BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

Automated manufacturing processes may involve the use of one or more robotic devices that may be used to construct an output product, such as a car, a wall, a piece of furniture, or any number of other physical fabrications. The robotic devices may be equipped with end-effector-mounted tools, such as a gripper or a drill, that may be used during a construction process. The robotic devices may be programmed with sequences of specific motion commands and commands for other operations in order to cause the robotic devices to complete a manufacturing process.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides methods and apparatuses that allow for runtime control of robotic devices during a building process. In particular, one or more robot actors may be configured to execute sequences of robot operations, which may include robot movements and tool actions involving the use of one or more physical tools. During the building process, a digital interface may be displayed on a mobile computing device. The digital interface may contain robot parameters describing the robot actors and tool parameters describing operating characteristics of the physical tools. A user may cause the computing device to send an interrupt signal by interacting with the digital interface (e.g., by providing touch input to a touch-based interface). Based on the interrupt signal, operation of the robot actors may be controlled or adjusted during the construction process. For instance, the user may override a parameter or otherwise adjust a different aspect of the sequences of robot operations.

In one example, a method is provided that includes determining at least one sequence of robot operations corresponding to at least one robot actor, where the robot operations include a plurality of robot movements and at least one tool action, where a tool action includes a manipulation of at least one physical tool by at least one robot actor. The method may further include causing the at least one robot actor to execute a portion of the at least one sequence of robot operations during a first time period. The method may also include receiving an interrupt signal from a mobile computing device indicating a modification to the at least one sequence of robot operations, where the mobile computing device is configured to display a digital interface during the first time period, where the digital interface includes one or more robot parameters describing the at least one robot actor and further comprises one or more tool parameters describing operating characteristics of the at least one physical tool. The method may additionally include causing the at least one robot actor to execute a portion of the at least one modified sequence of robot operations during a second time period.

In a further example, a mobile computing device including a display screen and a control system is disclosed. The control system may be configured to receive one or more robot parameters describing at least one robot actor during a first time period, where the at least one robot actor is configured to execute at least one corresponding sequence of robot operations during the first time period, where the robot operations include a plurality of robot movements and at least one tool action, where a tool action includes a manipulation of at least one physical tool by at least one robot actor. The control system may be further configured to receive one or more tool parameters describing operating characteristics of the at least one physical tool during the first time period. The control system may also be configured to cause a digital interface to be displayed on the display screen during the first time period, where the digital interface includes the one or more robot parameters and the one or more tool parameters. The control system may additionally be configured to receive a touch input on the display screen indicating a modification to the at least one sequence of robot operations. The control system may also be configured to provide instructions to cause the at least one robot actor to execute a portion of the at least one modified sequence of robot operations during a second time period.

In another example, a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein instructions, that when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform functions is disclosed. The functions may include determining at least one sequence of robot operations corresponding to at least one robot actor, where the robot operations include a plurality of robot movements and at least one tool action, where a tool action includes a manipulation of at least one physical tool by at least one robot actor. The functions may further include causing the at least one robot actor to execute a portion of the at least one sequence of robot operations during a first time period. The functions may also include receiving an interrupt signal from a mobile computing device indicating a modification to the at least one sequence of robot operations, where the mobile computing device is configured to display a digital interface during the first time period, where the digital interface includes one or more robot parameters describing the at least one robot actor and further comprises one or more tool parameters describing operating characteristics of the at least one physical tool. The functions may additionally include causing the at least one robot actor to execute a portion of the at least one modified sequence of robot operations during a second time period.

In yet another example, a system may include means for determining at least one sequence of robot operations corresponding to at least one robot actor, where the robot operations include a plurality of robot movements and at least one tool action, where a tool action includes a manipulation of at least one physical tool by at least one robot actor. The system may further include means for causing the at least one robot actor to execute a portion of the at least one sequence of robot operations during a first time period. The system may also include means for receiving an interrupt signal from a mobile computing device indicating a modification to the at least one sequence of robot operations, where the mobile computing device is configured to display a digital interface during the first time period, where the digital interface includes one or more robot parameters describing the at least one robot actor and further comprises one or more tool parameters describing operating characteristics of the at least one physical tool. The system may additionally include means for causing the at least one robot actor to execute a portion of the at least one modified sequence of robot operations during a second time period.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the figures and the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

