An integrated robot system architecture

This paper describes the architecture of a robot system designed both to work in an integrated manufacturing environment and to support continuing research in programmable automation. Major system components include a controller, robot and sensor hardware, operator's pendant, and system software. A new high-level interactive language, AML, allows the user to combine manipulation, sensing, computational, and data processing functions provided by the system. Important aspects of the system design objectives, major functional components, and the AML language are described, and examples drawn from an actual production application are used to illustrate the interrelationship of the topics discussed.