Sensors for touch-free control of surgical robotic systems

1. A surgical robotic system comprising:

a surgical robotic arm having a plurality of robotic arm links and a plurality of j oints operable to move according to multiple degrees of freedom;

a proximity sensor coupled to the surgical robotic arm, the proximity sensor comprising a plurality of sensing pads, at least one of the sensing pads of the plurality of sensing pads having a triangular shape, and the plurality of sensing pads are operable to detect a movement of a nearby controlling object prior to contact with the surgical robotic arm; and

a processor configured to determine a desired position of the surgical robotic arm based on the detected movement of the nearby controlling object and drive a movement of more than one of the plurality of robotic arm links or the plurality of j oints to achieve the desired position of the surgical robotic arm.

2. The surgical robotic system of claim 1 wherein the movement detected by the proximity sensor comprises a linear movement in a direction parallel to a z-axis, an x-axis or a y-axis or a rotational movement about the z-axis, the x-axis or the y-axis.

3. The surgical robotic system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of sensing pads are capacitive sensing pads printed on a surface of the surgical robotic arm.

4. The surgical robotic system of claim 1 wherein the processor is operable to control the movement of at least one of the plurality of robotic arm links or the plurality of j oints in parallel to the detected movement of the controlling object and maintain a same distance from the controlling object.

5. The surgical robotic system of claim 1 wherein the processor is operable to cause the plurality of robotic arm links or the plurality of j oints to follow a predetermined trajectory to achieve the desired position of the surgical robotic arm.

6. The surgical robotic system of claim 5 wherein the processor causes more than one of the plurality of j oints to be actuated simultaneously and at varying speeds when following the predetermined trajectory.

7. The surgical robotic system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further operable to determine a position and degree of freedom of more than one of the plurality of joints and a length of the plurality of links when driving the plurality of robotic arm links or the plurality of joints to follow the movement of the controlling object.

8. A control system for a surgical robotic arm, the control system comprising:

a sensor coupled to a surgical robotic arm and comprising a plurality of sensing pads arranged to form a circular sensing region and operable to detect a linear movement or an angular movement of a nearby controlling object prior to contact with a plurality of robotic arm links or a plurality of j oints of the surgical robotic arm; and

a processor configured to determine a desired position of the surgical robotic arm based on the detected movement of the nearby controlling object and drive a movement of more than one of the plurality of robotic arm links or the plurality of j oints to achieve the desired position of the surgical robotic arm.

9. The control system of claim 8 wherein the linear movement is in a direction parallel to a z-axis, an x-axis and a y-axis and the angular movement is a rotational movement about the z-axis, the x-axis or the y-axis.

10. The control system of claim 8 wherein the sensor comprises a proximity sensor operable to sense a movement of the nearby controlling object according to at least five degrees of freedom.

11. The control system of claim 8 wherein the sensor is printed on a cosmetic panel of the surgical robotic arm that faces away from a surgical table.

12. The control system of claim 11 wherein the plurality of sensing pads are printed onto the cosmetic panel of the surgical robotic arm.

13. The control system of claim 8 wherein the plurality of sensing pads comprise a first set of capacitive lines and a second set of capacitive lines printed in a grid pattern on the surgical robotic arm, wherein the first set of capacitive lines and the second set of capacitive lines are operable to detect a linear movement of the object.

14. The control system of claim 8 wherein the plurality of sensing pads comprise a first sensing pad, a second sensing pad and a third sensing pad each having a triangular shape arranged to form the circular sensing region such that they are operable to detect the linear movement or the angular movement of a nearby controlling object prior to contact with the surgical robotic arm.

15. A method for touch-free control of a surgical robotic arm based on proximity sensing, the method comprising:

receiving at least one sensor signal generated by a proximity sensor comprising a conductive material printed directly onto a surface of a surgical robotic arm, the at least one sensor signal corresponding to a movement of a nearby controlling object prior to contact with the surgical robotic arm, and the surgical robotic arm comprising a plurality of robotic arm links and a plurality of joints operable to move according to multiple degrees of freedom;

determining a desired position of the surgical robotic arm based on a detected movement of the nearby controlling object; and

controlling a movement of more than one of the plurality of robotic arm links or the plurality of joints to achieve the desired position of the surgical robotic arm.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the movement detected by the proximity sensor is a linear movement of the nearby controlling object or an angular movement of the nearby controlling object, and the one or more of the plurality of robotic arm links or the plurality of joints of the surgical robotic arm are caused to move in parallel to the linear movement or the angular movement.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the proximity sensor comprises a plurality of capacitive pads, and a linear movement and an angular movement are detected based on a change in capacitance at one or more of the plurality of capacitive pads.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein controlling the movement of the more than one of the plurality of robotic arm links comprises moving the plurality of robotic arm links according to a predetermined trajectory to achieve the desired position of the surgical robotic arm.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein controlling the movement of the more than one of the plurality of joints comprises moving the plurality of joints according to a predetermined trajectory to achieve the desired position of the surgical robotic arm.

20. The method of claim 15 further comprising determining a position and a degree of freedom of more than one of the plurality of joints and a length of the plurality of links when controlling the movement of more than one of the plurality of robotic arm links or the plurality of joints to achieve the desired position of the surgical robotic arm.