System and method for dynamic virtual collision objects
A system and method of dynamic virtual collision objects includes a control unit for a medical device. The control unit includes one or more processors and an interface coupling the control unit to the medical device. The control unit is configured to determine a position of a first movable segment of the medical device, a volume occupied by the first movable segment being approximated by one or more first virtual collision objects (VCOs); adjust, based on the position and motion goals for the medical device, one or more properties of the first VCOs; determine, based on the position and the properties, first geometries of the first VCOs; receive second geometries of one or more second VCOs associated with a second segment of a second device; determine relationships between the first VCOs and the second VCOs; and adjust, based on the relationships, a motion plan for the medical device.
1. A control unit comprising:
one or more processors; and
an interface for coupling the control unit to a device;
wherein the control unit is configured to use the one or more processors to:
determine a volume occupied by a first movable segment of the device;
adjust, based on a planned motion of at least the first movable segment of the device, a property of one or more first virtual collision objects (VCOs) approximating the volume;
determine, based on the volume and the adjusted property, one or more first geometries of the one or more first VCOs;
determine a relationship between the one or more first geometries and one or more second geometries of one or more second VCOs of a second segment of a second device;
adjust, based on the relationship, the planned motion; and
control the device according to the adjusted planned motion.
2. The control unit of claim 1 , wherein the adjusted planned motion avoids overlapping the one or more first VCOs and the one or more second VCOs.
3. The control unit of claim 1 , wherein the property is selected from a group consisting of:
one or more sizes of the one or more first VCOs,
one or more shapes of the one or more first VCOs,
a number of the one or more first VCOs, and
one or more coefficients of resiliency of the one or more first VCOs.
4. The control unit of claim 1 , wherein:
the property comprises a coefficient of resiliency of at least one of the one or more first VCOs; and
the control unit is further configured to adjust the coefficient of resiliency based on a corresponding first geometry of the at least one of the one or more first VCOs.
5. The control unit of claim 1 , wherein:
the property comprises a coefficient of resiliency of at least one of the one or more first VCOs; and
the control unit is further configured to adjust the coefficient of resiliency based on a direction of motion of the at least one of the one or more first VCOs.
6. The control unit of claim 1 , wherein:
the property comprises a size of at least one of the one or more first VCOs; and
the control unit is further configured to adjust the size of the at least one of the one or more first VCOs based on a velocity or a momentum of the first movable segment.
7. The control unit of claim 1 , wherein:
the property comprises a number of the one or more first VCOs; and
the control unit is further configured to adjust the number of the one or more first VCOs based on a velocity or a momentum of the first movable segment.
8. The control unit of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to increase a size of at least one of the one or more first VCOs so as to induce a stop in the second device.
9. The control unit of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to increase a size of at least one of the one or more first VCOs so as to induce a retreat in the second device.
10. The control unit of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to create a third VCO to:
reserve an operational volume for the device; or
create a protected region in a workspace reachable by the device.
11. The control unit of claim 1 wherein the control unit is configured to determine the relationship by determining a distance between at least one of the one or more first VCOs and at least one of the one or more second VCOs.
12. A method comprising:
determining, by a control unit, a volume occupied by a first movable segment of a device;
adjusting, by the control unit and based on a planned motion of at least the first movable segment of the device, a property of one or more first virtual collision objects (VCOs);
determining, by the control unit and based on the volume and the property, one or more first geometries of the one or more first VCOs;
determining, by the control unit, a relationship between the one or more first geometries and one or more second geometries of one or more second VCOs of a second segment of a second device;
adjusting, by the control unit and based on the relationship, the planned motion; and
controlling, by the control unit, the device according to the adjusted planned motion.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the property is selected from a group consisting of:
one or more sizes of the one or more first VCOs,
one or more shapes of the one or more first VCOs,
a number of the one or more first VCOs, and
one or more coefficients of resiliency of the one or more first VCOs.
14. The method of claim 12 , wherein adjusting the property comprises adjusting a coefficient of resiliency for at least one of the one or more first VCOs based on a corresponding first geometry or a direction of motion of the at least one of the one or more first VCOs.
15. The method of claim 12 , wherein adjusting the property comprises adjusting a size of at least one of the one or more first VCOs or a number of the one or more first VCOs based on a velocity or a momentum of the first movable segment.
16. The method of claim 12 , wherein adjusting the property comprises increasing a size of at least one of the one or more first VCOs so as to induce a stop or a retreat in the second device.
17. The method of claim 12 , further comprising creating a third VCO to:
reserve an operational volume for the device; or
create a protected region in a workspace reachable by the device.
18. One or more non-transitory machine-readable media comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors associated with a device, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of:
determining a volume occupied by a first movable segment of the device;
adjusting, based on a planned motion of at least the first movable segment of the device, a property of one or more first virtual collision objects (VCOs);
determining, based on the volume and the property, one or more first geometries of the one or more first VCOs;
determining a relationship between the one or more first geometries and one or more second geometries of one or more second VCOs of a second segment of a second device;
adjusting, based on the relationship, the planned motion; and
controlling the device according to the adjusted planned motion.
19. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 18 , wherein adjusting the property comprises adjusting, based on a velocity or a momentum of the first movable segment, a size of at least one of the one or more first VCOs or a number of the one or more first VCOs.
20. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 18 , wherein the steps further comprise creating a third VCO to:
reserve an operational volume for the device; or
create a protected region in a workspace reachable by the device.