US Patent 8934003 Uncalibrated visual servoing using real-time velocity optimization

A robotic control method for a camera (30) having an optical view and a robot (40) having an end-effector (42) and one or more joints (41) for maneuvering end-effector (42). The robotic control method involves an acquisition of a digital video frame (32) illustrating an image as optically viewed by the camera (30), and an execution of a visual servoing for controlling a pose of end-effector (42) relative to an image feature within the digital video frame (32). The visual servoing involves an identification of a tracking vector (vtrk) within an image coordinate system (80) of the digital video frame (32) extending from a tracking point (TR) to a target point (TG) associated with the image feature, a mapping of the tracking vector within a configuration space (100) constructed from a robotic coordinate system (90) associated with the end-effector (42), and a derivation of a pose of the end-effector (42) within the robotic coordinate system (90) from the mapping of the tracking vector (vtrk) within the configuration space (100).