Considering the fact that Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) should be able to accommodate a variety of different parts in random order, tool management at cell level and tool transportation, tool data management, tooling data collection, tool maintenance, and manual and/or robotized tool assembly at FMS system level are very important. Tooling information in FMS is used by several subsystems, including: production planning, process control, dynamic scheduling, part programming, tool preset and maintenance, robotized and/or manual tool assembly, stock control and materials storage.

The paper summarizes the major tasks to be solved when designing tool management systems for FMS, as well as gives a solution for describing the data structure of a tool data base integrated with a generic tool description method, and shows a sample transaction of the way the FMS real-time control system can access and use this data base.

This report deals with the development of new control vehicles for the bedridden, physically handicapped person who needs a help-system for carrying things to the bedside from the stock in the room. This new control method is characterized by a unit loop system on the drive track. This unit loop system was constructed to execute three actions: stop, backward and right forward movement, under the control of a on-board microcomputer.

This control method is used in small rooms. It also enables one to increase the driving area of a vehicle without reprogramming and adjusting the control mechanism.

In this paper we show that a robot manipulator with 6 degrees of freedom can be separated into two parts: arm with the first three joints for major positioning and wrist with the last three joints for major orienting. We propose 5 arms and 2 wrists as basic construction for commercially robot manipulators. This kind of simplification can lead to a general algorithm of inverse kinematics for the corresponding configuration of different combinations of arm and wrist. The approaches for numerical solution and closed form solution presented in this paper are very efficient and easy for calculating the inverse kinematics of robot manipulator.

This paper is related to the problem of navigation of a mobile robot amidst obstacles. In order to easily take into account any modification of the environment, we propose a very simple representation of the obstacles, based on the use of rectangles, as well as a matrix description of the spatial relationships between the obstacles. We also present a path planner based on a A* algorithm, the features of which are specifically designed for our world of rectangles. The cost function takes into account both the length of the path and the number of turns. Some experimental results and implementation details are also given in this paper.

This is a preliminary study to provide useful information for the design of the control of a monocycle which is one of the intelligent movable robots. In this paper, the two-degree-of-freedom monocycle is modeled by an inverted pendulum with a controlling arm pivoted at its upper end. The controlling arm is rotated to give the pendulum restoring moment.

The feedback control systems for the model have been designed using two methods – the pole assignment and the optimal control, respectively. Simulations of the control systems designed with the above methods are carried out on a personal computer. Although the pendulum can be stabilized with either of these methods, it is found that the optimal control method is superior to the pole assignment one, because in the former the control system can be designed to be suitably corresponding to the design demands based on a definite criterion.

The programming of robots forms a popular research topic. Different approaches for developing ideal robot programming system have already been proposed. They all attempt to raise the level of abstraction of the robot programming system. They differ, however, to a great extent in the stage of maturity they have reached to become eligible for industrial application. “Explicit robot programming languages”, in which every robot action has to be specified explicitly, can be said to be ready for industrial application. Therefore a detailed analysis is made of the requirements that are put on the class of “explicit robot programming languages”. Their basic composing elements are recognized and discussed in detail.

The minimum-time and subminimum-time joint trajectories of manipulators with geometric path constraints are planned in consideration of physical constraints based on kinematics and dynamics. The idea of time scaling is introduced, i.e. a time scale factor k(t) and a set of joint trajectories, called reference trajectories, are used to describe all the sets of trajectories tracing the specified geometric path. The desirable factor k(t) which makes the travelling time as short as possible is obtained by two proposed methods: the first one is an iteratively improving method using B spline, and the second one is a directly minimizing method. These two methods are preferably applied to a geometric collision-free path of a manipulator.

This paper presents a new program package for the generation of efficient manipulator kinematic and dynamic equations in symbolic form.

The basic algorithm belongs to the class of customized algorithms that reduce the computational burden by taking into account the specific characteristics of the manipulator to be modelled. The output of the package is high-level computer program code for evaluation of various kinematic and dynamic variables: the homogeneous transformation matrix between the hand and base coordinate frame, Jacobian matrices, driving torques and the elements of dynamic model matrices. The dynamic model is based on the recursive Newton-Euler equations. The application of recursive symbolic relations yields nearly minimal numerical complexity. Further improvement of computational efficiency is achieved by introducing different computational rates for the terms depending on joint angles, velocities and accelerations. A comparative study of numerical complexity for several typical industrial robots is presented.

Minimum distance algorithms may be used in robotic simulation programs to provide the user with the distances of approach of the manipulator to obstacles in the work environment; this is important for task planning using graphical simulation of configuration maps, and for the implementation of automatic detection of (imminent) collision in robot task development Systems that are based on a graphical simulation facility. In this paper we present algorithms that may be used for the calculation of distances between objects, not necessarily convex, that are made up of unions of convex polyhedra and cylindrically shaped objects (where the cross-section of the cylinder may be ellipsoidal, rather than circular).

In the paper a formal model is presented of the discrete control of a bile robot moving over a plane. The model synthesis has been directed in such a way as to justify the use as a controller of the automaton with internal and external parameters. It has been shown that, while controlled in discrete time the mobile robot performance can be expressed by a one-sidely optimized tree of a two-person extensive game. The tree, after transforming into the form of the state diagram of an automaton, serves as a basis for the synthesis of the automaton with internal and external parameters playing the role of a controller. A method is presented of synthesizing an automaton of this type, being a hardware realization of the mobile robot controller.

A single-loop spatial mechanism kinematically becomes an open robot, if we separate the grounded joint of the input link which may then be considered as the end effector of the robot. Any position of the end-effector within the workspace of such an open robot can be reached via a number of different configurations of the links. These configurations are called “branches” of the open robot for that particular position of the end effector.

If the open robot is now stretched to a limiting position by a force exerted on the end effector, all the possible branches of the mechanism approach each other. When they become coincident, they form the “limiting configuration”. Any two related branches are at opposite sides of the limiting configuration. From the relationship between the links in th elimiting configuration and in related branches, conditions for aviodance of branching of the original closed-loop mechanism can be obtained. This is necessary in order to assure that a set of consistent relative displacements are specified for the open robot to move displacements are specified for the open robot to move toward the desired end-effector position without jumping from one branch to another. As for the closed-loop mechanism, open robot branching aviodance ensures that a desired sequence of positions of a particular floating link in the loop will be generated without changing the branch of the link configuration.

In this paper, the above approach is applied to RSSR, RRSC, RRSRR, RRRRRRR and RPCRRR spatial closed-loop motion-generator mechanisms and the corresponding conditions for aviodance of branching in the synthesis of the mechanisms are derived.

A high-level robot programming language constitutes a general purpose interface for accessing the basic functional capabilities of a robot. On the other hand, CAD facilities give the possibility of using a subset of these capabilities in an easier fashion. In this paper, we show how a robot programming language and CAD facilities can be combined to obtain a robot programming system satisfying the need for generality, and allowing an easy connection with the basic robot programming functions. Such a connection is based on a “complete” simulator providing facilities for executing robot control programs on a graphic display, for describing manipulation tasks using interactive graphic tools, for simulating the physical world and its perception through sensors, and for displaying three-dimensional scenes as shaded pictures.

In research and industry, there are many situations where components or samples are moved between processes or measurement stations. Where the sample throughput is low, or the application is unique, it may not be cost-effective to custom design a system. In order to allow automation in these cases, an approach which uses a family of components to construct a manipulator has been developed. Reliability and long term availability are major requirements of the system described.

The payload variation has been one of the principal reasons in reducing path tracking accuracy and complicating controller design. In this paper, the trajectory and input sensitivities for the payload variation are investigated for three different robot configurations which include unbalanced, inaccurately balanced and balanced configurations. Based upon the sensitivity theory, simulation studies were made to evaluate the sensitivities of these configurations with respect to payload variations. The simulation results are discussed in detail and compared for the three configurations.

Classifications of pictures and pictorial knowledge are presented. Pictorial knowledge is divided into three classes – angular pictorial knowledge, side pictorial knowledge, and angular and side pictorial knowledge. A block diagram of these three pictorial knowledge classes and a pictorial knowledge transformation module is also presented with illustrative examples. Pictorial semantic networks which in terms of pictorial nodes, property nodes, “is a” links, “has property” links, and “if and only if” links are introduced. Transitivity, generalization, specialization, inheritance hierarchy, and knowledge transformation properties are stated and illustrated by examples. Triangular, quadrangular, and polygonal knowledge representation using pictorial semantic networks are presented. The concepts of deducible property nodes are also presented with illustrative examples. Additional facts can be established from pictorial semantic networks. Thus, pictorial semantic networks are a useful way to represent pictorial knowledge in domains that use well-established taxonomies to simplify problem solving in pictorial information systems. Pictorial semantic networks offer what appears to be a fertile field for future study. The results may have useful applications in knowledge representation, expert systems, artificial intelligence, knowledge - based systems, pictorial information systems and related areas.

The goal of a sophisticated robot programming system is the ability to accept natural language input, such as English, and be able to convert this to a series of robot commands that will achieve the desired robot movement. This paper first examines what is meant by the concept of natural language understanding. Then a bottom-up development of a model of a robot system identifies the levels of control in a robot system and the role of software at each of these. This is related to the various models of software hierarchy that have been proposed by different authors and an essential deviation from these at the object level (or sub-task level) is identified. Finally, a new route is proposed that should be taken in defining the levels of software if intelligent programming of robots is to be achieved.

This paper discusses one problem of robot dynamics rarely mentioned in papers relevent to this field. It is the problem of torsional effects in torque transmissions (reducers, shafts, transmission chains, etc.). The problem is significant since oscillations can appear to be due to these effects. The complete dynamic model, which includes these effects, is derived and the possible simplifications considered. The position of feedback transducers is discussed since it appears as an important problem when it is intended to minimize the influence of these elastic vibrations. The discussion is based on eigenvalues and simulation results.