High precision motion control of parallel robots with imperfections and manufacturing tolerances

This work attempts to achieve precise motion control using parallel robots with manufacturing tolerances and inaccuracies by migrating the measurements from their joint space to task space in order to decrease control system’s sensitivity to any kinematical uncertainty rather than calibrating the parallel plant. The problem of dynamical model uncertainties and its effect on the derivation of the control law is also addressed in this work through disturbance estimation and compensation. Eventually, both task space measurement and disturbance estimation are combined to formulate a control framework that is unsensitive to either kinematical and dynamical system uncertainties

Monitoring robot actions for error detection and recovery

Reliability is a serious problem in computer controlled robot systems. Although robots serve successfully in relatively simple applications such as painting and spot welding, their potential in areas such as automated assembly is hampered by programming problems. A program for assembling parts may be logically correct, execute correctly on a simulator, and even execute correctly on a robot most of the time, yet still fail unexpectedly in the face of real world uncertainties. Recovery from such errors is far more complicated than recovery from simple controller errors, since even expected errors can often manifest themselves in unexpected ways. Here, a novel approach is presented for improving robot reliability. Instead of anticipating errors, researchers use knowledge-based programming techniques so that the robot can autonomously exploit knowledge about its task and environment to detect and recover from failures. They describe preliminary experiment of a system that they designed and constructed

Folding Assembly by Means of Dual-Arm Robotic Manipulation

In this paper, we consider folding assembly as an assembly primitive suitable for dual-arm robotic assembly, that can be integrated in a higher level assembly strategy. The system composed by two pieces in contact is modelled as an articulated object, connected by a prismatic-revolute joint. Different grasping scenarios were considered in order to model the system, and a simple controller based on feedback linearisation is proposed, using force torque measurements to compute the contact point kinematics. The folding assembly controller has been experimentally tested with two sample parts, in order to showcase folding assembly as a viable assembly primitive.Comment: 7 pages, accepted for ICRA 201

Miniaturized modular manipulator design for high precision assembly and manipulation tasks

In this paper, design and control issues for the development of miniaturized manipulators which are aimed to be used in high precision assembly and manipulation tasks are presented. The developed manipulators are size adapted devices, miniaturized versions of conventional robots based on well-known kinematic structures. 3 degrees of freedom (DOF) delta robot and a 2 DOF pantograph mechanism enhanced with a rotational axis at the tip and a Z axis actuating the whole mechanism are given as examples of study. These parallel mechanisms are designed and developed to be used in modular assembly systems for the realization of high precision assembly and manipulation tasks. In that sense, modularity is addressed as an important design consideration. The design procedures are given in details in order to provide solutions for miniaturization and experimental results are given to show the achieved performances

Propuesta de inclusión de esfuerzos en el control de un brazo robot para asegurar el cumplimiento de la rugosidad superficial durante operaciones de lijado en diferentes materiales

Tesis por compendio[ES] El mecanizado con brazos robots ha sido estudiado aproximadamente desde los años 90, durante este tiempo se han llevado a cabo importantes avances y descubrimientos en cuanto a su campo de aplicación. En general, los robots manipuladores tienen muchos beneficios y ventajas al ser usados en operaciones de mecanizado, tales como, flexibilidad, gran área de trabajo y facilidad de programación, entre otras, frente a las Máquinas Herramientas de Control numérico (MHCN) que necesitan de una gran inversión para trabajar piezas muy grandes o incrementar sus grados de libertad. Como desventajas, frente a las MHCN, los brazos robóticos poseen menor rigidez, lo que combinado con las altas fuerzas producidas en los procesos de mecanizado hace que aparezcan errores de precisión, desviaciones en las trayectorias, vibraciones y, por consiguiente, una mala calidad en las piezas fabricadas. Entre los brazos robots, los brazos colaborativos están en auge debido a su programación intuitiva y a sus medidas de seguridad, que les permiten trabajar en el mismo espacio que los operadores sin que estos corran riesgos. Como desventaja añadida de los robots colaborativos se encuentra la mayor flexibilidad que estos tienen en sus articulaciones, debido a que incluyen reductores del tipo Harmonic drive. El uso de un control de fuerza en procesos de mecanizado con brazos robots permite controlar y corregir en tiempo real las desviaciones generadas por la flexibilidad en las articulaciones del robot. Utilizar este método de control es beneficioso en cualquier brazo robot; sin embargo, el control interno que incluyen los robots colaborativos presenta ventajas que permiten que el control de fuerza pueda ser aplicado de una manera más eficiente. En el presente trabajo se desarrolla una propuesta real para la inclusión del control de esfuerzos en el brazo robot, así como también, se evalúa y cuantifica la capacidad de los robots industriales y colaborativos en tareas de mecanizado. La propuesta plantea cómo mejorar la utilización de un control de fuerza por bucle interior/exterior aplicado en un brazo colaborativo cuando se desconocen los pares reales de los motores del robot, así como otros parámetros internos que los fabricantes no dan a conocer. Este bucle de control interior/exterior ha sido utilizado en aplicaciones de pulido y lijado sobre diferentes materiales. Los resultados indican que el robot colaborativo es factible para realizar tales operaciones de mecanizado. Sus mejores resultados se obtienen cuando se utiliza un bucle de control interno por velocidad y un bucle de control externo de fuerza con algoritmos, Proporcional-Integral-Derivativo o Proporcional más Pre-Alimentación de la Fuerza.[CA] El mecanitzat amb braços robots ha estat estudiat aproximadament des dels anys 90, durant aquest temps s'han dut a terme importants avanços i descobriments en el que fa al seu camp d'aplicació. En general, els robots manipuladors tenen molts beneficis i avantatges al ser usats en operacions de mecanitzat, com ara, flexibilitat, gran àrea de treball i facilitat de programació, entre d'altres, davant de Màquines Eines de Control Numèric (MECN) que necessiten d'una gran inversió per treballar peces molt grans o incrementar els seus graus de llibertat. Com a desavantatges, enfront de les MECN, els braços robòtics posseeixen menor rigidesa, el que combinat amb les altes forces produïdes en els processos de mecanitzat fa que apareguin errors de precisió, desviacions en les trajectòries, vibracions i, per tant, una mala qualitat en les peces fabricades. Entre els braços robots, els braços col·laboratius estan en auge a causa de la seva programació intuïtiva i a les seves mesures de seguretat, que els permeten treballar en el mateix espai que els operadors sense que aquests corrin riscos. Com desavantatge afegida als robots col·laboratius es troba la major flexibilitat que aquests tenen en les seves articulacions, a causa de que inclouen reductors del tipus Harmonic drive. L'ús d'un control de força en processos de mecanitzat amb braços robots permet controlar, i corregir, en temps real les desviacions generades per la flexibilitat en les articulacions del robot. Utilitzar aquest mètode de control és beneficiós en qualsevol braç robot, però, el control intern que inclouen els robots col·laboratius presenta avantatges que permeten que el control de força es puga aplicar d'una manera més eficient. En el present treball es desenvolupa una proposta real per a la inclusió del control d'esforços en el braç robot, així com s'avalua i quantifica la capacitat dels robots industrials i col·laboratius en tasques de mecanitzat. La proposta planteja com millorar la utilització d'un control de força per bucle interior/exterior aplicat en un braç col·laboratiu, quan es desconeixen els parells reals dels motors del robot, així com altres paràmetres interns que els fabricants no donen a conèixer. Aquest bucle de control interior/exterior ha estat utilitzat en aplicacions de polit sobre diferents materials. Els resultats indiquen que el robot col·laboratiu és factible de realitzar aquestes operacions de mecanitzat. Els seus millors resultats s'obtenen quan s'utilitza un bucle de control intern per velocitat i un bucle de control extern de força amb els algoritmes Proporcional-Integral-Derivatiu o Proporcional més Pre-alimentació de la Força.[EN] Machining with robot arms has been studied approximately since the 90s; during this time, important advances and discoveries have been made in its field of application. In general, manipulative robots have many benefits and advantages when they are used in machining operations, such as flexibility, large work area, and ease of programming, among others, compared to Numerical Control Machine Tools (NCMT) that need a great investment to work very large pieces or increase their degrees of freedom. As for disadvantages, compared to NCMT, robotic arms have lower rigidity, which, combined with the high forces produced in machining processes, causes precision errors, path deviations, vibrations, and, consequently, poor quality in the manufactured parts. Among robot arms, collaborative arms are on the rise due to their intuitive programming and safety measures, which allow them to work in the same space without risk for the operators. An added disadvantage of collaborative robots is their flexibility in their joints because they include Harmonic drive type reducers. The use of force control in machining processes with robot arms makes possible to control and correct, in real-time, the deviations generated by the flexibility in the robot's joints. The use of this control method is beneficial for any robot arm. However, the internal control included in collaborative robots has advantages that allow the force control to be applied more efficiently. In this work, a real proposal is developed to include effort control in the robot arm. The capacity of industrial and collaborative robots in machining tasks is evaluated and quantified. The proposal recommends how to improve the use of an inner/outer force control loop applied in a collaborative arm, when the real torques of the robot's motors are unknown and other internal parameters that manufacturers do not disclose. This inner/outer control loop has been used in polishing and sanding applications on different materials. The results indicate that the collaborative robot is feasible to perform such machining operations. Best results are obtained using an internal velocity control loop and external force control loop with Proportional-Integral-Derivative or Proportional plus Feed Forward.The authors are grateful for the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and European Union, grant DPI2016-81002-R (AEI/FEDER, UE). This work was funded by the CONICYT PFCHA/DOCTORADO BECAS CHILE/2017 – 72180157.Pérez Ubeda, RA. (2022). Propuesta de inclusión de esfuerzos en el control de un brazo robot para asegurar el cumplimiento de la rugosidad superficial durante operaciones de lijado en diferentes materiales [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/182000TESISCompendi

Kinematic analysis and optimization of robotic milling

Robotic milling is proposed to be one of the alternatives to respond the demand for flexible and cost-effective manufacturing systems. Serial arm robots offering 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) motion capability which are utilized for robotic 5-axis milling purposes, exhibits several issues such as low accuracy, low structural rigidity and kinematic singularities etc. In 5-axis milling, the tool axis selection and workpiece positioning are still a challenge, where only geometrical issues are considered at the computer-aided-manufacturing (CAM) packages. The inverse kinematic solution of the robot i.e. positions and motion of the axes, strictly depends on the workpiece location with respect to the robot base. Therefore, workpiece placement is crucial for improved robotic milling applications. In this thesis, an approach is proposed to select the tool axis for robotic milling along an already generated 5-axis milling tool path, where the robot kinematics are considered to eliminate or decrease excessive axis rotations. The proposed approach is demonstrated through simulations and benefits are discussed. Also, the effect of workpiece positioning in robotic milling is investigated considering the robot kinematics. The investigation criterion is selected as the movement of the robot axes. It is aimed to minimize the total movement of either all axes or selected the axis responsible of the most accuracy errors. Kinematic simulations are performed on a representative milling tool path and results are discusse

A method for the assessment and compensation of positioning errors in industrial robots

Industrial Robots (IR) are currently employed in several production areas as they enable flexible automation and high productivity on a wide range of operations. The IR low positioning performance, however, has limited their use in high precision applications, namely where positioning errors assume importance for the process and directly affect the quality of the final products. Common approaches to increase the IR accuracy rely on empirical relations which are valid for a single IR model. Also, existing works show no uniformity regarding the experimental procedures followed during the IR performance assessment and identification phases. With the aim to overcome these restrictions and further extend the IR usability, this paper presents a general method for the evaluation of IR pose and path accuracy, primarily focusing on instrumentation and testing procedures. After a detailed description of the experimental campaign carried out on a KUKA KR210 R2700 Prime robot under different operating conditions (speed, payload and temperature state), a novel online compensation approach is presented and validated. The position corrections are processed with an industrial PC by means of a purposely developed application which receives as input the position feedback from a laser tracker. Experiments conducted on straight paths confirmed the validity of the proposed approach, which allows remarkable reductions (in the order of 90%) of the orthogonal deviations and in-line errors during the robot movements

NASA space station automation: AI-based technology review

Research and Development projects in automation for the Space Station are discussed. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based automation technologies are planned to enhance crew safety through reduced need for EVA, increase crew productivity through the reduction of routine operations, increase space station autonomy, and augment space station capability through the use of teleoperation and robotics. AI technology will also be developed for the servicing of satellites at the Space Station, system monitoring and diagnosis, space manufacturing, and the assembly of large space structures

Improving robotic machining accuracy through experimental error investigation and modular compensation

Machining using industrial robots is currently limited to applications with low geometrical accuracies and soft materials. This paper analyzes the sources of errors in robotic machining and characterizes them in amplitude and frequency. Experiments under different conditions represent a typical set of industrial applications and allow a qualified evaluation. Based on this analysis, a modular approach is proposed to overcome these obstacles, applied both during program generation (offline) and execution (online). Predictive offline compensation of machining errors is achieved by means of an innovative programming system, based on kinematic and dynamic robot models. Real-time adaptive machining error compensation is also provided by sensing the real robot positions with an innovative tracking system and corrective feedback to both the robot and an additional high-dynamic compensation mechanism on piezo-actuator basis