Method for operating a computer-based inventory of hardware modules of a robotic system

Abstract

A method for supporting designing and operation of a robotic system includes operating a computer-based Inventory configured to operate in a robotic system having Hardware Modules to perform a task, the Inventory including Hardware Module Descriptions including a unique identifier, a description of physical characteristics, a current status and historical data the Hardware Module. The method including the steps ofcollecting status data of the Hardware Module;collecting operating data representing usage of the Hardware Module and updating the historical data accordingly;and at least one of the steps ofscheduling maintenance actions to be performed on the Hardware Module (3);deriving or modifying, based on the operating data, historical data that is associated with a type of the Hardware Module.

1 . A method for supporting designing and operation of a robotic system, the method comprising operating a computer-based Inventory configured to operate as a part of or in co-operation with a computer-based system for controlling the operation of a robotic system, the robotic system comprising one or more Hardware Modules to perform a task, the Inventory comprising a plurality of Hardware Module Descriptions, each Hardware Module Description comprising
 a unique identifier of the Hardware Module;   a description of physical characteristics of the Hardware Module;   a description of a current status of the Hardware Module;   historical data describing usage of the Hardware Module;   the method comprising the steps of   collecting status data representing the current status of the Hardware Module and updating the description of the current status accordingly;   collecting operating data representing usage of the Hardware Module and updating the historical data accordingly;   and at least one of the steps of   scheduling maintenance actions to be performed on the Hardware Module;   deriving or modifying, based on the operating data, historical data that is associated with a type of the Hardware Module.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the Inventory comprises process definitions, wherein each process definition is associated with a task and specifies one or more actions and/or subtasks that when executed accomplish the task, and for each action, Hardware Modules and/or Software Modules required for executing the action. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the Inventory comprises descriptions of robotic assemblies, wherein a robotic assembly is a configuration of manipulator modules and the description of a robotic assembly comprises a description of the configuration. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the description of physical characteristics of the Hardware Module comprises one or more of mechanical, electrical and component parameters including at least one of:
 geometrical dimensions;   weight;   type of actuator;   force or torque generated by an actuator;   speed of movement of an actuator;   type of sensor;   resolution of sensor;   accuracy of sensor;   and tolerance ranges for such parameters.   
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the description of a current status of the Hardware Module comprises one or more of:
 an internal state of the Hardware Module;   a list of other Hardware Modules that the Hardware Module is physically connected to;   parameters of such a connection;   a list of Software Modules currently installed on the Hardware Module;   the geographical location of the Hardware Module;   a list of other Hardware Modules that the Hardware Module is configured to communicate or cooperate with;   a list of Software Modules that the Hardware Module is configured to communicate with or that the Hardware Module is associated with.   
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the operating data and the historical data representing usage of the Hardware Module comprise one or more of:
 total time of operation;   logged values of operating data;   statistical values of operating data;   number of cycles performed;   types of malfunctions;   time and/or cost for eliminating malfunctions;   downtime caused by malfunctions;   how a particular malfunction was eliminated;   statistical and other values derived from other historical data;   a log of maintenance actions.   
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the Hardware Module Description comprises a description of a communication interface of the Hardware Module. 
     
     
         8 . A method comprising the steps for designing a robotic system:
 providing an Inventory with a plurality of Hardware Module Descriptions;   providing a set of performance requirements for the robotic system;   automatically determining, based on their physical characteristics, a set of Hardware Modules and their physical configuration in the robotic system such that the robotic system satisfies the performance requirements.   
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the step of automatically determining the set of Hardware Modules comprises the further steps of
 retrieving, from the performance requirements, at least one target task to be performed by the robotic system;   retrieving, from the Inventory, a process definition that matches the target task;   and either determining, based on the process definition, a set of Hardware Modules and/or Software Modules that are associated with the process definition and are able to accomplish the target task by performing actions specified by the process definition;   or determining, based on the process definition, a set of target subtasks corresponding to the target task, and recursively repeating, for each target subtask, the steps of retrieving a matching process definition and determining associated Hardware Modules and/or Software Modules or determining subtasks.   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 8 , further comprising the step of, after determining the set of Hardware Modules,
 determining a refined set of Hardware Modules and Software Modules by comparing the compatibility of Hardware Modules with other Hardware Modules, and the compatibility of Hardware Modules with Software Modules, and generating a list of compatible combinations of Hardware Modules and Software Modules.   
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10 , further comprising the step of
 determining a set of compatibilisers, said compatibilisers being Hardware Modules or Software Modules that enable the compatibility of Hardware Modules and/or Software Modules of the refined set that are not directly compatible.   
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 8 , further comprising the step of, after determining the set of Hardware Modules, determining separate subsets of concrete Hardware Modules, with at least a first subset comprising concrete Hardware Modules that are available at a first geographical location, and at least a second subset comprising concrete Hardware Modules that are available at other geographical locations. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 8 , further, comprising the step of updating, in the Inventory, a current status of the concrete Hardware Modules of at least the second subset in the Inventory to reflect the fact that the concrete Hardware Modules are installed and operated as part of the robotic system having been designed, and updating historical data collected in the Inventory in accordance with operating data from these concrete Hardware Modules. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein one or more of the set of Hardware Modules are predetermined as being of a particular Hardware Module type and/or as being a particular concrete Hardware Module. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein
 the step of automatically determining, a set of Hardware Modules   comprises the steps of
 retrieving, from the Inventory, historical data that is associated with a Hardware Module Type; 
 determining the set of Hardware Modules according to this historical data. 
   
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein
 the step of automatically determining, a set of Hardware Modules comprises the steps of
 retrieving, from the Inventory, historical data that is associated with a concrete Hardware Module; 
 determining the set of Hardware Modules according to this historical data. 
   
     
     
         17 . The method of one according to  claim 9 , wherein the step of
 determining, based on the process definition, a set of Hardware Modules and/or Software Modules that are associated with the process definition   comprises the steps of
 retrieving, from the process definition, performance criteria that need to be satisfied by Hardware Modules and/or Software Modules that are associated with the process definition and are able to accomplish the target task, wherein each one of the performance criteria is associated with one of at least two performance classes, a higher performance class and a lower performance class; 
 selecting a set of Hardware Modules and/or Software Modules that satisfy the performance criteria of the higher performance class and the lower performance class; 
 if this set is empty, performing at least one of the steps of 
 indicating this to a user, and accepting input from the user to relax performance criteria of the lower performance class; 
 automatically relaxing one or more performance criteria of the lower performance class until the set is no longer empty. 
   
     
     
         18 . A method for operating a robotic system, wherein the robotic system comprises a given set of concrete Hardware Modules and Software Modules, and wherein the location of the Hardware Modules in space is known,
 the method comprising the steps for planning operation of the robotic system by
 maintaining a computational model of the robotic system; 
 inputting a target task, the target task comprising an entry status and an output status of a product that is to be manufactured by the robotic system; 
 retrieving a process definition that specifies subtasks for accomplishing the task, wherein each subtask either:
 specifies actions, an action being associated with required Hardware Modules and/or Software Modules that are able to accomplish the subtask; or 
 is split up by specifying further subtasks that are recursively split up into yet further subtasks and finally into actions; 
 
   determining concrete Hardware Modules and Software Modules of the robotic system that match the required Hardware Modules and/or Software Modules;   performing the actions with the concrete Hardware Modules and Software Modules, with mutual dependencies of the actions resulting from the recursive splitting up of the task into subtasks and actions.   
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 18 , further comprising the steps of
 while performing the actions with the concrete Hardware Modules and Software Modules, determining a current status of products;   performing the steps for planning operation of the robotic system, thereby using the current status of products as the entry status.   
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 18 , further comprising the steps of
 while performing the actions with the concrete Hardware Modules and Software Modules, determining a current status of Hardware Modules;   performing the steps for planning operation of the robotic system, taking into account the current status of Hardware Modules, thereby allocating Hardware Modules to actions as production progresses, flexibly adapting the allocation to the evolving production process.