Abb Schweiz Ag

Tomas Groth

Thomas A Fuhlbrigge

Biao Zhang

Jianjun Wang

Sangeun Choi

George Q Zhang

Remus Boca

Ivan Lundberg

Bjoern Matthias

Harald Staab

Ralph Sjöberg

Arne Wahrburg

Hao Ding

Martin Nordvall

Fan Dai

Roger Mellander

Richard Roberts

Björn Matthias

Annika Hedlund

Jonathan Styrud

Debora Clever

Henrik Jerregård

Jonas Haulin

Markus Enberg

Tomas Olsson

Stefan Romberg

Tobias Berninger

A method of controlling an industrial robot, the method including visualizing a nominal path of the industrial robot, the nominal path being associated with a nominal trajectory of the industrial robot; visualizing indications of values of at least one parameter of the industrial robot as when executing the nominal trajectory, for evaluating a risk potential of a physical contact between the industrial robot and a human; receiving a user input related to the nominal trajectory; modifying the nominal trajectory based on the user input to provide a modified trajectory; and executing the modified trajectory by the industrial robot. A control system and an industrial robot are also provided.

Method of controlling industrial robot, control system and robot system

A method of controlling an industrial robot, including a robot controller, a programming interface, which is separate from the robot controller, and a robot manipulator with a plurality of actuators. The method includes: receiving a first release signal via a first safe input means; receiving actuator-selection data, which indicates one or more of the actuators, via an arbitrary input means at the programming interface; receiving a second release signal via a second safe input means at the programming interface after having received the actuator-selection data; and, in response to determining that the first and second release signals are still received, causing the actuators indicated by the actuator-selection data to enter a movement-without-drive-power mode.

Safety functions in an industrial robot

A system and a method, for assisting a user in programming a robot. Storage circuitry includes predefined possible values for a physical condition of at least two joints, the values being subdivided into two or more ranges. Processing circuitry is arranged to acquire a first path of the Tool Centre Point (TCP), receive, for each of a plurality of points of the first path and for the joints, a value associated with the physical condition at the respective points, determine which of the ranges the value is associated with, generate at least one additional path, associate each of the at least two joints to a respective path, and send instructions to a display, to illustrate the first path and the additional path, together with the information of which range the values are associated with at the plurality of points of the paths.

System for optimizing robot performance

A method for controlling movement of a robot having a plurality of links connected by rotatably driven joints includes the steps of: a) defining a target speed vector of a reference point of the robot in Cartesian space; b) determining rotation speeds ({dot over (q)}) of the joints which minimize a weighted sum, the weighted sum having for summands i) a discrepancy (&#x2225;{dot over (x)}&#x2212;J{dot over (q)}&#x2225;) between the target speed vector ({dot over (x)}) and an actual speed vector ({dot over (x)}) calculated from actual rotation speeds of the joints; and ii) a rate of change of the target rotation speeds; and c) setting the rotation speeds ({dot over (q)}) determined in step (b) as target rotation speeds of the joints.

Method for controlling movement of a robot

A method for estimating a wrench acting on a reference point of a robot includes the steps of: a) measuring at least one component, but not all components, of the wrench; and b) estimating non-measured components of the wrench based on a dynamical model of the robot while taking into account the measured components.

Method for estimating a wrench

An industrial robot including a movable robot arm for supporting a tool, and a control unit configured to control the movement of the robot. The control unit is provided with an alignment function for aligning the tool with at least one specified axis. The control unit is configured to supervise the movement of the robot, and to automatically adjust the orientation of the tool so that the tool is aligned with the specified axis upon detecting that the movement of the robot has been stopped and the alignment function is activated. Also disclosed is a method for controlling the industrial robot, and to the use of the method for teaching a robot a path including a plurality of target points by lead-through programming.

Method and system for aligning a tool during programming of an industrial robot

A method of determining a joint torque in a joint of an articulated industrial robot, the robot having a first arm and a second arm which are coupled to each other by the joint and which are movable relative to each other by an electric drive unit coupled to the first and second arm, includes: controlling the electric drive unit by an electronic control device; assigning a measuring device to the electric drive unit, the measuring device measuring an electric current supplied to the drive unit; determining an actual value of the torque which is applied to the second arm from the measured electric current; and comparing, using the electronic control device, the determined actual torque value with a predetermined desired torque value for the joint.

Method of determining a joint torque in a joint of an articulated industrial robot

An industrial robot including a manipulator and a robot control unit are disclosed, wherein the manipulator includes a plurality of joints that are moved under the control of the control unit, and the control unit includes a storage medium including program code for controlling the motions of the robot when executed by the control unit. The control unit is configured to automatically select which part of the program code to be executed next based on the position of the robot. A method for controlling the robot is also disclosed.

Industrial robot and method for controlling the robot to automatically select which program code to be executed next

A robot and method for controlling an industrial robot, which has a first robot arm, a second robot arm, a joint defining a kinematic pair between the first and second robot arms, an actuator for generating relative movement between the first and second robot arms, and a robot controller for controlling the movements of the actuator. The method includes the steps of: determining a presence of a first torque indication at the actuator to be interpreted as a first command to the robot controller; repeatedly obtaining an external torque value (&#x3c4;) to obtain an external torque behavior; comparing the external torque behavior with the first torque indication; and executing a robot function corresponding to the first command upon detecting that the external torque behavior corresponds to the first torque indication. The obtained external torque behavior depends on a reference torque value (&#x3c4;) obtained from a dynamic model of the robot.

Method for controlling an industrial robot by touch

A machine has at least one actuated mechanism is remotely located from a control station. A two way real-time communication link connects the machine location with the control station. A controller at the machine location has program code that is configured to determine from data from one or more sensors at the machine location if an actual fault has occurred in the machine when the machine is performing its predetermined function and to determine for an actual fault one or more types for the fault and transmit the one or more fault types to the control station for analysis. The code in the controller is configured to be a preprogrammed trap routine specific to the machine function that is automatically executed when an error in machine operation is detected at the machine location. The controller also has a default trap routine that is executed when the specific routine does not exist.

Teleoperation of machines having at least one actuated mechanism and a fault detection and recovery system

A machine remotely located from a control station has at least one actuated mechanism. A two way real-time communication link connects the machine location with the control station. A controller at the machine location has program code that includes an instruction which when executed transfers control of the machine from the controller to the control station. The program code can have a task frame associated with the predetermined function performed by the machine with the task frame divided into a first set controlled by the controller and a second set controlled from the control station. The system can also have two or more remotely located control stations only one of which can control the machine at a given time.

Teleoperation of machines having at least one actuated mechanism and one machine controller comprising a program code including instructions for transferring control of the machine from said controller to a remote control station

A machine has at least one actuated mechanism is remotely located from a control station. A two way real-time communication link connects the machine location with the control station. A controller at the machine location has program code that is configured to determine from data from one or more sensors at the machine location if an actual fault has occurred in the machine when the machine is performing its predetermined function and to determine for an actual fault one or more types for the fault and transmit the one or more fault types to the control station for analysis. The code in the controller is configured to be a preprogrammed trap routine specific to the machine function that is automatically executed when an error in machine operation is detected at the machine location. The controller also has a default trap routine that is executed when specific routine does not exist.

A machine that has at least one actuated mechanism is remotely located from a control station. A two way real-time communication link connects the machine location with the control station. An interface at the control station allows an operator to select one or more virtual constraints on operation of the machine when the machine is performing a predetermined function. The virtual constraints are transmitted over the two way real-time communication link to the machine location. The machine has predetermined safety limits that are stored in a controlling device at the machine location. The stored predetermined safety limits are extracted and automatically mapped to the control station using the two way real-time communication link. The controlling device maps the predetermined safety limits to the virtual constraints.

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Västerås, Sweden

Tomas Groth