Control of industrial robots Industrial robotics Prof. Paolo Rocco (paolo.rocco@polimi.it) Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria What is a robot? An automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which can be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications (ISO 8373:2012) The robot is not just a mechanical device… Control of industrial robots – Industrial robotics – Paolo Rocco COMAU SMART NH3 So, a robot moves… Then, is this a robot? Well, it moves, but it has no axis and cannot manipulate the environment moving parts. So it is not a robot by our definition And a generic artificial intelligence product (a chatbot for example)? No, it is not a robot. Control of industrial robots – Industrial robotics – Paolo Rocco A robot and its control unit Mechanics Control of industrial robots – Industrial robotics – Paolo Rocco Intelligence Why six joints? Source: Comau Robotics Control of industrial robots – Industrial robotics – Paolo Rocco The mechanical system The manipulator consists of a series of rigid bodies (links) connected by joints. One end of this chain makes the BASE, usually fixed to the floor. At the other end we have the END EFFECTOR where the gripper or tool is mounted. Usually manipulators have six links:  the first three make the positioning  the last three (WRIST) make the orientation Control of industrial robots – Industrial robotics – Paolo Rocco Typical operations performed by robots https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbBwxDtDjPw Control of industrial robots – Industrial robotics – Paolo Rocco An excellent source of information… Source: International Federation of Robotics website Control of industrial robots – Industrial robotics – Paolo Rocco Annual installations of robots in the world Source: International Federation of Robotics website Control of industrial robots – Industrial robotics – Paolo Rocco Annua