SUMMARYA high-level robot programming language constitutes a general purpose interface for accessing the basic functional capabilities of a robot. On the other hand, CAD facilities give the possibility of using a subset of these capabilities in an easier fashion. In this paper, we show how a robot programming language and CAD facilities can be combined to obtain a robot programming system satisfying the need for generality, and allowing an easy connection with the basic robot programming functions. Such a connection is based on a “complete” simulator providing facilities for executing robot control programs on a graphic display, for describing manipulation tasks using interactive graphic tools, for simulating the physical world and its perception through sensors, and for displaying three-dimensional scenes as shaded pictures.
A general-purpose programming system for optimum structural design.
