{
  "patent_number": "US 12064197",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How a Robot Arm Can Be Manually Moved While Staying Safe",
  "original_title": "System and methods for positioning a manipulator arm by clutching within a null-perpendicular space concurrent with null-space movement",
  "summary": "This patent describes how a robotic arm can be partly moved by a human, like pushing it, while the robot's computer automatically handles other movements to keep it stable or avoid obstacles.",
  "what_it_does": "The patent details a system for controlling a robotic manipulator arm, often used in applications like surgery. It features a \"manipulation mode\" where a processor fully controls the arm to move a tool (end effector) and pivot it around a fixed point (remote center). Crucially, it introduces \"clutch modes\" that allow a human to manually adjust parts of the arm's position. For example, in the \"arm-null-perpendicular-clutch mode,\" the system automatically maintains the remote center's position (by \"servoing\" specific joints) while allowing a human to manually move the end effector (by \"floating\" other joints with friction or gravity compensation). Simultaneously, the system can perform \"auxiliary tasks\" like avoiding collisions or optimizing the arm's posture by controlling motion in the intersection of the remote center's and end effector's null-spaces, as described in claims 1, 7, and 8.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Robot arms that are entirely manually operated without any computer assistance for stability or auxiliary tasks.",
    "Systems where the robot arm cannot perform auxiliary tasks, such as collision avoidance or posture optimization, while being manually positioned.",
    "Clutching mechanisms that do not involve actively \"servoing\" to maintain a specific point (like a remote center or end effector) while another part is \"floated\" by a user.",
    "Robot arms that lack sufficient degrees of freedom to have a null-space for the end effector or remote center, which is necessary for the described concurrent control.",
    "Systems that do not apply friction compensation or gravity compensation when allowing manual \"floating\" of the arm's joints."
  ],
  "filed": "2023-03-17",
  "granted": "2024-08-20",
  "expires": "2043-03-17",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Intuitive Surgical Operations",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/intuitive-surgical-operations",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Nitish Swarup",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/nitish-swarup"
    },
    {
      "name": "Arjang M. Hourtash",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/arjang-m-hourtash"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 0,
  "tags": [
    "software",
    "mechanical",
    "medical_devices",
    "ai_ml",
    "robotics"
  ],
  "abstract": "Devices, systems, and methods for positioning an end effector or remote center of a manipulator arm by floating a first set of joints within a null-perpendicular joint velocity sub-space and providing a desired state or movement of a proximal portion of a manipulator arm concurrent with end effector positioning by driving a second set of joints within a null-space orthogonal to the null-perpendicular space. Methods include floating a first set of joints within a null-perpendicular space to allow manual positioning of one or both of a remote center or end effector position within a work space and driving a second set of joints according to an auxiliary movement calculated within a null-space according to a desired state or movement of the manipulator arm during the floating of the joints. Various configurations for devices and systems utilizing such methods are provided herein.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12064197/system-and-methods-for-positioning-a-manipulator-arm-by-clutching-within-a-null-",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12064197/system-and-methods-for-positioning-a-manipulator-arm-by-clutching-within-a-null-/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US12064197",
  "relatedPatents": []
}