KR20190134731A - Magnetic coupling and testing of robotic systems - Google Patents

Abstract

The calibration device of the robot arm with the end effector of the robot includes a body, a receiving surface, a mounting member, and a magnetic coupler having a magnetic portion. The mounting member is configured to be fixedly connected to the end effector of the robot arm. A mechanical digitizer probe with a ball and handle is provided, the ball being fixedly attached to the remote end of the handle and the ball detachably coupled to the magnetic coupler via a magnetic portion on the receiving surface to form a rotatable ball and socket connection, The proximal end is configured to be attached to a mechanical digitizer associated with the robot. The test method of the robot arm of the robot is also described.

Description

Magnetic coupling and testing of robotic systems

Related Applications

This application is directed to US Provisional Application No. 62 / 639,703, filed March 7, 2018; Claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 489,070, filed April 24, 2017; The contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Field of invention

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to the field of computer-assisted orthopedic surgery, and more particularly to methods of testing and diagnosing one or more components of a system and a robotic system.

Autonomous computer-aided surgical systems generally include a robotic arm attached to a base. The robot arm performs a set of instructions that are generated pre-operatively or intra-operatively to aid the user in performing a particular medical procedure. do. One such system is the ROBODOC ™ surgical system (ROBODOC ™), which assists the user in the precise milling of the cavity of the femur to accommodate the implant in total hip arthroplasty (THA). Surgical System) (THINK Surgical, Fremont, CA). As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B of the prior art, ROBODOC ™ surgical system 100 comprises approximately a robotic base 140, a robotic arm 150 having various links and joints, An end effector flange 170, a mechanical digitizer 120, and a robotic computing system 160. The end effector flange 170 is configured to be located on a remote link of the robot arm 150 to attach one or more other end effectors 180 to the robot arm 150. The system 100 further includes two bone motion monitors 145a and 145b (BMMs) located at both sides of the system 100 and connected to the bone to monitor bone movement during surgery. The mechanical digitizer 120 is detachably mounted on the base 140 such that the digitizer 120 is positioned and oriented (POSE), coordinate transformations and surgery as described in US Pat. No. 6,033,415. The plan is calibrated against the robot arm 150 to collect points on the bone and to register the robot arm 150 during surgery.

In order to verify that the cavity of the bone has been created correctly, both the robot arm 150, the mechanical digitizer 120 and the tools must be within tight operating parameters. In general, robot arm 150 and mechanical digitizer 120 are calibrated by the manufacturer when first installed at a customer site. Kinematic parameters (such as, for example, Denavit-Hartenberg (DH) parameters or modified DH parameters) include joint level errors, kinematic modeling errors, and non-geometric is updated to handle certain errors, including (non-geometric) errors. Then, before each medical procedure, the calibration is verified to ensure that the system operates within the specified accuracy tolerances. (Ie diagnosis is carried out).

As shown in FIG. 2, the assay method is generally an integrated process of modeling 200, measurement 202, identification 204, and implementation of robot kinematic parameters. A more detailed description of each robot calibration step can be found in Mooring et al., "Fundamentals of manipulator calibration," 1991, and Elatta et al., "Overview of robotic tests." (An Overview of Robot Calibration), "Information Technology Journal 3 (1): 74-78, 2004.

Many other external measurement devices and methods, including contact of the tool tip to reference parts, laser triangulation, and calipers, are used to verify or verify the calibration of the robot arm 150. Used. Since many of these techniques are employed in industrial robots, their use in computer-assisted surgical operations is limited by surgical settings and strict legal requirements. For example, the ROBODOC ™ surgical system 100 uses a reference plate. The reference plate has a very tight tolerance and a plurality of reference points spaced at known distances. The robot arm 150 is guided to the center of each of the reference points. The position of the robot arm 150 at each of these points is recorded based on the manufacturer's kinematic parameters and the robot's joint encoder values. The recorded positions between each of these points and the known distance between each point are used to identify new kinematic parameters. However, these procedural steps are usually time consuming and require additional hardware (ie reference parts, calibration probes, optical tracking system). In addition, particularly in the ROBODOC ™ system 100, the mechanical digitizer 120 attached to the base 140 must be removed so that the robot arm 150 provides sufficient workspace to reach and record sufficient reference points on the reference plate. do. Following the calibration of the robot arm 150, the mechanical digitizer 120 is reassembled to the base 140, and the coordinate system of the mechanical digitizer 120 and the robot arm 150 so that the bone is correctly registered in the coordinate system of the robot arm 150. The coordinate transformation between the coordinate systems of is computed. Currently, the calculation of the coordinate transformation between digitizer 120 and robotic arm 150 is determined using the same reference plate, where the digitizer is manually guided to a plurality of reference points. In general, the removal of the digitizer 120, the calibration of the robot arm 150, the reassembly of the digitizer 120, and subsequent determination of coordinate transformation between the digitizer 120 and the robot arm 150 may take several hours. Exhaustive

Accordingly, there is a need for an effective and efficient method of testing and diagnosing one or more components of a robotic system.

An apparatus for calibrating a robot arm having an end effector of a robot includes a magnetic coupler having a body, a receiving face, a mounting member, and a magnetic portion. (magnetic coupler). The mounting member is configured to be fixedly connected to the end effector of the robot arm. A mechanical digitizer probe having a ball and a handle is provided, wherein the ball is fixedly attached to the distal end of the handle, and the ball is removably coupled and rotated to the magnetic coupler through a magnetic portion on the receiving surface. Form a possible ball and socket connection, the proximal end of the handle being configured to attach to a mechanical digitizer associated with the robot.

The method of calibrating a robot arm of a robot includes magnetically coupling a mechanical digitizer arm to an end effector of the robot arm with the device described above. The robot arm is manipulated into a plurality of calibration locations to pause at each calibration location. A set of joint values at each test position is recorded. The spatial positions of the end effectors at each assay position are measured with a mechanical digitizer. The set of kinematic parameters of the robot arm is measured with a test algorithm that uses the spatial position and the set of joint values recorded and measured at each test position. A set of robot kinematic parameters is implemented to complete the calibration of the robot arm.

The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following drawings, which are intended to show certain aspects of the invention but are not to be construed as a limitation on the implementation of the invention.
1A and 1B are front and side views, respectively, of a prior art robotic system;
2 is a flow chart showing a general method of a robotic assay with inventive embodiments of substeps in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;
3 is a flow chart showing a robot assay method in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;
4 is a functional block diagram of a robotic assay procedure in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
5A and 5B show a robot arm 150 coupled to a mechanical digitizer via an assay device in accordance with embodiments of the invention, where FIG. 5A is a side view thereof and FIG. 5B is a detail view of the assay device;
6A shows an assay device in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;
6B-6D illustrate the magnetic coupler of the assay device of FIG. 6A in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 6B is a front view, FIG. 6C is a side view, and FIG. 6D is a rear view;
7A shows an assay device in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;
7B and 7C illustrate the magnetic coupler of the assay device of FIG. 7A in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, where FIG. 7B is a front view and FIG. 7C is a rear view;
8A shows an assay device according to embodiments of the present invention;
8B is a front view of the magnetic coupler of the assay device of FIG. 8A in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
8C is an exploded view of the magnetic coupler of the assay device of FIG. 8A in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
9A shows a bone motion monitor magnetically coupled to an end effector via a diagnostic assay device that performs diagnostics on a bone motion monitor in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; And
9B and 9C show the diagnostic assay device of FIG. 9A in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 9B is a perspective view thereof and FIG. 9C is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.

The present invention has utility as a system and method for testing robotic arms. This system and method is particularly useful by reducing test time and simultaneously determining coordinate transformations between mechanical digitizers and robotic arms. In this specification the application of the method and system with reference to ROBODOC ^® system. However, this is the medical industry it may use any autonomous, semi-autonomous, or passively (passive) apparatus and method disclosed herein also robotic systems.

The following description of various embodiments of the present invention is not intended to limit the present invention to these specific embodiments, but one of ordinary skill in the art will form and interpret the present invention through exemplary aspects thereof. It is intended to be used.

All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

The following terms are used as defined below unless explicitly indicated otherwise by context or context.

As used in the description of the invention and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Also, as used herein, "and / or" is used in conjunction with all possible combinations of one or more of the listed items in association, when interpreted as a substitute ("or (or)") of the combinations. Refers to and encompasses the lack.

The term "calibration" as used herein refers to the process of identifying more accurate kinematic parameters of the robot arm (eg, relative position and orientation of the links and joints of the robot arm).

The term "mechanical digitizer" as used herein refers to a measuring device capable of measuring physical coordinates in three-dimensional space. "Mechanical digitizer" refers to a mechanical digitizer consisting of passive links and joints, such as the high resolution electro-mechanical sensors described in US Pat. No. 6,033,415.

As shown in FIG. 1A and described above, the "end-effector" 180 is shown as a tool attached to the end effector flange 170. However, hereinafter "end effector" broadly refers to the remote end of the remote link of the robot arm. Under this definition, an "end effector" is now: a) an end effector flange; b) a tool attached to the end effector flange; And / or c) a device / apparatus / coupler attached to the end effector with or without a tool attached thereto.

Referring now to the drawings in which a particular embodiment of the present invention is shown, in FIG. 3, a method of calibrating robot arm 150 generally comprises: (a) applying a mechanical digitizer arm to an end effector 180 of robot arm 150. Magnetically coupling (block S110); (b) manipulating the robot arm 150 into a plurality of assay positions (block S120); Recording joint values of the robot arm 150 at each assay position (block S130); (d) measuring the spatial position at each calibration position with a mechanical digitizer 120 (block S140); (e) identifying a set of kinematic parameters of the robot arm 150 with a calibration algorithm using a spatial position and a set of joint values recorded and measured at each test position (block S150); And (f) implementing the set of robot kinematic parameters to complete the verification of the robot arm 150 (block S160). Specific embodiments of the system and methods will be described further below.

In one particular embodiment, a calibration apparatus 405, 405 ′, 405 ″ shown in FIGS. 5A-8C and described in detail below includes a mechanical digitizer 120 for end effector flange 170 of robot arm 150. Magnetically. The assay device 405, 405 ', 405 "breaks the connection between the digitizer 120 and the robot arm 150 while the robot arm 150 is operated in each assay position. And digitizer 120 rotates in three-degrees-of-freedom. The calibration apparatus 405, 405 ′, 405 ″ also further provides components that provide a shared point of measurement of both the robot arm 150 and the digitizer 120 during the measurement and / or recording phase of the calibration process. Include.

In FIG. 4, the path equation 300 calculates each test position for the robot arm 150 in accordance with step S120. More specifically, path equation 300 determines a plurality of sets of joint commands that define a plurality of test locations for the end effector flange 170 (FIGS. 5A-5B). For example, this equation commands the first joint to rotate 15 degrees, the second joint to rotate 80 degrees, and the third joint to translate 20 cm so that the end effector is positioned at a particular test position. Produce a first set of joint instructions. Although FIG. 4 is based on Cartesian coordinates, it will be appreciated that the positions can be easily determined in spherical or cylindrical coordinates. Each set of articulation commands defines one test position, where the robot arm 150 will pause while the measurement is being recorded. In one particular embodiment, path equation 300 yields sets of joint instructions that span the widest range of joint values without separating robot arm 150 from mechanical digitizer 120. In one particular embodiment, more than 50 assay positions are calculated for the assay of the robot 100. However, it will be appreciated that fewer than 50 test locations may be calculated to achieve the desired test accuracy. It will be appreciated that the movement of any of the test positions in the physical space is fully automatic, but semi-automatic or manual movement can also be used based on the application of this method.

In one particular embodiment, the mechanical digitizer 120 measures and records the spatial coordinate positions (eg, x, y, z) of the end effector 180 at each calibration position. In a more specific embodiment, the mechanical digitizer 120 is a spatial coordinate position (eg, x, y) of the shared point between the end effector 180 and the mechanical digitizer 120 at each test position relative to the mechanical digitizer 120 coordinate system. , z) are measured and recorded. The location of the shared point will be further described below with reference to the specific structure of the calibration device 405, 405 ', 405 ". Almost simultaneously with the mechanical digitizer 120 measuring and recording the spatial coordinate position, computing system 160 records the joint values of each robotic joint 150 relative to the robot arm 150 coordinate system via each joint encoder. The set of spatial values and the joint positions recorded and measured at each test position are stored in a database or other log file to record and measure the spatial position and corresponding joint values at all test positions. All the sets of parts are consolidated In one particular embodiment, the recorded joint values and spatial positions are robot calibration manager software module; 10) are sent and stored.

The set of joint values recorded by the computing system 160 and the spatial locations measured by the digitizer 120 are then sent to the algorithm 320 (eg, to transmit at least a portion of a database or log file, etc.) to the robot. New kinematic parameters for arm 150 are determined. The algorithm 320 may also determine coordinate transformation between the coordinate system of the digitizer 120 and the coordinate system of the robot arm 150. Algorithm 320 may be based on, but is not limited to, linear least-square parameter estimation, optimization, or Kalman Filtering. The coordinate transformation can be determined by modeling the digitizer 120 as an extra link in the kinematic chain (ie, a plurality of links) of the robotic arm 150. New kinematic parameters and / or coordinate transformations are then sent to the robotic computer 150 to complete the testing of the robotic arm 150 (block S160 in FIG. 3). Coordinate transformation between the coordinate system of the digitizer 120 and the coordinate system of the robot arm 150 allows the digitizer to collect points on the bone intra-operatively to produce bone and bone images and / or surgical plans for the robot arm 150. To register correctly. Once registered, the robot arm can correctly perform the surgical procedure on the bone.

Calibration Apparatus

5A and 5B, an example of a robotic system 100 that is calibrated with an assay device 405 is shown, wherein like reference numerals have the foregoing meanings corresponding thereto. During the assay process, the assay device 405 couples the mechanical digitizer 120 to the end effector 180 to facilitate the measurement step of the assay process.

6A shows a detailed view of the assay device 405. This calibration device 405 includes a magnetic coupler 500 and a mechanical digitizer probe 510. The mechanical digitizer probe 510 includes a ball 520 and a handle 530. The ball 520 is configured to be removably coupled to the magnetic coupler 500 to form a rotatable ball and socket connection. The ball 520 may be made of a ferromagnetic or paramagnetic material such as steel, iron, or aluminum together with other materials known in the art. Handle 530 is configured to attach to a remote link of mechanical digitizer 120. In one specific embodiment, the handle 530 includes a proximal end P having a fastening element that attaches the handle 530 to a remote link of the mechanical digitizer 120. The fastening member may comprise a screw thread, a clamp, a binder, a clasp, a latch, a coupling, or a hook. In one particular embodiment, the handles 530 and balls 520 are provided in a single monolithic structure through known manufacturing techniques, while in other embodiments the handles 530 and balls 520 are provided. It consists of two or more separate parts that are detachably assembled by one or more fastening members such as screwing, soldering, clamping, binding, or hooking.

6B-6D show magnetic coupler 500 in more detail. In one particular embodiment, magnetic coupler 500 includes a body 540, a receiving face 550 having a magnetic portion 570, and a mounting member 560. The magnetic portion 570 is configured to attract a portion of the ball 520 to the receiving surface 550. In one specific embodiment, the magnetic portion 570 is comprised of a magnet located in an interior portion of the body 540 such that at least a portion of the magnet is exposed on the receiving surface 550. The magnetic force between the ball 520 and the magnetic portion 570 is such that the mechanical digitizer probe 510 is coupled to the magnetic coupler 500 (e.g., pitch, roll, yaw, etc.). ) Allows movement with 3 degrees of freedom rotation The use of the magnetic coupler 500 is particularly useful because it allows the mechanical digitizer 120 and the robot arm 150 to operate simultaneously without having to remove the mechanical digitizer 120 from the robot arm 150. In addition, the simultaneous movement of the mechanical digitizer 120 and the robot arm 150 allows the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system of the mechanical digitizer 120 and the coordinate system of the robot arm 150 to be determined during the test.

The mounting member 560 connects the magnetic coupler 500 to the robot arm 150. In one particular embodiment, the mounting member 560 is attached to the end effector 180 of the robot arm 150. The mounting member 560 may have a shaft with a thread that attaches the mounting member 56 to the robot arm 150 and maintains a rigid relationship therewith, a clamping mechanism, or an equivalent thereof. In one specific embodiment shown in FIG. 6C, the mounting member 560 receives a plurality of projections of the end effector 180 to align the magnetic coupler 500 in a particular direction on the end effector 180. It may further include a plurality of intrusion groove (580) configured.

7A-7C, another embodiment of a magnetic coupler 500 'is shown. The magnetic coupler 500 'includes a plurality of support members 600 extending from the receiving surface 550. In one particular embodiment, the three support members 600a, 600b, 600c protrude in a circle from the receiving surface 550 to form a receiving pocket in which the magnetic portion 570 is located at the center thereof. The three support members 600 are useful because exactly three points capture and stabilize the spherical ball 520 when the ball 520 rotates around the magnetic portion 570. The support members 600 can have any shape and size for the desired application. The support members 600a, 600b, 600c may also include an angled surface therein to capture the ball 520. In one particular embodiment, the shape of the support members 600a, 600b, 600c is as shown in FIG. 7B, in which the ball 520 will rotate with a minimum amount of deviation from the center of the magnetic portion 570. To make it possible.

8A-8C, another embodiment of a magnetic coupler 500 ″ is shown. The magnetic coupler 500 ″ is located within the body 540 and the plurality of support members 700 protruding from the receiving surface 550. At least one rotary bearing 710. 8C shows an exploded view of the magnetic coupler 500 ″, where the rotary bearing 710 is configured to allow rotation of the receiving surface 550 around the central axis A of the magnetic coupler 500 ″. In one particular embodiment, each support member 700 includes a pair of legs L that act as a frame for a bearing / wheel 720. The bearing / wheel 720 is located between these pairs of legs L and assembled there through a pin / axel 730. The bearing / wheel 720 is particularly useful because the bearing / wheel 720 reduces the friction between the ball 520 and the receiving surface 550 and thus increases the longevity of the assay device 405 ".

Assay devices 405, 405 ′, and 405 ″ are used during the measurement and recording steps 202, S130, and S140 of the calibration process by coupling a mechanical digitizer 120 to the robot arm 150. In one particular embodiment, During the measurement phase, the digitizer 120 measures the spatial position of the end effector 180 with the center of the ball 520, which is considered a shared point between the robot arm 150 and the digitizer 120 described above. The common point ensures that the mechanical digitizer 120 and the robot arm 150 are measured and recorded based on the same point in space of each calibration position.

By the use of the inventive calibration apparatus 405, 405 ', 405 ", the robotic system can, in less than 5 minutes, in certain cases the data points required for the movement speed of the robot arm and the desired accuracy (i.e., calibration positions). It is easily calibrated with a tolerance of 0.1 ± 0.1 mm within a time of 30 seconds to 10 minutes depending on the number of. This is the same tolerance in the system of FIGS. Contrast that took about 4 hours to test. As a result of the greater speed of the assay, complete recalibration between successive surgical procedures and during surgery is now possible to ensure a higher degree of surgical accuracy. Since surgical accuracy is known to be related to faster surgical recovery and longer implant life, net savings in medical systems and better patient results are achieved by the use of the present invention.

Bone Motion Monitor Diagnostics

9A-9C, diagnostic assay device 600 is shown to perform diagnostics on bone motion monitor 145. A bone motion monitor (BMM) monitors and detects the movement of bone attached thereto during the surgical procedure, including at least three degrees of freedom BMM 145 generally detects rotational movement of the bone A prismatic joint / link 149 having a housing 147 therein with a revolute joint, encoder, and other electrical components, and a remote end attached to the bone to detect linear motion. The BMM 145 is a very important component of the system because this movement will shift the bone cuts if the bone moves during surgery, so that the BMM 145 detects any movement after registration to allow the bone to move. If moved, 'freeze' the cut and warn the surgical team to recover registration.

Diagnostics are performed on the BMM 145 so that the BMM 145 operates correctly and is within specified parameters. The diagnosis for the BMM 145 has conventionally been made using a method similar to a reference plate. Probes attached to the BMM 145 are guided onto specific dots on the 'reference plate', which are spaced apart by known distances and directions. The BMM records the position of the probe at each of these specific points, where the distance and direction between the recorded points must match within a certain accuracy to the actual distance and direction between the points on the 'reference plate'. This is a very time consuming process.

To improve the BMM 145 diagnosis, a diagnostic assay device 600 is used. This diagnostic assay device 600 is an attachment to the remote end of the BMM 145, more specifically to the remote end of the link 149, which provides for the magnetic attachment of the BMM to the magnetic couplers 500, 500 ′, 500 ″. Facilitate The diagnostic assay device 600 is made of ferrous metal and magnetically coupled to the magnetic couplers 500, 500 ′, 500 ″. In general, diagnostic assay device 600 includes a first portion 602 and a second portion 604. The first portion 602 is assembled at the remote end of the BMM 145 (eg, at the remote end of the link 149) and the second portion 604 is connected to the magnetic coupler 500, 500 ′, 500 ″. Magnetically coupled In some embodiments, the first portion 602 is in the form of a cylinder having a rectangular hole 606 penetrating it, which square hole 606 connects to the remote end of the BMM 145. The second portion 604 is in the form of a dome having a cylindrical hole 608 therethrough, the rectangular hole 606 and the cylindrical hole 608 is a BMM probe. Allow (not shown) to pass through them and assemble to the BMM 145. This BMM probe is a device fixed directly on the bone so that the BMM 145 can withstand the movement of the bone. 600 does not need to be separated after diagnosis.

The actual diagnosis process is as follows. First, the diagnostic assay device 600 is assembled at the remote end of the BMM 145 (the device 600 may be a permanent fixture since the BMM probe may still be attached to the BMM 145 via the device 600). have). Next, the end effector 180 with the magnetic couplers 500, 500 ', 500 "mounted thereon is automatically moved to a known position and direction near the BMM. The user then moves the BMM 145 at a known height and angle. It is instructed to move (this height can be adjusted by manually sliding the base 147 along a linear rail guide assembled to the robot base 140 and then engaging it in position). The user then instructs the assay device 600 to magnetically couple to the magnetic couplers 500, 500 ′, 500 ″. The robot arm 150 then automatically moves the BMM 145 to a plurality of different positions and directions. In one particular embodiment, the BMM is moved in six or more positions and directions. Points at each position and direction are collected and compared with the expected values. If the diagnosis passes, the user instructs the BMM 145 to be disconnected from the magnetic coupler 500, 500 ', 500 "and the procedure continues. This procedure requires minimal hardware and diagnostics. This can be done in 1 to 5 minutes, which is particularly useful.

Other embodiments

While at least one exemplary embodiment has been provided in the foregoing detailed description, it will be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It is also to be understood that these or embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the described embodiments in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with convenient instructions for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and structure of elements without departing from the scope of the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims (25)

With the black arm of the robot arm with the end effector of the robot:
A magnetic coupler having a body, a receiving surface, a mounting member, and a magnetic portion; A magnetic coupler configured to fix the mounting member to the end effector of the robot arm; And
A mechanical digitizer probe having a ball and handle, wherein the ball is fixedly attached to the remote end of the handle and the ball is removably attached to the magnetic coupler through the magnetic portion on the receiving surface to form a rotatable ball and socket connection. And a mechanical digitizer probe configured to attach a proximal end of the handle to a mechanical digitizer associated with the robot.
Black device of the robot arm. In claim 1,
A device for testing the robot arm, wherein the ball is made of a material having ferromagnetic or paramagnetic characteristics. In claim 2,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the material is selected from the group consisting of steel, iron, aluminum, and any combination thereof. In claim 1,
And at least one of a screw hole, an external screw, a clamp, a tie, and a hook configured to attach the proximal end of the handle to a remote link of the mechanical digitizer. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
And the mechanical digitizer probe consists of a single mass of material. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Wherein said mechanical digitizer probe is comprised of two or more separate parts and detachably assembled by a fastening system operated in a process selected from the group consisting of screwing, clamping, engaging, and hooking. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
And a magnetic portion having a magnet located in an inner portion of the body, wherein at least a portion of the magnet is exposed on the receiving surface. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The magnetic force between the ball and the magnetic portion permits the mechanical digitizer probe to move in three rotational degrees of freedom coupled to the magnetic coupler. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
And the mounting member has a plurality of inlet grooves to align the magnetic coupler in a particular direction on the end effector. In claim 1,
And the magnetic coupler further comprises a plurality of support members extending from the receiving surface. In claim 10,
And the plurality of support members are three support members. In claim 1,
The magnetic coupler further comprises a plurality of support members extending from the receiving surface and at least one rotary bearing located within the body, the at least one rotary bearing being about a central axis of the magnetic coupler relative to the body. Assay device for robotic arms to promote rotation of the receiving surface. In claim 12,
At least one support member of the plurality of support members further comprises the pair of legs acting as a frame for a bearing positioned between the pair of legs, each bearing of the robot arm in contact with the ball. Black device. As the black method of the robot arm of the robot:
Magnetically coupling a mechanical digitizer arm to the end effector of the robotic arm with the apparatus of claim 1;
Manipulating the robot arm to a plurality of assay positions;
Pausing the robot arm at each assay position;
Recording a set of joint values for the robot arm at each assay position;
Measuring the spatial position of the end effector at each assay position with the mechanical digitizer;
Identifying a set of kinematic parameters of the robotic arm with a calibration algorithm using the spatial position and the set of joint values recorded and measured at each calibration position; And
Applying the set of kinematic parameters to complete the assay of the robotic arm.
The assay method of the robot arm provided. In claim 14,
Calculating a plurality of test positions at which the robot arm is to be manipulated using a path equation, wherein the path equation determines a plurality of sets of joint instructions, each set of joint instructions for the end effector. Test method of the robot arm defining the test position. In claim 15,
And the path equation yields sets of articulation commands that span the widest range of a set of joint values without separating the robot arm from the mechanical digitizer. In claim 15,
And the robotic arm movement to any of the plurality of assay positions is fully automatic, semi-automatic, or manual movement. In claim 15,
The mechanical digitizer measures and records the spatial position of the shared point between the robot arm and the mechanical digitizer at each calibration position in relation to the coordinate system of the mechanical digitizer, while the arithmetic system uses the respective joint encoders to joint each robot joint Record the set of values in the coordinate system of the robot arm; And
The recorded robot position and the corresponding joint values are stored for each test position. In claim 18,
And a common point between the mechanical digitizer and the robot arm is the center of the ball of the digitizer probe. In claim 18,
The recorded spatial position and corresponding joint values are transmitted of an algorithm to determine a new set of kinematic parameters for the robot arm and coordinate transformation between the mechanical digitizer and the robot arm; And
And then the new set of kinematic parameters is sent to the computing system to complete the calibration of the robotic arm. In claim 20,
And the algorithm is based on at least one of linear least squares parameter estimation, nonlinear least squares estimation, optimization, or Kalman filtering technique. In claim 20,
The coordinate transformation is determined by modeling the mechanical digitizer as an additional link of the robotic arm, and the coordinate transformation is then sent to a computing system for the mechanical digitizer to register a bone, bone image, or surgical plan to the robotic arm. Black method of allowing robotic arms. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 22,
The magnetic coupling step, the operation of the robot arm, the pause of the robot arm at each calibration position, the recording of the set of joint values, the measurement with the mechanical digitizer, the The identification method of the set of kinematic parameters and the application of the set of robot kinematic parameters are all performed within a total time of 30 seconds to 10 minutes. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 22,
A method of assaying a robotic arm further comprising performing a surgical procedure. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 22,
And the robotic arm has a resolution of 0.1 ± 0.1 mm.

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