A flexible calibration method connecting the joint space and the working space of industrial robots

Author(s):  
Ying Cai ◽  
Peijiang Yuan ◽  
Dongdong Chen

Purpose To improve the accuracy of the industrial robots’ absolute positioning, a Kriging calibration is proposed. Design/methodology/approach This method particularly designs a semivariogram for connecting the joint space and the working space. After that, Kriging equations are determined and solved to predict the position errors of targets. Subsequently, a simple and convenient error compensation, which can be implemented on the control command, is proposed. Findings The verification experiment of the position-error multiplicity and the Kriging calibration experiment are done in the KUKA R210 R2700 industrial robot. The position-error multiplicity experiment reveals that the position error of the industrial robot varies with the joint angle sets. Besides, the Kriging calibration experiment shows that the maximum of the spatial position errors is reduced from 1.2906 to 0.2484 mm, which reveals the validity of the Kriging calibration. Originality/value The special designed semivariation allows this method to be flexible and practical. It can be used in various fields where the angle solutions of industrial robots should be adapted according to the optimal demand and the environment, such as the optimal trajectory planning and the obstacle avoidance. Besides, this method can provide accuracy positioning results.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1287
Author(s):  
Tianyan Chen ◽  
Jinsong Lin ◽  
Deyu Wu ◽  
Haibin Wu

Based on the current situation of high precision and comparatively low APA (absolute positioning accuracy) in industrial robots, a calibration method to enhance the APA of industrial robots is proposed. In view of the "hidden" characteristics of the RBCS (robot base coordinate system) and the FCS (flange coordinate system) in the measurement process, a comparatively general measurement and calibration method of the RBCS and the FCS is proposed, and the source of the robot terminal position error is classified into three aspects: positioning error of industrial RBCS, kinematics parameter error of manipulator, and positioning error of industrial robot end FCS. The robot position error model is established, and the relation equation of the robot end position error and the industrial robot model parameter error is deduced. By solving the equation, the parameter error identification and the supplementary results are obtained, and the method of compensating the error by using the robot joint angle is realized. The Leica laser tracker is used to verify the calibration method on ABB IRB120 industrial robot. The experimental results show that the calibration method can effectively enhance the APA of the robot.


Author(s):  
Mustafa Can Bingol ◽  
Omur Aydogmus

Purpose Because of the increased use of robots in the industry, it has become inevitable for humans and robots to be able to work together. Therefore, human security has become the primary noncompromising factor of joint human and robot operations. For this reason, the purpose of this study was to develop a safe human-robot interaction software based on vision and touch. Design/methodology/approach The software consists of three modules. Firstly, the vision module has two tasks: to determine whether there is a human presence and to measure the distance between the robot and the human within the robot’s working space using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and depth sensors. Secondly, the touch detection module perceives whether or not a human physically touches the robot within the same work environment using robot axis torques, wavelet packet decomposition algorithm and CNN. Lastly, the robot’s operating speed is adjusted according to hazard levels came from vision and touch module using the robot’s control module. Findings The developed software was tested with an industrial robot manipulator and successful results were obtained with minimal error. Practical implications The success of the developed algorithm was demonstrated in the current study and the algorithm can be used in other industrial robots for safety. Originality/value In this study, a new and practical safety algorithm is proposed and the health of people working with industrial robots is guaranteed.


Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (20) ◽  
pp. 5919
Author(s):  
Caglar Icli ◽  
Oleksandr Stepanenko ◽  
Ilian Bonev

This paper presents an automated calibration method for industrial robots, based on the use of (1) a novel, low-cost, wireless, 3D measuring device mounted on the robot end-effector and (2) a portable 3D ball artifact fixed with respect to the robot base. The new device, called TriCal, is essentially a fixture holding three digital indicators (plunger style), the axes of which are orthogonal and intersect at one point, considered to be the robot tool center point (TCP). The artifact contains four 1-inch datum balls, each mounted on a stem, with precisely known relative positions measured on a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM). The measurement procedure with the TriCal is fully automated and consists of the robot moving its end-effector in such as a way as to perfectly align its TCP with the center of each of the four datum balls, with multiple end-effector orientations. The calibration method and hardware were tested on a six-axis industrial robot (KUKA KR6 R700 sixx). The calibration model included all kinematic and joint stiffness parameters, which were identified using the least-squares method. The efficiency of the new calibration system was validated by measuring the accuracy of the robot after calibration in 500 nearly random end-effector poses using a laser tracker. The same validation was performed after the robot was calibrated using measurements from the laser tracker only. Results show that both measurement methods lead to similar accuracy improvements, with the TriCal yielding maximum position errors of 0.624 mm and mean position errors of 0.326 mm.


Author(s):  
Chen Shen ◽  
Youping Chen ◽  
Bing Chen ◽  
Yu Qiao

Purpose This paper aims to propose a novel robot kinematic calibration method based on the common perpendicular line (CPL) model to improve the absolute accuracy of industrial robots. Design/methodology/approach The deviation between the nominal and actual twists is considered the CPL transformation, which includes the rotation about the CPL and the translation along the CPL. By using the invariance of the reciprocal product of the two spatial lines, the previous deviation was analyzed in the neighbor space of the base frame origin. In this space, the line vector of the CPL contained only four independent parameters: two orientation elements and two moment elements. Thus, the CPL model has four independent parameters for the revolute joint and two parameters for the prismatic joint. Findings By simulations and experiment conducted on a SCARA robot and a 6-DOF PUMA robot, the effectiveness of the novel method for calibration of industrial robot is validated. Originality/value The CPL model avoided the normalization and orthogonalization in the iterative identification procedure. Therefore, identifying the CPL model was not only simpler but also more accurate than that of the traditional model. In addition, the results of the CPL transformation strictly conformed to the constraints of the twist.


Author(s):  
LianZheng Ge ◽  
Jian Chen ◽  
Ruifeng Li ◽  
Peidong Liang

Purpose The global performance of industrial robots partly depends on the properties of drive system consisting of motor inertia, gearbox inertia, etc. This paper aims to deal with the problem of optimization of global dynamic performance for robotic drive system selected from available components. Design/methodology/approach Considering the performance specifications of drive system, an optimization model whose objective function is composed of working efficiency and natural frequency of robots is proposed. Meanwhile, constraints including the rated and peak torque of motor, lifetime of gearbox and light-weight were taken into account. Furthermore, the mapping relationship between discrete optimal design variables and component properties of drive system were presented. The optimization problem with mixed integer variables was solved by a mixed integer-laplace crossover power mutation algorithm. Findings The optimization results show that our optimization model and methods are applicable, and the performances are also greatly promoted without sacrificing any constraints of drive system. Besides, the model fits the overall performance well with respect to light-weight ratio, safety, cost reduction and others. Practical implications The proposed drive system optimization method has been used for a 4-DOF palletizing robot, which has been largely manufactured in a factory. Originality/value This paper focuses on how the simulation-based optimization can be used for the purpose of generating trade-offs between cost, performance and lifetime when designing robotic drive system. An applicable optimization model and method are proposed to handle the dynamic performance optimization problem of a drive system for industrial robot.


Author(s):  
Guanghui Liu ◽  
Qiang Li ◽  
Lijin Fang ◽  
Bing Han ◽  
Hualiang Zhang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a new joint friction model, which can accurately model the real friction, especially in cases with sudden changes in the motion direction. The identification and sensor-less control algorithm are investigated to verify the validity of this model. Design/methodology/approach The proposed friction model is nonlinear and it considers the angular displacement and angular velocity of the joint as a secondary compensation for identification. In the present study, the authors design a pipeline – including a manually designed excitation trajectory, a weighted least squares algorithm for identifying the dynamic parameters and a hand guiding controller for the arm’s direct teaching. Findings Compared with the conventional joint friction model, the proposed method can effectively predict friction factors during the dynamic motion of the arm. Then friction parameters are quantitatively obtained and compared with the proposed friction model and the conventional friction model indirectly. It is found that the average root mean square error of predicted six joints in the proposed method decreases by more than 54%. The arm’s force control with the full torque using the estimated dynamic parameters is qualitatively studied. It is concluded that a light-weight industrial robot can be dragged smoothly by the hand guiding. Practical implications In the present study, a systematic pipeline is proposed for identifying and controlling an industrial arm. The whole procedure has been verified in a commercial six DOF industrial arm. Based on the conducted experiment, it is found that the proposed approach is more accurate in comparison with conventional methods. A hand-guiding demo also illustrates that the proposed approach can provide the industrial arm with the full torque compensation. This essential functionality is widely required in many industrial arms such as kinaesthetic teaching. Originality/value First, a new friction model is proposed. Based on this model, identifying the dynamic parameter is carried out to obtain a set of model parameters of an industrial arm. Finally, a smooth hand guiding control is demonstrated based on the proposed dynamic model.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 172988142092164
Author(s):  
Junde Qi ◽  
Bing Chen ◽  
Dinghua Zhang

Industrial robots are getting widely applied due to their low use-cost and high flexibility. However, the low absolute positioning accuracy limits their expansion in the area of high-precision manufacturing. Aiming to improve the positioning accuracy, a compensation method for the positioning error is put forward in terms of the optimization of the experimental measurement space and accurate modelling of the positioning error. Firstly, the influence of robot kinematic performance on the measurement accuracy is analysed, and a quantitative index describing the performance is adopted. On this basis and combined with the joints motion characteristics, the optimized measurement space in joint space as well as Cartesian space is obtained respectively, which can provide accurate measurement data to the error model. Then the overall model of the positioning error is constructed based on modified Denavit–Hartenberg method, in which the geometric errors and compliance errors are considered comprehensively, and an error decoupling method between them is carried out based on the error-feature analyses. Experiments on the KUKA KR210 robot are carried out finally. The mean absolute positioning accuracy of the robot increases from 1.179 mm to 0.093 mm, which verifies the effectiveness of the compensation methodology in this article.


Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 3380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Gaudreault ◽  
Ahmed Joubair ◽  
Ilian Bonev

This work shows the feasibility of calibrating an industrial robot arm through an automated procedure using a new, low-cost, wireless measuring device mounted on the robot’s flange. The device consists of three digital indicators that are fixed orthogonally to each other on an aluminum support. Each indicator has a measuring accuracy of 3 µm. The measuring instrument uses a kinematic coupling platform which allows for the definition of an accurate and repeatable tool center point (TCP). The idea behind the calibration method is for the robot to bring automatically this TCP to three precisely-known positions (the centers of three precision balls fixed with respect to the robot’s base) and with different orientations of the robot’s end-effector. The self-calibration method was tested on a small six-axis industrial robot, the ABB IRB 120 (Vasteras, Sweden). The robot was modeled by including all its geometrical parameters and the compliance of its joints. The parameters of the model were identified using linear regression with the least-square method. Finally, the performance of the calibration was validated with a laser tracker. This validation showed that the mean and the maximum absolute position errors were reduced from 2.628 mm and 6.282 mm to 0.208 mm and 0.482 mm, respectively.


Author(s):  
Yang Chuangui ◽  
Liu Xingbao ◽  
Yue Xiaobin ◽  
Mi Liang ◽  
Wang Junwen ◽  
...  

PurposeThis paper aims to solve the nonlinear problem in the uncertainty evaluation of the measurement of the positioning repeatability (RP) of industrial robots and provide guidance to restrict the uncertainty of measurement of RP (uRP).Design/methodology/approachFirstly, some uncertain sources existing in the measurement procedure of RP are identified. Secondly, the probability distribution function (PDF) of every source is established on the basis of its measurements. Some spatial combined normal distributions are adopted. Then, a method, based on Monte Carlo method (MCM) and established measurement model, is developed for the estimation ofuRP. Thirdly, some tests are developed for the identification and validation of the selected PDFs of uncertain sources. Afterwards, the proposed method is applied for the evaluation and validation of theuRP. Finally, influence analyses of some key factors are proposed for the quantification of their relative contributions touRP.FindingsResults show that the proposed method can reasonably and objectively estimate theuRPof the selected industrial robot, and changes of the industrial robots’ position and the laser trackers measurement are correlated. Additionally, theuRPof the selected industrial robot can be restricted by using the results of its key factors onuRP.Originality/valueThis paper proposes the spatial combined normal distribution to model the uncertainty of the repeatability of the laser tracker and industrial robot. Meanwhile, the proposed method and influence analyses can be used in estimating and restricting theuRPand thus useful in determining whether the RP of a tested industrial robot meets its requirements.


Author(s):  
Wang Zhenhua ◽  
Xu Hui ◽  
Chen Guodong ◽  
Sun Rongchuan ◽  
Lining Sun

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a distance accuracy-based industrial robot kinematic calibration model. Nowadays, the repeatability of the industrial robot is high, while the absolute positioning accuracy and distance accuracy are low. Many factors affect the absolute positioning accuracy and distance accuracy, and the calibration method of the industrial robot is an important factor. When the traditional calibration methods are applied on the industrial robot, the accumulative error will be involved according to the transformation between the measurement coordinate and the robot base coordinate. Design/methodology/approach – In this manuscript, a distance accuracy-based industrial robot kinematic calibration model is proposed. First, a simplified kinematic model of the robot by using the modified Denavit–Hartenberg (MDH) method is introduced, then the proposed distance error-based calibration model is presented; the experiment is set up in the next section. Findings – The experimental results show that the proposed calibration model based on MDH and distance error can improve the distance accuracy and absolute position accuracy dramatically. Originality/value – The proposed calibration model based on MDH and distance error can improve the distance accuracy and absolute position accuracy dramatically.


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