METHODS AND DEVICES FOR DETERMINING A TEACHING POINT LOCATION USING PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS
Certain embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to devices and methods for using pressure measurements to teach a robot a teaching point location. In certain embodiments, a method includes measuring pressure at multiple points across a target. A location of a robot teaching point is determined based on the measured pressure.
1 . A method comprising:
providing a target feature;
measuring pressure at multiple points spanning an area of interest that includes a target feature;
creating a pressure profile based on the measured pressure; and
based on the measured pressure, determining a location of a robot teaching point for use during automated assembly.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the measured pressure is a vacuum pressure.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the target is a void in a surface
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the target is a boss protruding from a surface.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
picking and/or placing a component at the robot teaching point location.
6 . A system comprising:
a vacuum generator;
an end-effector having a vacuum port in fluid communication with the vacuum generator;
a sensor that measures a vacuum level within the system at multiple points near a target; and
a controller that determines a location of a robot teaching point based on the measured vacuum levels.
7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the end-effector is a vacuum gripper.
8 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the end-effector is a screwdriver with an opening in fluid communication with the vacuum generator.
9 . The system of claim 6 , further comprising a controller memory that stores the measured vacuum levels.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the controller generates a vacuum level profile of the measured vacuum levels.
11 . A method comprising:
measuring pressure at multiple points across a target; and
determining a location of a robot teaching point based on the measured pressure.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the measured pressure is a vacuum pressure.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
generating a profile of the measured pressure.
14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
calculating a moving average of the measured pressure;
calculating a slope of the moving average; and
determining the robot teaching point by calculating a midpoint between positions of maximum and minimum slope of the moving average.
15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the measuring step and the determining step is used for determining the target position in a first direction, and repeating the measuring step and the determining step for determining the target position in a second direction.
16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the robot teaching point represents a pick or place location.
17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the target is a void in a surface.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the generated profile comprises lower vacuum pressure measurements over the void and higher vacuum pressure measurements over the surface.
19 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the target is a boss protruding from a surface.
20 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the method is performed without contacting a workpiece surface.