Patent ID: 11872702
Assignee: THE CHARLES STARK DRAPER LABORATORY, INC.
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC A  B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 0:
1. A method for controlling a robot for object avoidance, the method comprising:
detecting a type and a six degree-of-freedom (6DOF) pose of an object based on a camera image of the object, wherein the 6DOF pose includes an x-position, y-position, z-position, roll, pitch, and yaw of the object and the 6DOF pose is represented in a reference frame of the image;
predicting motion of the object based on: the detected type of the object, the detected 6DOF pose of the object, and a physics-based dynamics model of the object, the predicting motion comprising:
selecting equations to include in the physics-based dynamics model of the object from a set of plausible models by matching the detected type of the object to an element in a library of models;
determining velocity and acceleration simulation inputs by differentiating successive 6DOF poses of the object, the successive 6DOF poses of the object including the detected 6DOF pose; and
performing a simulation using both: (i) the physics-based dynamics model of the object, including the selected equations, with the determined velocity and acceleration simulation inputs and (ii) a recursive Bayesian estimator configured to employ the physics-based dynamics model of the object, including the selected equations, as a system model to update the recursive Bayesian estimator, the performing the simulation providing the predicted motion of the object; and

generating a motion plan for a robot that avoids having the robot collide with the object by:
determining a transformation between the reference frame of the image and a reference frame of the robot, the determined transformation between the reference frame of the image and the reference frame of the robot enabling conversion from locations in the image to locations in relation to the robot;
determining a time varying model of the object based on the predicted motion of the object; and
generating the motion plan based on: (i) the predicted motion of the object, (ii) the determined transformation between the reference frame of the image and the reference frame of the robot, (iii) dynamic limits of the robot, and (iv) the determined time varying model of the object, wherein the generated motion plan accommodates motion of the object as it is predicted to occur in time and varies execution rate of the robot.