Robot control system for multi-position alignment used to automate an industrial robot calibration approach

Robot calibration is widely used in the manufacture industry to enhance and achieve a higher level of accuracy on industrial robot manipulators. Currently, there are many reliable calibration systems able to perform the calibration task. Those systems, however, are far from being a user friendly calibration tool; they are time consuming, very expensive, and usually requires a lot of human interaction. Therefore, we proposed a new calibration system able to overcome those problems with promising results. However, to take the system to the next level, and create an automated calibration process, we need to create a control system capable of guiding the robot's tool center point to a multi-position alignment. Throughout this paper the control approach needed to achieve automation of the entire system is presented and discussed. Simulations and experimental results demonstrated the feasibility of the overall calibration system including hardware, software and control algorithms.