An external 6D-sensor for industrial robots

Abstract

This paper presents a dynamic six-degree-of-freedom measurement system for industrial robots. The measurement system uses the beam of a laser interferometer and a mirror mounted on a cardan joint to follow a retroreflector which is mounted to the robot's end-effector. The position of the end-effector is measured with high accuracy and is computed in real time. The orientation is determined by analyzing the intensity profile of the reflected laser beam. Since the measurement system must be capable of tracking the movements of the end-effector at the maximum speed of the robot, the requirements of the tracking controller regarding dynamic operation are very high. Thus a target tracking controller has been developed and is presented in detail.