P ARONIN (IN)
A AKHIL (IN)
robot. Recurring test patterns can be programmed into a USB drive and then plugged into the robot controller, so that the usage of a dedicated external PC can be avoided. Once the system is calibrated, commands can be sent from the external PC to make a touch or swipe operation on an interactive element like a button or slider on the touchscreen. The controller will then calculate the inverse kinematics solution and plans the path from current position of the stylus (8) to the requested touch position. The duration of the touch can also be commanded from the PC, thereby emulating short press and long press functionality of the same entity in some touch screen applications. The robotic arm further consists of a camera to provide visual feedback. A camera can be mounted on the robot to provide a visual feedback of the touchscreen device under test. The images from the camera can then be processed using optical character recognition to recognize the text on buttons and plan the next touch action. Also, image recognition can be used to recognize elements that are not text. The above-mentioned description represents merely the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, without any intention to limit the scope of the present disclosure thereto. Various equivalent changes, alterations or modifications based on the claims of present disclosure are all consequently viewed as being embraced by the scope of the present disclosure. We Claim. 1. A robotic arm to test functionality of a touchscreen panel of a computing device comprising, a stylus adapted to move into three dimensional space for emulating various touch based movements on to the touchscreen panels to provide commands to the computing device, wherein the stylus further comprises a stylus tip one or more than one rotating motor adapted to move the stylus in a plane a linear actuator adapted to move the stylus in an axis vertical to the plane. 2. The robotic arm according to claim 1 , wherein the stylus tip is replaceable. 3. The robotic arm according to any of the claims 1 or 2, wherein the stylus tip is having atleast a shape, a size, or a material appropriate for emulating human touch as required by the touchscreen panel of the computing device, wherein the material of the stylus tip can be atleast one of a cotton, leather, resins, polymers or combination thereof. 4. The robotic arm according to any of the claims 1 to 3 comprising more than one stylus tip adapted to perform simultaneous touches on the touchscreen panel. 5. The robotic arm according to any of the claims 1 to 4, wherein the linear actuator is further adapted to move the stylus and further apply precise and controllable force onto the stylus for emulating a press by a human. 6. The robotic arm according to any of the claims 1 to 5 wherein the linear actuator is further adapted to control the speed of the stylus for emulating a movement by a human 7. The robotic arm according to any of the claims 1 to 6 comprising a base system adapted to control functionality of the robotic arm, wherein the base system further comprises a controller adapted to control the motion of the robotic arm, the rotating motor and the linear actuator 8. The robotic arm according to the claim 7, wherein the base system further comprise a test setup adapted to calibrate a position of the robot arm with respect to the touchscreen panel of the computing device. 9. The robotic arm according to the claim 8, wherein the controller is further adapted to determine the path of the stylus according to the test setup, and the robotic arm is adapted to effectuate atleast one of the rotating motor or the linear actuator to move the stylus according to the determined path. |
Robot Arm for Testing of touchscreen Applications Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a robotic arm, more specifically it relates to a robotic arm to test functionality of a touchscreen panel of a computing device. Background of Invention
There is a constant increase in touch screen technologies across various devices. The touch screen display and touch screen are one of the main user interfaces in many electronic devices, which may include smart phones, personal computers, ATMs, Gaming equipments, medical equipment, voting equipment, other machinery, etc; and proper functionality is essential in order to guarantee the best user experience for the end users. It has become very essential for touch screen and device manufacturers to test touch screen functionality. Display and touch screen testing is often performed manually, which results in uneven quality and lengthened testing time. Testing displays and touch screens with an automated system proposes valuable benefits. Automated testing guarantees continuous and steady quality, fast and efficient test cycle, and comprehensive defect coverage during a single test phase.
Ob ject of the Invention The object of the present invention is to provide a robotic arm to test functionality of a touchscreen panel of a computing device.
Summary of Invention The present invention pertains to a robotic arm to test the functionality of a touchscreen panel of a computing device. It consists of a stylus which is adapted to move in three dimensional space for emulating various touch based movements on to the touchscreen panels to provide commands to the computing device, and the stylus further comprises a stylus tip. There are one or more than one rotating motors which moves the stylus in a plane and a linear actuator which moves the stylus in an axis vertical to the plane.
According to one of the embodiments of the robotic arm, the stylus tip is replaceable. According to a further embodiment of the robotic arm, the stylus tip is having atleast a shape, a size, or a material appropriate for emulating human touch as required by the touchscreen panel of the computing device, wherein the material of the stylus tip can be atleast one of a cotton, leather, resins, polymers or combination thereof.
According to a preferred embodiment of the robotic arm, it consists of more than one stylus tip which will perform simultaneous touches on the touchscreen panel
According to yet another embodiment of the robotic arm, the linear actuator moves the stylus and further applies precise and controllable force onto the stylus for emulating a press by a human.
According to a another embodiment of the robotic arm, the linear actuator controls the speed of the stylus for emulating a movement by a human According to a further embodiment of the robotic arm, it consists of a base system which controls the functionality of the robotic arm, and the base system also comprises a controller which controls the motion of the robotic arm, the rotating motor and the linear actuator
As per another embodiment of the robotic arm the base system further has a test setup which calibrates a position of the robot arm with respect to the touchscreen panel of a computing device.
According to yet another embodiment of the robotic arm, the controller further determines the path of the stylus according to the test setup, and the robotic arm effectuates atleast one of the rotating motor or the linear actuator to move the stylus according to the determined path.
According to a preferred embodiment of the robotic arm, it consists of a camera which provides visual feedback Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the Isometric view of the robot Detailed Description
The best and other modes for carrying out the present invention are presented in terms of the embodiments, herein depicted in FIG. 1. The embodiments are described herein for illustrative purposes and are subject to many variations. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Further, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting. Any heading utilized within this description is for convenience only and has no legal or limiting effect.
The terms "a" and "an" herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item. The present invention relates to a robotic arm which can make human like touch and swipe actions on touchscreen panels. The robotic arm is applicable to various fields like testing of touchscreen applications, testing and calibration of touch screen response, latency etc. It can be used for repeatable testing of touchscreen enabled devices like smartphones, tablet computers, car infotainment systems etc.
As illustrated in Fig. 1 , the invention is based on a robotic arm to test the functionality of a touchscreen panel of a computing device. It consists of a stylus (8) which is adapted to move into three dimensional space for emulating various touch based movements on to the touchscreen panels to provide commands to the computing device. This gives the robotic arm three degrees of freedom to allow positioning of the robotic arm in all three axes. There are one or more than one rotating motor (4,6) which is adapted to move the stylus (8) in a plane, and a linear actuator (2) which is adapted to move the stylus (8) in an axis vertical to the plane. In other words, two axes of the robot are rotary joints, using which the robot can move over the entire plane of the touchscreen while the third axis moves in a linear manner allowing it to touch the screen. This inturn aids in emulating the touch and swipe actions of a human.
The stylus (8) further comprises a stylus tip (10), which is replaceable. The stylus tip (10) can accommodate different sizes, different shapes and different materials of tips. For example, each finger on a person's hand is of different sizes and therefore has different areas for contact surface. The little finger has a smaller contact surface and the thumb has a larger contact surface. Another aspect is to do with people of different ages and different physiques; the size of the fingers varies from person to person. Even in the same age group, some people may have bigger finger contact surface because they are tall and/or fat, some may have smaller finger contact surface because they are short and/or thin. To accommodate for all sizes of finger contact surface areas, different sizes of stylus tips (10) are used. Different types of stylus tip (10) can be attached to the stylus (8).
Some of the different touchscreen panel technologies may require tips of different sizes and material properties. Some cases of touchscreen panel devices involve hands with gloves put on. The material of the glove ranges over many fabric types - cotton, leather, resins, polymers and so on. Such materials can be either added on top of the stylus tips (10) or can be used to make a custom stylus tip (10) of a particular fabric. Thus with such a modularity, tips can be chosen for use with any type of touchscreen panels.
According to one of the preferred embodiments, the robotic arm also has a provision for more than one stylus tip (10) which can perform simultaneous touches on the touchscreen panel. Some touchscreen panel gestures involve two-finger touch or multi-finger touch. Such multi-finger gestures can be emulated using different types of stylus tips (10) having different shapes of contact surface. The multi touch functionality can also be implemented by using multiple tips.
The linear axis which may also be called as the linear actuator (2) is adapted to move the stylus (8) and further apply a precise and controllable force onto the stylus (8) for emulating a press by a human. The linear actuator (2) can be setup for a particular hard pressing degree. In other words, the amount of force exerted on the touchscreen panel when the tip is in contact with the touchscreen panel can be determined. Each touch gesture can be set to have the same or different hard pressing degree. This can mimic a user who touches the touchscreen panel either hard or with a light force. The maximum and minimum range of force that can be exerted on the touchscreen panel is dependent on the model of the linear actuator (2) used.
The linear actuator (2) is also adapted to control the speed of the stylus (8) for emulating a movement by a human. The linear actuator (2) can be setup for a particular speed of movement, wherein the speed at which it can move towards and away from the touchscreen panel can be determined. The forward and reverse strokes of the linear actuator (2) can be set for the same or different speed for each stroke. Coupled with the physical properties and design of the stylus tip (10), this can mimic a user who touches fast or a user who touches slowly. The maximum and minimum range of speed with which the linear actuator (2) can move towards or away from the touchscreen panel is dependent on the model of the linear actuator (2) used.
The robotic arm consists of a base system (12) which controls the functionality of the robotic arm which further comprises a controller which controls the motion of the robotic arm, the rotating motor/s (4,6) and the linear actuator (2). It has a test setup which calibrates a position of the robot arm with respect to the touchscreen panel of a computing device. The robot can be mounted in horizontal, vertical or even tilted planes, so that devices with touch screens in any orientation can be tested. Prior to initializing the test procedure, the test setup may be calibrated to establish a fixed coordinate system between the robot and the touchscreen panel. Once the calibration is done, the robot can move to any point on the touchscreen, defined by its pixel coordinates to make a touch or swipe action. The calibration data is stored in a non-volatile memory inside the controller, so that recalibration is to be done only when the physical mounting of the robot relative to the touchscreen panel under test is changed.
The controller of the robotic arm determines the path of the stylus (8) according to the test setup, and the robotic arm also effectuates atleast one of the rotating motor/s (4, 6) or the linear actuator (2) to move the stylus according to the determined path. The controller of the test set up accepts motion commands from an external PC or USB memory drive and controls the motion of the robot. Recurring test patterns can be programmed into a USB drive and then plugged into the robot controller, so that the usage of a dedicated external PC can be avoided. Once the system is calibrated, commands can be sent from the external PC to make a touch or swipe operation on an interactive element like a button or slider on the touchscreen. The controller will then calculate the inverse kinematics solution and plans the path from current position of the stylus (8) to the requested touch position. The duration of the touch can also be commanded from the PC, thereby emulating short press and long press functionality of the same entity in some touch screen applications.
The robotic arm further consists of a camera to provide visual feedback. A camera can be mounted on the robot to provide a visual feedback of the touchscreen device under test. The images from the camera can then be processed using optical character recognition to recognize the text on buttons and plan the next touch action. Also, image recognition can be used to recognize elements that are not text.
The above-mentioned description represents merely the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, without any intention to limit the scope of the present disclosure thereto. Various equivalent changes, alterations or modifications based on the claims of present disclosure are all consequently viewed as being embraced by the scope of the present disclosure.