Measurement, parameter identification and calibration in robotics

Achieving high positioning accuracy and precise, stable control in a robotized CIM system requires not only quality manufactured robots but an accurate knowledge of the robots' physical characteristics and those of their environment. Determining these characteristics necessitates appropriate robot modelling methods, precise and comprehensive measuring techniques, and well conditioned numerical parameter identification procedures. These three requirements form the basics of a calibration system in robotics. Such a calibration can be used to greatly improve a robot's positioning accuracy which is necessary for successful implementation of off-line generated and simulated programs, and can provide crucial information for assuring quality robot production and for checking on robot wear and repair needs. This paper represents an overview of the robot calibration workshop held within the CIM-Europe '92 Annual Conference. Presented here is a general description of calibration and a qualitativ e discussion of issues in modelling, measurement and parameter identification in regards to recent developments and to the direction future work needs to take.