Robotic manipulators for collaborative and independent tasks

1 . A method, comprising:

grasping, by a first robotic arm mounted to a first linear rail, a first object at a first initial location;

moving the first robotic arm along the first linear rail from the first initial location to a container positioned between the first linear rail and a second linear rail;

releasing, by the first robotic arm, the first object into the container;

grasping, by a second robotic arm mounted to the second linear rail, a second object at a second initial location;

moving the second robotic arm along the second linear rail from the second initial location to the container;

releasing, by the second robotic arm, the second object into the container;

grasping, by the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm, a third object at a third initial location, wherein the third object has a third weight that is larger than each of a first weight of the first object and a second weight of the second object, wherein the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm grasp the third object by at least being controlled by a controller, wherein the controller is configured to access, from a data store, object information associated with the third object based at least in part on identifying, from image data representing the third object, an object identifier for the third object, wherein the controller is further configured to control the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm to collaboratively grasp and move the third object based at least in part on the object information;

moving, collaboratively and by at least being controlled by the controller, the first robotic arm along the first linear rail to the container and the second robotic arm along the second linear rail to the container; and

releasing, by the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm, the third object into the container.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first robotic arm includes a first suction tool and the second robotic arm includes a second suction tool, wherein the first object is grasped and moved by the first suction tool of the first robotic arm at a same time that the second object is grasped and moved by the second suction tool of the second robotic arm, and wherein the third object is grasped and moved by the first suction tool and the second suction tool at a same time.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the controller of the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm, that the third weight of the third object exceeds a predefined weight threshold; and

causing, by the controller, the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm to grasp, at a same time, the third object in response to determining that the third weight of the third object is above the predefined weight threshold.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the controller of the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm, that the third object is to be grasped by the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm based at least in part on a dimension of the third object or a shape of the third object; and

causing, by the controller, the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm to grasp, at a same time, the third object in response to determining that the third object is to be grasped by the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm.

5 . A robotic system comprising:

a set of linear rails;

a first robotic manipulator mechanically coupled to a first linear rail of the set of linear rails and configured to move, along the first linear rail, a first object between first locations;

a second robotic manipulator mechanically coupled to a second linear rail of the set of linear rails and configured to move, along the second linear rail, a second object between second locations, the second linear rail being the same or different from the first linear rail,

wherein the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator are configured to collaboratively move, along the first linear rail and the second linear rail, a third object between third locations;

an optical sensor configured to capture image data representing the third object; and

a controller configured to:

access, from a data store, object information associated with the third object by at least identifying, based on the image data from the optical sensor, an object identifier for the third object; and

cause the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator to collaboratively move the third object between the third locations based at least in part on the object information.

6 . The robotic system of claim 5 , wherein the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator are configured to collaboratively handle the third object at a source location prior to collaboratively moving the third object between third locations.

7 . The robotic system of claim 5 , wherein the controller is further configured to control the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator such that the first robotic manipulator moves the first object independently of the second robotic manipulator, the second robotic manipulator moves the second object independently of the first robotic manipulator, or the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator collaboratively move the third object.

8 . The robotic system of claim 7 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

access, based at least in part on the object identifier and from the data store, the object information associated with the third object and indicating at least one of a weight, a dimension, or a shape of the third object;

access, based at least in part on the object identifier and from the data store, location information indicating a source location and a destination location; and

cause, based at least in part on the object information, the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator to move to the source location, collaboratively handle the third object at the source location, and collaboratively move the third object from the source location to the destination location.

9 . The robotic system of claim 8 , wherein the controller is further configured to cause the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator to collaboratively handle the third object at the source location and collaboratively move the third object between third locations based at least in part on determining that the dimension or the weight of the third object exceeds a predefined threshold.

10 . The robotic system of claim 7 , wherein the controller is further configured to cause the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator to collaboratively move the third object between third locations by at least generating a first sequence of movements for the first robotic manipulator and a second sequence of movements for the second robotic manipulator that are usable to collaboratively move the third object between the third locations.

11 . The robotic system of claim 8 , wherein the controller is further configured to cause the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator to collaboratively move the third object between the third locations by at least:

determining a label classifying the third object, the label generated using a machine learning model based at least in part on one or more of the object information, the location information, sensor data, or image data representing the third object.

12 . The robotic system of claim 5 , wherein the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator are configured to collaboratively move the third object between third locations by the first robotic manipulator applying a first force to the third object and the second robotic manipulator applying a second force to the third object.

13 . The robotic system of claim 5 , further comprising:

a first sensor coupled to a first actuator of the first robotic manipulator, the first sensor configured to detect first data for the first actuator and transmit the first data to the controller of the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator; and

a second sensor coupled to a second actuator of the second robotic manipulator, the second sensor configured to detect second data for the second actuator and transmit the second data to the controller.

14 . The robotic system of claim 13 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator to collaboratively move the third object between third positions by at least:

receiving the first data and the second data;

determining, based at least in part on the first data and the second data, that a first movement in a sequence of movements for the first robotic manipulator and the second robotic manipulator has been successfully performed; and

causing the first robotic manipulator or the second robotic manipulator to perform a second movement in the sequence of movements in response to determining that the first movement has been successfully performed.

15 . The robotic system of claim 5 , wherein the first robotic manipulator or the second robotic manipulator have four degrees of freedom of movement.

16 . The robotic system of claim 5 , wherein the object information comprises a type of item that is associated with a collaborative transfer operation.

17 . A robotic manipulator, comprising:

a first end mechanically coupled to a first linear rail of a set of linear rails;

an actuator coupled to the first end and configured to move the robotic manipulator along the first linear rail; and

a second end configured to move a first object between first locations, wherein the second end is further configured to move a second object between second locations in collaboration with another robotic manipulator mechanically coupled to and movable along a second linear rail of the set of linear rails, the second linear rail being the same or different from the first linear rail,

wherein the robotic manipulator and the other robotic manipulator are configured to be controlled to collaboratively move the second object by a controller, and wherein the controller is configured to:

access, from a data store, object information associated with the second object by at least identifying, from image data representing the second object received from an optical sensor, an object identifier for the second object; and

cause the robotic manipulator and the other robotic manipulator to collaboratively move the second object between second locations based at least in part on the object information.

18 . The robotic manipulator of claim 17 , wherein the second end further comprises a first suction tool configured to couple to the first object or the second object, and wherein the other robotic manipulator further comprises a second suction tool configured to couple to the second object.

19 . The robotic manipulator of claim 17 , further comprising:

an arm comprising the first end and the second end, wherein the actuator is configured to move the arm along the first linear rail in a first direction, and wherein the arm further comprises:

a first joint configured to rotate the arm in a first rotational direction;

a second joint configured to rotate the arm in a second rotational direction that is different than the first rotational direction; and

a third joint configured to extend the arm in a second direction that is different than the first direction.

20 . The robotic manipulator of claim 17 , wherein the controller is further configured to receive sensor data from one or more sensors coupled to the robotic manipulator and to adjust a sequence of movements for collaboratively moving the second object between second locations based at least in part on the sensor data.