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Abstract

A modular object handling system has a multi-level control architecture, which includes a system controller that coordinates the functions and/or operations of individual module controllers, that in turn control corresponding actuators, to provide a desired system function. The system controller performs the overall trajectory planning by taking the constraints of each of the module actuators into account. The system controller may compensate for deviations of objects from their planned trajectories by contemporaneously redetermining trajectories and trajectory envelopes to encode the various combinations of the system constraints and task requirements. The trajectory envelopes can denote regions around other trajectories to indicate control criteria of interest, such as control and collision boundaries. However, by predetermining the trajectories and trajectory envelopes, and comparing the current state of an object with the predetermined trajectory envelopes, the system controller can even more quickly determine the extent to which the state satisfies the criteria. Thus, this system simplifies on-line determinations to merely include a comparison between a particular object, a particular trajectory and the corresponding trajectory envelope. It is also desirable to predetermine trajectories and trajectory envelopes by explicitly representing the system constraints and/or task requirements. By explicitly representing the system constraints and/or task requirements, the trajectories and trajectory envelopes can be automatically predetermined when adding new constraints to an existing system, or upon creating a new system once the arrangement of module actuators is known.

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