, filed Dec. 10, 2021, and entitled, âROBOTIC GRIPPER WITH SEAL DETECTION,â the entire contents of each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
A robot is generally defined as a reprogrammable and multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for a performance of tasks. Robots may be manipulators that are physically anchored (e.g., industrial robotic arms), mobile robots that move throughout an environment (e.g., using legs, wheels, or traction-based mechanisms), or some combination of a manipulator and a mobile robot. Robots are utilized in a variety of industries including, for example, manufacturing, warehouse logistics, transportation, hazardous environments, exploration, and healthcare.
SUMMARY
During robotic pick-and-place tasks in logistics scenarios (e.g., depalletizing, truck unloading, order building, etc.), a firm grasp of the object being manipulated is often desirable. For a robotic manipulator with a vacuum-based gripper, grasp quality may be related to the number of vacuum assemblies of the gripper that are able to form a good seal with the object being manipulated. A high-quality grasp may be enabled by engaging a large number of vacuum assemblies with the object at certain times and/or deactivating vacuum assemblies that fail to make a good seal with the object at certain times. In some scenarios, a vacuum assembly may initially fail to make a good seal with the object and may be deactivated, but may later be capable of making a good seal (or better seal) if it were activated (e.g., due to changing conditions during a grasp). In some embodiments, the methods described herein include alternatingly activating and deactivating vacuum assemblies of a vacuum-based robotic gripper to increase the number of vacuum assemblies that form a good seal with an object, thereby increasing the overall quality of the grasp.
One aspect of the disclosure provides a method. The method comprises activating each of a plurality of vacuum assemblies of a robotic gripper by supplying a vacuum to each vacuum assembly; determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a first grasped object; deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the first respective seal qualities; and reactivating each of the deactivated vacuum assemblies within a reactivation interval.
In another aspect, the method further comprises determining, for each of the reactivated vacuum assemblies, a second respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly; and deactivating one or more of the reactivated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the second respective seal qualities.
In another aspect, determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly comprises sensing, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective pressure level of the vacuum assembly.
In another aspect, deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the first respective seal qualities comprises deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies when the first sensed pressure levels are below a threshold level.
In another aspect, the threshold level is greater than or equal to 20% of a vacuum source pressure and less than or equal to 99% of the vacuum source pressure.
In another aspect, the threshold level is greater than or equal to 60% of the vacuum source pressure and less than or equal to 98% of the vacuum source pressure.
In another aspect, the reactivation interval is greater than or equal to 5 milliseconds and less than or equal to 5000 milliseconds.
In another aspect, the reactivation interval is greater than or equal to 50 milliseconds and less than or equal to 1000 milliseconds.
In another aspect, the reactivation interval is greater than or equal to 100 milliseconds and less than or equal to 500 milliseconds.
In another aspect, the method further comprises repeatedly performing the determining, the deactivating, and the reactivating until a stop criterion is satisfied.
In another aspect, the stop criterion comprises a number of deactivated cups being below a threshold number of cups.
In another aspect, the stop criterion comprises reaching a threshold number of deactivation/reactivation cycles.
In another aspect, the stop criterion comprises exceeding a threshold time limit.
In another aspect, the stop criterion is based, at least in part, on an output of a model associated with an interaction between the robotic gripper and the first grasped object.
In another aspect, activating each of the plurality of vacuum assemblies of the robotic gripper comprises supplying a pulse of vacuum to each vacuum assembly, determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a first grasped object comprises determining an amplitude of a pressure signal inside a respective activated vacuum assembly in response to application of the pulse of vacuum, and deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the first respective seal qualities comprises deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies when the respective amplitude of the pressure signal inside the respective activated vacuum assembly is below a threshold level.
In another aspect, activating each of the plurality of vacuum assemblies of the robotic gripper comprises supplying a steady state vacuum to each vacuum assembly, determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a first grasped object comprises determining a steady state pressure signal inside a respective activated vacuum assembly after the steady state vacuum has been supplied to the respective activated vacuum assembly for a particular amount of time, and deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the first respective seal qualities comprises deactivating a respective activated vacuum assembly when the respective steady state pressure inside the respective activated vacuum assembly is below a threshold level.
One aspect of the disclosure provides a mobile robotic device. The mobile robotic device comprises a robotic gripper and at least one computer processor. The mobile gripper comprises a plurality of vacuum assemblies and at least one pressure sensor associated with each vacuum assembly of the plurality of vacuum assemblies. The at least one computer processor is programmed to activate each vacuum assembly supplying a vacuum to each vacuum assembly; determine, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a first grasped object; deactivate one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the first respective seal qualities; and reactivate each of the deactivated vacuum assemblies within a reactivation interval.
In another aspect, the at least one computer processor is programmed to determine, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly using a first respective pressure level of the vacuum assembly from a respective pressure sensor of the robotic gripper.
One aspect of the disclosure provides a method of grasping an object. The method comprises activating a plurality of vacuum assemblies of a robotic gripper; sealing at least one of the activated vacuum assemblies with a surface of the object, thereby deforming the surface; deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies; reactivating each of the deactivated vacuum assemblies; and sealing at least one of the reactivated vacuum assemblies with the deformed surface of the object.
In another aspect, deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies comprises deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on a determined seal quality of the activated vacuum assemblies.
In another aspect, the determined seal quality of the activated vacuum assemblies is based, at least in part on a pressure level of the vacuum assembly.
In another aspect, the reactivation interval is greater than or equal to 5 milliseconds and less than or equal to 5000 milliseconds.
In another aspect, the reactivation interval is greater than or equal to 50 milliseconds and less than or equal to 1000 milliseconds.
In another aspect, the reactivation interval is greater than or equal to 100 milliseconds and less than or equal to 500 milliseconds.
In another aspect, sealing the at least one of the activated vacuum assemblies with the surface of the object deforms the surface.
In another aspect, sealing the at least one of the activated vacuum assemblies with the surface of the object displaces the object.
In another aspect, the method further comprises repositioning the robotic gripper relative to the object prior to reactivating each of the deactivated vacuum assemblies.
In another aspect, the method further comprises repeatedly performing the determining, the deactivating, and the reactivating until a stop criterion is satisfied.
In another aspect, the stop criterion comprises a number of deactivated cups being below a threshold number of cups.
In another aspect, the stop criterion comprises reaching a threshold number of deactivation/reactivation cycles.
In another aspect, the stop criterion comprises exceeding a threshold time limit.
In another aspect, the stop criterion is based, at least in part, on an output of a model associated with an interaction between the robotic gripper and the first grasped object.
It should be appreciated that the foregoing concepts, and additional concepts discussed below, may be arranged in any suitable combination, as the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. Further, other advantages and novel features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of various non-limiting embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures may be represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 A is a perspective view of one embodiment of a robot;
FIG. 1 B is another perspective view of the robot of FIG. 1 A ;
FIG. 2 A depicts robots performing tasks in a warehouse environment;
FIG. 2 B depicts a robot unloading boxes from a truck;
FIG. 2 C depicts a robot building a pallet in a warehouse aisle;
FIG. 3 A depicts a robotic gripper prior to engaging an object;
FIG. 3 B depicts the robotic gripper of FIG. 3 A partially engaging the object;
FIG. 3 C depicts the robotic gripper of FIG. 3 B more fully engaging the object;
FIG. 3 D depicts the robotic gripper of FIG. 3 C fully engaging the object;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process for controlling a robotic gripper in accordance with some embodiments;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process for grasping an object in accordance with some embodiments;
FIG. 6 A depicts a robotic gripper prior to engaging an object with a partially angled surface;
FIG. 6 B depicts the robotic gripper of FIG. 6 A partially engaging the object;
FIG. 6 C depicts the robotic gripper of FIG. 6 B fully engaging the object;
FIG. 7 A depicts a robotic gripper approaching an object from an angle;
FIG. 7 B depicts the robotic gripper of FIG. 7 A partially engaging the object; and
FIG. 7 C depicts the robotic gripper of FIG. 7 B fully engaging the object.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Robots are typically configured to perform various tasks in an environment in which they are placed. Generally, these tasks include interacting with objects and/or the elements of the environment. Notably, robots are becoming popular in warehouse and logistics operations. Before the introduction of robots to such spaces, many operations were performed manually. For example, a person might manually unload boxes from a truck onto one end of a conveyor belt, and a second person at the opposite end of the conveyor belt might organize those boxes onto a pallet. The pallet may then be picked up by a forklift operated by a third person, who might drive to a storage area of the warehouse and drop the pallet for a fourth person to remove the individual boxes from the pallet and place them on shelves in the storage area. More recently, robotic solutions have been developed to automate many of these functions. Such robots may either be specialist robots (i.e., designed to perform a single task, or a small number of closely related tasks) or generalist robots (i.e., designed to perform a wide variety of tasks). To date, both specialist and generalist warehouse robots have been associated with significant limitations, as explained below.
A specialist robot may be designed to perform a single task, such as unloading boxes from a truck onto a conveyor belt. While such specialist robots may be efficient at performing their designated task, they may be unable to perform other, tangentially related tasks in any capacity. As such, either a person or a separate robot (e.g., another specialist robot designed for a different task) may be needed to perform the next task(s) in the sequence. As such, a warehouse may need to invest in multiple specialist robots to perform a sequence of tasks, or may need to rely on a hybrid operation in which there are frequent robot-to-human or human-to-robot handoffs of objects.
In contrast, a generalist robot may be designed to perform a wide variety of tasks, and may be able to take a box through a large portion of the box's life cycle from the truck to the shelf (e.g., unloading, palletizing, transporting, depalletizing, storing). While such generalist robots may perform a variety of tasks, they may be unable to perform individual tasks with high enough efficiency or accuracy to warrant introduction into a highly streamlined warehouse operation. For example, while mounting an off-the-shelf robotic manipulator onto an off-the-shelf mobile robot might yield a system that could, in theory, accomplish many warehouse tasks, such a loosely integrated system may be incapable of performing complex or dynamic motions that require coordination between the manipulator and the mobile base, resulting in a combined system that is inefficient and inflexible. Typical operation of such a system within a warehouse environment may include the mobile base and the manipulator operating sequentially and (partially or entirely) independently of each other. For example, the mobile base may first drive toward a stack of boxes with the manipulator powered down. Upon reaching the stack of boxes, the mobile base may come to a stop, and the manipulator may power up and begin manipulating the boxes as the base remains stationary. After the manipulation task is completed, the manipulator may again power down, and the mobile base may drive to another destination to perform the next task. As should be appreciated from the foregoing, the mobile base and the manipulator in such systems are effectively two separate robots that have been joined together; accordingly, a controller associated with the manipulator may not be configured to share information with, pass commands to, or receive commands from a separate controller associated with the mobile base. As such, such a poorly integrated mobile manipulator robot may be forced to operate both its manipulator and its base at suboptimal speeds or through suboptimal trajectories, as the two separate controllers struggle to work together. Additionally, while there are limitations that arise from a purely engineering perspective, there are additional limitations that must be imposed to comply with safety regulations. For instance, if a safety regulation requires that a mobile manipulator must be able to be completely shut down within a certain period of time when a human enters a region within a certain distance of the robot, a loosely integrated mobile manipulator robot may not be able to act sufficiently quickly to ensure that both the manipulator and the mobile base (individually and in aggregate) do not a pose a threat to the human. To ensure that such loosely integrated systems operate within required safety constraints, such systems are forced to operate at even slower speeds or to execute even more conservative trajectories than those limited speeds and trajectories as already imposed by the engineering problem. As such, the speed and efficiency of generalist robots performing tasks in warehouse environments to date have been limited.
In view of the above, the inventors have recognized and appreciated that a highly integrated mobile manipulator robot with system-level mechanical design and holistic control strategies between the manipulator and the mobile base may be associated with certain benefits in warehouse and/or logistics operations. Such an integrated mobile manipulator robot may be able to perform complex and/or dynamic motions that are unable to be achieved by conventional, loosely integrated mobile manipulator systems. As a result, this type of robot may be well suited to perform a variety of different tasks (e.g., within a warehouse environment) with speed, agility, and efficiency.
Example Robot Overview
In this section, an overview of some components of one embodiment of a highly integrated mobile manipulator robot configured to perform a variety of tasks is provided to explain the interactions and interdependencies of various subsystems of the robot. Each of the various subsystems, as well as control strategies for operating the subsystems, are described in further detail in the following sections.
FIGS. 1 A and 1 B are perspective views of one embodiment of a robot 100 . The robot 100 includes a mobile base 110 and a robotic arm 130 . The mobile base 110 includes an omnidirectional drive system that enables the mobile base to translate in any direction within a horizontal plane as well as rotate about a vertical axis perpendicular to the plane. Each wheel 112 of the mobile base 110 is independently steerable and independently drivable. The mobile base 110 additionally includes a number of distance sensors 116 that assist the robot 100 in safely moving about its environment. The robotic arm 130 is a 6 degree of freedom (6-DOF) robotic arm including three pitch joints and a 3-DOF wrist. An end effector 150 is disposed at the distal end of the robotic arm 130 . The robotic arm 130 is operatively coupled to the mobile base 110 via a turntable 120 , which is configured to rotate relative to the mobile base 110 . In addition to the robotic arm 130 , a perception mast 140 is also coupled to the turntable 120 , such that rotation of the turntable 120 relative to the mobile base 110 rotates both the robotic arm 130 and the perception mast 140 . The robotic arm 130 is kinematically constrained to avoid collision with the perception mast 140 . The perception mast 140 is additionally configured to rotate relative to the turntable 120 , and includes a number of perception modules 142 configured to gather information about one or more objects in the robot's environment. The integrated structure and system-level design of the robot 100 enable fast and efficient operation in a number of different applications, some of which are provided below as examples.
FIG. 2 A depicts robots 10 a , 10 b , and 10 c performing different tasks within a warehouse environment. A first robot 10 a is inside a truck (or a container), moving boxes 11 from a stack within the truck onto a conveyor belt 12 (this particular task will be discussed in greater detail below in reference to FIG. 2 B ). At the opposite end of the conveyor belt 12 , a second robot 10 b organizes the boxes 11 onto a pallet 13 . In a separate area of the warehouse, a third robot 10 c picks boxes from shelving to build an order on a pallet (this particular task will be discussed in greater detail below in reference to FIG. 2 C ). It should be appreciated that the robots 10 a , 10 b , and 10 c are different instances of the same robot (or of highly similar robots). Accordingly, the robots described herein may be understood as specialized multi-purpose robots, in that they are designed to perform specific tasks accurately and efficiently, but are not limited to only one or a small number of specific tasks.
FIG. 2 B depicts a robot 20 a unloading boxes 21 from a truck 29 and placing them on a conveyor belt 22 . In this box picking application (as well as in other box picking applications), the robot 20 a will repetitiously pick a box, rotate, place the box, and rotate back to pick the next box. Although robot 20 a of FIG. 2 B is a different embodiment from robot 100 of FIGS. 1 A and 1 B , referring to the components of robot 100 identified in FIGS. 1 A and 1 B will ease explanation of the operation of the robot 20 a in FIG. 2 B . During operation, the perception mast of robot 20 a (analogous to the perception mast 140 of robot 100 of FIGS. 1 A and 1 B ) may be configured to rotate independent of rotation of the turntable (analogous to the turntable 120 ) on which it is mounted to enable the perception modules (akin to perception modules 142 ) mounted on the perception mast to capture images of the environment that enable the robot 20 a to plan its next movement while simultaneously executing a current movement. For example, while the robot 20 a is picking a first box from the stack of boxes in the truck 29 , the perception modules on the perception mast may point at and gather information about the location where the first box is to be placed (e.g., the conveyor belt 22 ). Then, after the turntable rotates and while the robot 20 a is placing the first box on the conveyor belt, the perception mast may rotate (relative to the turntable) such that the perception modules on the perception mast point at the stack of boxes and gather information about the stack of boxes, which is used to determine the second box to be picked. As the turntable rotates back to allow the robot to pick the second box, the perception mast may gather updated information about the area surrounding the conveyor belt. In this way, the robot 20 a may parallelize tasks which may otherwise have been performed sequentially, thus enabling faster and more efficient operation.
Also of note in FIG. 2 B is that the robot 20 a is working alongside humans (e.g., workers 27 a and 27 b ). Given that the robot 20 a is configured to perform many tasks that have traditionally been performed by humans, the robot 20 a is designed to have a small footprint, both to enable access to areas designed to be accessed by humans, and to minimize the size of a safety zone around the robot into which humans are prevented from entering.
FIG. 2 C depicts a robot 30 a performing an order building task, in which the robot 30 a places boxes 31 onto a pallet 33 . In FIG. 2 C , the pallet 33 is disposed on top of an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) 34 , but it should be appreciated that the capabilities of the robot 30 a described in this example apply to building pallets not associated with an AMR. In this task, the robot 30 a picks boxes 31 disposed above, below, or within shelving 35 of the warehouse and places the boxes on the pallet 33 . Certain box positions and orientations relative to the shelving may suggest different box picking strategies. For example, a box located on a low shelf may simply be picked by the robot by grasping a top surface of the box with the end effector of the robotic arm (thereby executing a âtop pickâ). However, if the box to be picked is on top of a stack of boxes, and there is limited clearance between the top of the box and the bottom of a horizontal divider of the shelving, the robot may opt to pick the box by grasping a side surface (thereby executing a âface pickâ).
To pick some boxes within a constrained environment, the robot may need to carefully adjust the orientation of its arm to avoid contacting other boxes or the surrounding shelving. For example, in a typical âkeyhole problemâ, the robot may only be able to access a target box by navigating its arm through a small space or confined area (akin to a keyhole) defined by other boxes or the surrounding shelving. In such scenarios, coordination between the mobile base and the arm of the robot may be beneficial. For instance, being able to translate the base in any direction allows the robot to position itself as close as possible to the shelving, effectively extending the length of its arm (compared to conventional robots without omnidirectional drive which may be unable to navigate arbitrarily close to the shelving). Additionally, being able to translate the base backwards allows the robot to withdraw its arm from the shelving after picking the box without having to adjust joint angles (or minimizing the degree to which joint angles are adjusted), thereby enabling a simple solution to many keyhole problems.
Of course, it should be appreciated that the tasks depicted in FIGS. 2 A- 2 C are but a few examples of applications in which an integrated mobile manipulator robot may be used, and the present disclosure is not limited to robots configured to perform only these specific tasks. For example, the robots described herein may be suited to perform tasks including, but not limited to, removing objects from a truck or container, placing objects on a conveyor belt, removing objects from a conveyor belt, organizing objects into a stack, organizing objects on a pallet, placing objects on a shelf, organizing objects on a shelf, removing objects from a shelf, picking objects from the top (e.g., performing a âtop pickâ), picking objects from a side (e.g., performing a âface pickâ), coordinating with other mobile manipulator robots, coordinating with other warehouse robots (e.g., coordinating with AMRs), coordinating with humans, and many other tasks.
Example Gripper and Grasping Strategy
As described above, a robot may include a robotic arm with an end effector (e.g., end effector 150 of robot 100 depicted in FIGS. 1 A- 1 B ). In some embodiments, an end effector may include a vacuum-based gripper, which may include multiple vacuum assemblies. Each vacuum assembly may include a valve and a suction cup. Activating the vacuum assembly may include controlling the valve to supply vacuum pressure (e.g., from a vacuum source onboard the robot) to the suction cup, thereby applying a suction force through the suction cup that allows the vacuum assembly to attach to an object. A vacuum assembly or a suction cup may be described herein as âopenâ when the vacuum assembly is activated and vacuum pressure is supplied to the suction cup.
Generally, it should be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited in regard to the material, structure, geometry, uniformity, and/or arrangement of the vacuum assemblies and/or suction cups of a vacuum-based gripper. For example, the vacuum assemblies may be arranged in an array and/or coupled to a manifold. In some embodiments, the vacuum assemblies of the robotic gripper may be arranged in a pattern such as a rectilinear grid pattern, a hexagonal grid pattern, or any other suitable pattern. In some embodiments, the vacuum assemblies of the robotic gripper may be arranged in a hybrid array pattern, that may, for example, include a first portion with a rectilinear array and a second portion with a hexagonal array. In some embodiments, the vacuum assemblies of the robotic gripper may be arranged in a non-regular and/or non-patterned layout. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the vacuum assemblies of a robotic gripper may be uniform (e.g., have the same cross-sectional area, shape and/or material), or a robotic gripper may include a variety of different vacuum assemblies (e.g., having different cross-sectional areas, shapes, and/or materials). Vacuum assemblies may be distinguished, in some embodiments, based on characteristics of the suction cups. For example, different vacuum assemblies may employ suction cups of different sizes or different materials. The grasping strategies disclosed herein are generally agnostic to the material, structure, geometry, uniformity, and/or arrangement of the vacuum assemblies and/or suction cups of a vacuum-based gripper, and any particulars described are for the purpose of example only.
Without wishing to be bound by theory, the quality of a grasp between a vacuum-based gripper and an object may be improved if vacuum assemblies that have a good seal between the gripper and the object are provided with more vacuum and vacuum assemblies that have a poor seal between the gripper and the object are provided with less (or no) vacuum. By deactivating (e.g., closing) vacuum assemblies with poor seals, the pressure of the shared vacuum supply may be maintained, thereby preserving higher pressure for the vacuum assemblies with good seals. If vacuum assemblies with poor seals remain activated (e.g., are left open), the pressure of the vacuum supply may decrease. Generally, the pressure of the vacuum supply may decrease more when a greater number of vacuum assemblies with poor seals are activated. Accordingly, deactivating vacuum assemblies with a poor seal may enable a higher vacuum supply pressure.
Accordingly, there may be certain benefits to deactivating (or âclosingâ) vacuum assemblies that are determined to have a poor seal. To grasp an object, a vacuum-based gripper may first bring a desired number of vacuum assemblies into contact with (or near) a surface of the object. The vacuum assemblies may be activated, and some of the vacuum assemblies may form a seal with the surface. The quality of the seal of each vacuum assembly may be investigated, and vacuum assemblies that are determined to have a poor seal (or no seal) may be deactivated.
Although the above grasping strategy may enable high quality grasps in many scenarios, certain limitations may arise in some situations. In the above grasping strategy, once a vacuum assembly is deactivated, it remains deactivated. However, certain transient processes may occur such that a vacuum assembly that might form a poor seal (or no seal) at one point in time may be able to achieve a good seal at a later point in time. For example, when grasping an object with a deformable surface (e.g., cardboard boxes, shrink-wrapped goods), the surface of the object may be altered as the gripper engages with the surface. As another example, when grasping an object with a non-uniform or irregular surface (e.g., a surface that is not flat), some vacuum assemblies may contact a portion of the surface prior to other vacuum assemblies contacting a different portion of the surface. As a further example, a gripper may approach an object (with a flat surface or otherwise) from an angle, such that some vacuum assemblies contact the surface before other vacuum assemblies.
Depending on the relative timescales of various processes (e.g., gripper and/or object inertial dynamics, pressure dynamics within a suction cup, controller settling times, Docket vacuum assembly deactivation times), a vacuum assembly may be deactivated before it is able to achieve a good seal with the surface. As such, vacuum assemblies that may have been able to achieve a good seal with the surface may nevertheless remain deactivated, resulting in a grasp with a smaller number of vacuum assemblies. Engaging an object with a smaller number of vacuum assemblies may produce an overall lower quality grasp and a limited lifting capacity.
In view of the above, the inventors have recognized and appreciated that grasp quality may be improved by sequentially activating and/or deactivating one or more vacuum assemblies of a vacuum-based robotic gripper. Such a process may enable a vacuum assembly that had previously been deactivated (e.g., after having been determined to have made a poor seal) to be reactivated and potentially form a good seal, enhancing the overall grasp quality. As described above, this approach may be particularly well-suited for grasping objects with deformable surfaces. This approach may be appropriate for grasping objects with complicated yet deformable topology, assisting with misaligned grasps, and exerting small forces on objects. The inventors have considered multiple scenarios in which such a grasping strategy may be particularly well-suited, two examples of which are described below. Of course, such a grasping strategy may be widely applicable to numerous scenarios, and the below examples are not to be construed as limiting.
In a first scenario, a vacuum-based gripper may first bring a desired number of vacuum assemblies into contact with (or near) a surface of an object to be grasped, and the vacuum assemblies may be activated. Due to, for example, the geometry of the surface, only some of the vacuum assemblies may form a good seal with the surface. The remaining vacuum assemblies may form a poor seal or no seal, and may be deactivated. However, as the vacuum assemblies with good seals engage the surface, the surface may be deformed (or the entire object may be displaced) in manner that would enable the deactivated vacuum assemblies to achieve a good seal. For example, the surface may be deformed to reduce the distance between the surface and at least some of the deactivated vacuum assemblies. When the deactivated vacuum assemblies are then reactivated, the surface may be altered such that some or all of the reactivated vacuum assemblies may now form a good seal with the surface. Of course, for any of the reactivated vacuum assemblies that do not form a good seal during this second attempt, the process may be repeated. In this way, sequential activation and deactivation of vacuum assemblies may draw a surface of an object to be grasped into the gripper.
In a second scenario, an impedance-controlled vacuum-based gripper may make light contact with a fragile and/or poorly supported object (e.g., a box at the top of a stack of boxes). The vacuum-based gripper may first bring a subset of a desired number of vacuum assemblies into contact with (or near) a surface of an object to be grasped, and the vacuum assemblies may be activated. Using the above-described grasping strategy of sequential activation and deactivation of vacuum assemblies in parallel with an impedance controller, the gripper may be drawn toward a surface of an object to be grasped.
FIGS. 3 A- 3 D illustrate schematic side views of a vacuum-based robotic gripper 300 engaging with an object 310 . The gripper 300 includes a first vacuum assembly 302 a , a second vacuum assembly 302 b , a third vacuum assembly 302 c , a fourth vacuum assembly 302 d , and a fifth vacuum assembly 302 e . The vacuum assemblies may be individually activatable in some embodiments, such that each vacuum assembly may be activated or deactivated independent of any other vacuum assembly. The object 310 includes a surface 312 .
Initially, the surface 312 may be in a configuration such that the vacuum assemblies 302 a - 302 e may not engage with the surface 312 uniformly. As can be seen in FIG. 3 A , the surface 312 is curved such that, if the gripper 300 moves toward the surface 312 , the vacuum assemblies on the sides of the gripper 300 (e.g., vacuum assemblies 302 a and 302 e ) would contact the surface 312 before the vacuum assemblies in the middle of the gripper 300 (e.g., vacuum assemblies 302 b - 302 d ). Of course, it should be appreciated that the particular geometry of the surface 312 of the object 310 depicted in FIGS. 3 A- 3 D is merely an example, and that the grasping strategies described in the present disclosure are not limited to curved surfaces. In some embodiments, they may also cover surfaces with surface imperfections, regular or irregular topological variations, variations in coefficients of friction, multiple surface wrapping materials, etc.
When the vacuum assemblies 302 a - 302 e are activated, the vacuum assemblies that are closer to the surface 312 may seal against the surface 312 , while the vacuum assemblies that are farther from the surface 312 may not seal against the surface 312 . FIG. 3 B depicts the side vacuum assemblies 302 a and 302 e sealing to the surface 312 while the middle vacuum assemblies 302 b - 302 d do not seal to the surface 312 . As such, the middle vacuum assemblies 302 b - 302 d may be deactivated. Importantly, when vacuum assemblies 302 a and 302 e seal to the surface 312 , the surface 312 is deformed. In particular, the surface 312 is deformed such that the distance between the surface 312 and at least one of the deactivated vacuum assemblies is reduced. With the distance between the surface 312 and a vacuum assembly reduced, that vacuum assembly may now be able to form a seal with the surface 312 upon reactivation.
For example, after vacuum assemblies 302 a and 302 e seal to the surface 312 in FIG. 3 B (and the remaining vacuum assemblies 302 b - 302 d are deactivated), the distance between the surface 312 and next farthest-out vacuum assemblies (e.g., vacuum assemblies 302 b and 302 d ) is reduced such that those vacuum assemblies may then seal against the surface 312 when reactivated, as in FIG. 3 C (however, the central vacuum assembly 302 c may still be too far from the surface 312 , and may again be deactivated). Then, after vacuum assemblies 302 b and 302 d seal to the surface 312 in FIG. 3 C , the distance between the surface 312 and last remaining vacuum assembly 302 c is reduced such that the final vacuum assembly 302 c may then seal against the surface 312 when reactivated, as in FIG. 3 D . In this way, alternatingly activating and/or deactivating one or more of the vacuum assemblies 302 a - 302 e may help to engage a greater number of vacuum assemblies with the object 310 , thereby providing a grasp of object 310 over a wider surface area. It should be appreciated that vacuum assemblies may be deactivated passively (e.g., using a flapper valve) or actively (e.g., using a valve controlled based on a sensed pressure level), as the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.
In some embodiments, a vacuum assembly may be deformable. For example, a vacuum assembly may include a bellows structure that allows the vacuum assembly to compress (e.g., along a length of the vacuum bellows, aligned with a direction of suction force). Partially deforming one or more vacuum assemblies of a gripper may advantageously bring other vacuum assemblies closer to (or into contact with) the surface to be grasped. Referring, for example, to FIG. 3 B , after vacuum assemblies 302 a and 302 e seal to the surface 312 , vacuum assemblies 302 a and 302 e may compress along the length. In this way, the surface 312 is drawn toward the remaining vacuum assemblies due in part to the deformation of the surface from the seal of vacuum assemblies 302 a and 302 e , and due in part to the compression of vacuum assemblies 302 a and 302 e . Other grasping scenarios that demonstrate the benefits of compressible vacuum assemblies are described below in reference to FIGS. 6 A- 7 C .
FIG. 4 illustrates a process 400 of controlling a vacuum-based robotic gripper in accordance with some embodiments. In act 410 , a plurality of vacuum assemblies of a robotic gripper are activated. As described above, vacuum assemblies may be activated by supplying vacuum to the vacuum assemblies, such as by opening a valve that couples a suction cup of a vacuum assembly to a vacuum source. Process 400 then proceeds to act 420 where a seal quality is determined for each of the activated vacuum assemblies. In some embodiments, a seal quality may be based on a pressure associated with the vacuum assembly (e.g., as determined by a pressure sensor associated with the vacuum assembly), such as a pressure level being below a threshold level. In some embodiments, a threshold level may be an absolute or gauge pressure. For example, a threshold level may be greater than or equal to 0.2 atmosphere and less than or equal to 0.6 atmosphere, or a threshold level may be greater than or equal to 0.3 atmosphere and less than or equal to 0.5 atmosphere. In some embodiments, a threshold level may be based, at least in part, on a pressure of a vacuum source. For example, a threshold level may be greater than or equal to 20% of a vacuum source pressure and less than or equal to 99% of the vacuum source pressure, or a threshold level may be greater than or equal to 60% of the vacuum source pressure and less than or equal to 98% of the vacuum source pressure. Process 400 then proceeds to act 430 where one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies is deactivated based, at least in part, on the determined seal quality. For example, those vacuum assemblies that were determined to have a poor seal may be deactivated to enable the remaining vacuum assemblies to increase their respective seal quality. It should be appreciated that if all vacuum assemblies were determined in act 420 to have a good seal, no vacuum assemblies may be deactivated in act 430 .
Acts 410 , 420 and 430 may be performed with any suitable relative timing. For instance, in some embodiments, activation of vacuum assemblies in act 410 and subsequent determination of seal quality for each of the activated vacuum assemblies in act 420 is achieved by applying a brief seal detection âpulseâ of (e.g., non-steady state) pressure to each of the vacuum assemblies and measuring the amplitude of the pressure within each of the vacuum assemblies in response to the seal detection pulse. Vacuum assemblies associated with pressures below a threshold level may be determined to have a poor seal and may be deactivated in act 430 , as described above. In other embodiments, activation of vacuum assemblies in act 410 and subsequent determination of seal quality for each of the activated vacuum assemblies in act 420 is achieved by applying a steady state pressure to each of the vacuum assemblies and measuring the steady state pressure within each of the vacuum assemblies after a particular amount of time (e.g., 1 ms, 5, ms, 10 ms, 100 ms, 500 ms,) has elapsed. Vacuum assemblies associated with steady-state pressures below a threshold level may be determined to have a poor seal and may be deactivated in act 430 , as described above.
Process 400 then proceeds to act 440 at which a dwell time is observed. A dwell time may enable certain transient dynamics to settle. For example, a dwell time may provide sufficient time for the surface of an object, portions of a vacuum assembly, other portions of a robot body, or a controller to settle. In some embodiments, a dwell time may be greater than or equal to 5 milliseconds (ms), 10 ms, 25 ms, 50 ms, 100 ms, 250 ms, 500 ms, 1000 ms, or 2500 ms. In some embodiments, a dwell time may be less than or equal to 5000 ms, 2500 ms, 1000 ms, 500 ms, 250 ms, 100 ms, 50 ms, 25 ms, or 10 ms. It should be appreciated that combinations of the above ranges are also contemplated. For example, a dwell time may be greater than or equal to 5 ms and less than or equal to 5000 ms. Alternatively, a dwell time may be greater than or equal to 50 ms and less than or equal to 1000 ms, or greater than or equal to 100 ms and less than or equal to 500 ms. Of course, other dwell times may be appropriate, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.
Process 400 then proceeds to act 450 where it is determined if one or more stop criteria are met. Stop criteria may include a number of deactivated cups being below a threshold number of cups, a number of activated cups being above threshold number of cups, reaching a threshold number of deactivation/reactivation cycles, and/or exceeding a threshold time limit. In some embodiments, an output of a model may be used, at least in part, to determine stop criteria. For instance, the model may take as input one or more variables associated with the gripper and/or the grasped object and/or one or more predetermined values, and may provide as an output a heuristic that may be used as a stop criterion. Examples of such models include, but are not limited to: a model that includes breakaway force and/or moment of the object under different loading conditions, a model that includes information relating to how many and/or which vacuum assemblies of the gripper are activated and/or deactivated, a model that includes the pressure of the vacuum source (e.g., the vacuum source pressure reaching a level below a threshold level), a model that includes object mass, a model that includes object size, a model that includes object shape, or any other suitable model. Of course, other stop criteria may be appropriate, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard. If it is determined that sufficient stop criteria are met, process 400 ends at act 470 . If it is determined that sufficient stop criteria are not met, process 400 then proceeds to act 460 where at least some of the deactivated vacuum assemblies are reactivated. Process 400 then returns to act 420 where a seal quality is determined for each of the activated vacuum assemblies (in some embodiments, a seal quality may only be determined for the reactivated vacuum assemblies).
It should be appreciated that process 400 may proceed through the depicted loop (e.g., from act 420 to act 460 , and back to act 420 ) any suitable number of times until one or more stop criteria are met at act 450 . Additionally, it should be appreciated that with each iteration of the loop, the number of deactivated vacuum assemblies may e
CLAIMS
Claims ( 20 )
1 . A method comprising:
activating a set of vacuum assemblies of a robotic gripper by supplying a vacuum to each vacuum assembly in the set; determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a deformable surface of a first object; deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set based, at least in part, on the one or more first respective seal qualities; and reactivating one or more of the deactivated vacuum assemblies to attempt to seal with the deformable surface.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, for each of the one or more reactivated vacuum assemblies, a second respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly; and deactivating one or more of the reactivated vacuum assemblies in the set based, at least in part, on the one or more second respective seal qualities.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a deformable surface of a first object comprises sensing, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set, a first respective pressure level of the vacuum assembly.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set based, at least in part, on the one or more first respective seal qualities comprises deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set when the one or more first respective sensed pressure levels are below a threshold level.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising repeatedly performing the determining, the deactivating, and the reactivating until a stop criterion is satisfied.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the stop criterion comprises one or more of:
a number of deactivated cups being below a threshold number of cups, reaching a threshold number of deactivation/reactivation cycles, or exceeding a threshold time limit.
7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the stop criterion is based, at least in part, on an output of a model associated with an interaction between the robotic gripper and the deformable surface of the first object.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein
activating the set of vacuum assemblies of the robotic gripper comprises supplying a pulse of vacuum to each vacuum assembly in the set, determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a deformable surface of the first object comprises determining an amplitude of a pressure signal inside a respective activated vacuum assembly in response to application of the pulse of vacuum, and deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the one or more first respective seal qualities comprises deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies when the respective amplitude of the pressure signal inside the respective activated vacuum assembly is below a threshold level.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein
activating the set of vacuum assemblies of the robotic gripper comprises supplying a steady state vacuum to each vacuum assembly in the set, determining, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a deformable surface of the first object comprises determining a steady state pressure signal inside a respective activated vacuum assembly after the steady state vacuum has been supplied to the respective activated vacuum assembly for a particular amount of time, and deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the one or more first respective seal qualities comprises deactivating a respective activated vacuum assembly when the respective steady state pressure inside the respective activated vacuum assembly is below a threshold level.
10 . A mobile robotic device, comprising:
a robotic gripper comprising a set of vacuum assemblies and at least one pressure sensor associated with each vacuum assembly in the set; and at least one computer processor programmed to:
activate each vacuum assembly in the set by supplying a vacuum to the vacuum assembly;
determine, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly with a deformable surface of a first object;
deactivate one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies based, at least in part, on the one or more first respective seal qualities; and
reactivate one or more of the deactivated vacuum assemblies to attempt to seal with the deformable surface.
11 . The mobile robotic device of claim 10 , wherein the at least one computer processor is programmed to determine, for each of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set, a first respective seal quality of the vacuum assembly using a first respective pressure level of the vacuum assembly from a respective pressure sensor of the robotic gripper.
12 . A method of grasping an object, the method comprising:
activating a set of vacuum assemblies of a robotic gripper; sealing at least one of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set with a deformable surface of the object; deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set; reactivating one or more of the deactivated vacuum assemblies to attempt to seal with the deformable surface; and sealing at least one of the one or more reactivated vacuum assemblies with the deformable surface of the object.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set comprises deactivating one or more of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set based, at least in part, on a determined seal quality of the one or more activated vacuum assemblies in the set.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the determined seal quality of the one or more activated vacuum assemblies is based, at least in part on a pressure level of the respective vacuum assembly in the set.
15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein sealing the at least one of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set with the deformable surface of the object deforms the deformable surface.
16 . The method of claim 12 , wherein sealing the at least one of the activated vacuum assemblies in the set with the deformable surface of the object displaces the object.
17 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising repositioning the robotic gripper relative to the object prior to reactivating one or more of the deactivated vacuum assemblies.
18 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising repeatedly performing the deactivating and the reactivating until a stop criterion is satisfied.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the stop criterion comprises one or more of:
a number of deactivated cups being below a threshold number of cups, reaching a threshold number of deactivation/reactivation cycles, or exceeding a threshold time limit.
20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the stop criterion is based, at least in part, on an output of a model associated with an interaction between the robotic gripper and the object.
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