SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DESIGNING ROBOT MECHANISMS WITH FLEXIBLE LINKS

Number: 20240227173
Published: 2024-07-11
Filed: 2023-01-05
Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Inventors: Bächer; Moritz Niklaus et al.
CPC: B25J9/106; B25J9/1605; G05B19/418; G06F30/20
Verdict: High Notable software
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

Robot-mechanism design tool with flexible links (Bächer).

Abstract

An automated design method, and corresponding computer system for implementing such a method and robot mechanism with an optimized flexible link, that is configured to optimize a desired load-displacement behavior of planar flexible-link mechanisms at expected points of interaction. To implement the new design method, a subset of rigid links of an existing rigid-link robot mechanism are replaced with flexible links, optimizing their rest configurations. The efficacy of the design approach has been proven with two fabricated prototypes of robot mechanisms, with one being adapted for grasping tasks and one being adapted for locomotion tasks.

Background

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Description

The present description relates, in general, to design of link-based robot mechanisms with desired load displacement profiles, and, more particularly, to a system (and associated methods and robots made using such systems and methods) configured for optimally designing flexible-link robot mechanisms having desired load displacement profiles. 2. Relevant Background

In conventional robot design, robot mechanisms are designed with rigid links, which allows for a relatively simple control strategy for the robot mechanism. In contrast, compliant mechanisms have the potential to allow robots to be built that can locomote in varied and uncertain terrain or that can include manipulators that can pick up objects of differing shape, weight, or mechanical properties using a single, simple control strategy. In other words, a compliant robot mechanism would have the ability to work throughout a range of, for example, displacements or gripper movements whereas rigid-link mechanisms typically will fail in such applications. To date, however, it remains challenging to design mechanisms that have a desired embodied intelligence, meaning that the right amount of compliance is introduced so that a fixed control strategy remains functional for a user-specified range of interaction-induced forces or displacements.

In compliant mechanism design, a differentiation can be made between mechanisms that are fully compliant and mechanisms that

Claims

1. A method for optimizing a design of a robot mechanism including rigid and flexible links, comprising: with a computing device, receiving user input including a definition of a robot mechanism with a plurality of rigid links, one or more joints coupling the rigid links, and one or more actuators for driving movement of the rigid links, wherein the user input further includes a selection of one or more of the rigid links for replacement with flexible links; with a simulator running on the computing device, simulating operation of the robot mechanism with the flexible link; and with an optimizer running on the computing device, comparing the simulated operation of the robot mechanism to user-defined operations of the robot mechanism; based on the comparing, modifying the shape of the flexible links; and optimizing the shape of the flexible links by repeating the simulating and the comparing steps. || 1. || 12. A method for optimizing a design of a robot mechanism including rigid and flexible links, comprising: with a computing device, accessing user input including a definition of a robot mechanism with a plurality of rigid links, wherein the user input further includes a selection of one or more of the rigid links for replacement with flexible links and load-displacement samples for one or more points of interest on the robot mechanism; with a simulator running on a computing device, simulating operation of the robot mechanism with the flexible links; and with an optimizer running on the computing device, comparing the simulated operation of the robot mechanism to the load-displacement samples of the robot mechanism; and based on the comparing, modifying the shape of the flexible links with the optimizer, wherein the shape is the rest configuration of the flexible links. || 19. A system for designing a robot mechanism with rigid links and at least one compliant link, comprising: memory storing user input including a definition of a robot mechanism with a plurality of rigid links, one or more joints coupling the rigid links, and one or more actuators for driving movement of the rigid links, wherein the user input further includes a selection of one or more of the rigid links for replacement with flexible links; a simulator provided by a processor executing code or instructions and configured to simulate operation of the robot mechanism with the flexible links; and an optimizer provided by a processor executing code or instructions and configured to compare the simulated operation of the robot mechanism to user-defined operations of the robot mechanism and to modify an at-rest configuration of the flexible links.