Sensor-based programming of robot motion

At the present state of development the limited bandwidth of sensor feedback control of industrial robots (IR) does not permit fast path velocities (bigger than 100 mm/s) which are demanded more and more in pretentious manufacturing processes like glueing. However, in such cases the sensor can be used for planning a fast trajectory with desired accuracy. In a first step the considered contour of the workpiece will be automatically scanned at slow velocity. The scanned data sequence describes very accurately both position and orientation of the path even for complex geometric shapes. In a second step, from the dense sequence of data only the significant points are selected in order to generate a trajectory with a desired velocity profile and a defined accurracy. The accuracy can be freely described by a tolerance tube (position) and a tolerance cone (orientation). In a third step the desired velocity profile will be assigned to the generated geometric path. In this paper the algorithm f or the sensor-based generation of IR motion programs developed for industrial purposes will be presented. Practical experiences are reparted on. (IITB)