UNIT – 1

INTRODUCTION TO ROBOTICS

CONTENT

Section Topic Page No.

Part I: Introduction to Robotics
Objective 3
1.1 Introduction 3
1.2 Definitions 3
1.3 Industrial robots 3
1.4 The Robotic Motions 4
1.4.1 Robot Joints 4
1.4.2 Joint notations for major axes 5
1.4.3 Wrist Movements 7
1.5 Robot classification 7
1.5.1 Classification Based on Drive Technologies 7
1.5.2 Classification Based on work envelop geometries 8
1.5.3 Classification Based on Motion Control Systems 12
1.6 Robot Reach/ Work Volume 13
1.7 Robot Specifications 14
1.7.1 Number of Axes 14
1.7.2 Load Carrying Capacity 14
1.7.3 Maximum Speed of Motion 15
1.7.4 Reach and Stroke 15
1.7.5 Tool Orientation 16
1.7.6 Precision, Accuracy and Repeatability of movement 16
1.7.7 Robot Compliance 19
1.7.8 Operating environment 20
1.8 Speed of Response and Stability of Robot 20
1.9 End Effectors 20
1.10Architecture of Robotic Systems 21
1.11 Robot Selection 22
1.12 Robot Applications 23
1.12.1 Loading/unloading parts to/from the machines 23
1.12.2 Welding 23
1.12.3 Spray Painting 23
1.12.4 Assembly Operations 23
1.12.5 Inspection 23

References:

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UNIT - 1
PART I: INTRODUCTION TO ROBOTICS

Objective
In the first part of this unit we would be studying the basics associated with the industrial
robots, like basic types, classifications, the methods to specify the robots, types of drive
technologies used in robotic applications, types of end effectors, the factors which must be
taken care of while selecting the robots for a particular application, and finally the various
applications of the robots. After studying this part of unit-1, we would be aware of most of
basics of the industrial robots.
In the second part of unit-1, we have developed the platform for understanding the coordinate
transformation. The concept of fundamental rotations has been discussed along with the basic
translations. Then the concept of homogeneous coordinates has been elaborated with
examples. Then we devised the methodology to understand the homogeneous coordinate
transformations, and the composite homogeneous transformations.

1.1 Introduction
Having its origin from Science fiction way back in late 18th century, the field of robotics, as
we see in modern world, has undergone tremendous developments. It just started with some
fiction stories, that a robot looks and acts like human beings, and this concept was presented
in various forms by number of authors in various languages. Issac Asimov, a famous science
fiction writer, starting from 1939, has contributed, a number of fiction stories about robots,
and has been credited with familiarizing with the term robotics. He has suggested that a robot
must perform any task, according to the following three principles, famously known as three
laws of robotics by Asimov, as written below:
(i) A robot must not harm human being or through inaction, allow a human being to
be harmed.
(ii) A robot must obey orders given by human except the situation that violates the
first law.
(iii) A robot must protect itself unless that violates the first two above stated laws.

Robots today, specially the industrial robots are the specialized, highly automated mechanical
manipulators which are controlled by sophisticated electronic control systems and computer
systems and are the most important part of flexible / programmable automation. The robots
can be programmed to do a variety of operations by just changing the predetermined set of
instructions called program, through some compatible software. This is also termed as soft
automation.

1.2 Definitions
An industrial robot can be defined as a general purpose reprogrammable manipulator, which
has certain anthropomorphic or human like characteristics, which can be used to move its
various linkages through a specified controlled sequence of motion in order to perform the
desired task.
Robot can also be defined as a software controllable mechanical device that uses actuators
and sensors to guide one or more end effectors through programmed motions in a workspace
in order to manipulate physical objects.

1.3 Industrial Robots

The industrial robots are quite different from what was projected in the earlier day’s science
fiction stories.

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The Robotics Industries Association (RIA) defines an industrial robot as “programmable,
multi-functional manipulator designed to move materials, parts, tools, or special devices
through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks”

An industrial robot, as would be imagined by an unfamiliar person, does not look alike
human or behave like human beings as generally these are like a one armed machine, which
most of the time operate from a fixed location on the shop floor. But there are definitely some
robots that have been developed which have got certain human or animal like appearance and
working capabilities to certain extent, like ASIMO, a humanoid robot developed by Honda.
The advances in the control technology, linkages actuation mechanisms, the enhancement in
the computer technology and its miniaturization, and the development of advanced machine
vision systems has added a number of capabilities to the industrial robots which one would
have just imagined a century before.
Thus, an industrial robot consists of a number of rigid links connected by joints of different
types, controlled and monitored by a computer, to get the desired work from it.

1.4 The Robotic Motions

The industrial robots are designed to perform some desirable work, and which can be
performed by enabling the manipulator to move the body, arm and wrist through a series of
motions and thereby helping the end effectors of the robot to achieve the desirable position
and orientation in the three dimensional space surrounding the base of the robot.

1.4.1 Robot Joints

A robot joint permits relative movement between parts of a robot arm. The joints of a robot
are designed to enable the robot to move its end-effector along a path from one position to
another as desired. The end effector is mounted on a flange or some plate secured to the
wrist. It is most of the times, is the tool to perform some operation or some gripper for pick
and place operations.

The robot movements are broadly classified into two main categories, namely
(i) arm and body motions
(ii) wrist motions.

The individual joint motions associated with these two categories are also referred to as the
degrees of freedom. The first three axes of the robot are referred to as the major axes, most of
the time the position of the end-effector of the robot is determined by the position of the
major axes. Similarly three more axes associated with the wrist, are called minor axes and are
used to establish the orientation of the tool or the gripper at wrist. Thus a minimum of six
axes are required to achieve any desirable position and orientation in the robot’s work volume
or work envelop or workspace.
The locus of the points in the three dimensional space that can be reached by the wrist by the
various combinations of the movements of the robot joints from base up to wrist, is called the
gross work envelop of the robot.

The robot motions are accomplished by means of powered joints. The rigid members
connected at the joints of the robot are called links. In the link-joint-link chain the link closest
to the base is referred to as the input link. The output link is the one which moves with
respect to the input link.

There are basically two types of joints commonly used in industrial robots, which are:

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 (i) prismatic or linear joints, which have sliding or linear (translational) motion along
an axis
(ii) and revolute, which exhibits the rotary motion about an axis

Figure 1.1 shows some examples of the physical arrangements of the linkages to have
prismatic or the revolute motions in robotics.

The prismatic joints are called so because the cross section of the joint is considered as a
generalized prism. They permit links to move in a linear relationship and are denoted by L. In
a prismatic joint (L), the links are generally parallel to one another. In some cases, adjoining
links are perpendicular but one link slides at the end of the other link. The joint motion is
defined by sliding or translational movements of the links. The orientation of the links
remains the same after the joint movement, but the lengths of the links are altered.

The Revolute joints permit only angular motion between links. Their various types are:
(i) Rotational joint (R)
(ii) Twisting joint (T)
(iii) Revolving joint (V)

A rotational joint (R) is identified by its motion, rotation about an axis perpendicular to the
adjoining links. Here, the lengths of adjoining links do not change but the relative position of
the links with respect to one another changes as the rotation takes place.

A twisting joint (T) is also a rotational joint, where the rotation takes place about an axis that
is parallel to both adjoining links.

A revolving joint (V) is another rotational joint, where the rotation takes place about an axis
that is parallel to one of the adjoining links. Usually, the links are aligned perpendicular to
one another at this kind of joint. The rotation involves revolution of one link about another.

Figure 1.1 Types of joints: (a) linear joint; (b) rotational joint; (c) twisting joint; (d) revolving joint

Figure 1.2 and 1.3 shows some examples of how we can use the various types of joint will
give us a particular robotics configuration. The various robotic configurations will be
explained later in detail.

1.4.2 Joint notations for major axes

These motions are accomplished by movements of individual joints of the robot arm. The
joint movements are basically the same as relative motion of adjoining links. The following
figures shows the various possible combinations of the joints one may have in the robot. The
basic movements required for a desired motion of most industrial robots are:

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1. Rotational movement: This enables the robot to place its arm in any direction on a
horizontal plane.
2. Radial movement: This enables the robot to move its end-effector radially to reach distant
points.
3. Vertical movement: This enables the robot to take its end-effector to different heights.

Figure 1.2 Different Robot Configurations: (a) LL robot; (b) RRR robot; (c) TL robot

Figure 1.3 Different Robot Configurations: (a) LRL robot; (b) RRL robot; (c) TRL robot; (d) LVL robot

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 Figure 1.4: Wrist Movements

1.4.3 Wrist Movements

The robots wrist movements are designed to orient the end effector or tool attached to the
wrist of the robot in the desirable orientation. The robots wrist is generally having three
degrees of freedom associated with it. These three degrees of freedom at the wrist are called
wrist roll, wrist pitch and wrist yaw, as illustrated in the figure 1.4.

1. Wrist roll: it involves the rotation of the wrist mechanism about the arm axis. Wrist
roll is sometimes also referred to as wrist swivel.
2. Wrist pitch: if the wrist roll is in its center position, the wrist pitch is the up or down
rotation of the wrist. This is also called wrist bend.
3. Wrist yaw: if the wrist roll is in center position of its range, wrist yaw is the right or
the left rotation of the wrist.

The wrist yaw and pitch definitions are specified with respect to the central position of
the wrist roll, as the rotation of the wrist about the arm axis will change the orientation of
the pitch and yaw movements. The robot would have a spherical wrist if the axes used to
orient the tool intersect at a common point.

1.5 Robot Classification

Robots may be classified, based on:
• Drive Technologies
• Physical Configuration
• Control Systems

1.5.1 Classification based on drive technologies

An important element of a robot is the drive system that supplies the power for the actuation
of various linkages and joints of a robot and thus enabling the robot to move. The dynamic
performance of a robot mainly depends on the type of power source. There are basically three
types of power sources for robots, which are mentioned below:

Electric drive
Most of the industrial robots use electric drive system, in the form of either DC stepper motor
drive (open loop control), or, DC servo motor drive (closed loop control). The main

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advantages of using electric drive system are that this drive system gives better positioning
accuracy and repeatability, and is suitable to keep cleaner environment around. But it gives
slower movement compare to the hydraulic robots and the electric drive system is good for
small and medium size robots only.

Hydraulic drive
In case when industrial robot is required to work at higher speeds and at substantial loads
hydraulic drive robot are preferred. The main disadvantage of using hydraulic drive system is
that it occupies large space area and there is a danger of oil leak to the shop floor.

Pneumatic drive
For both electrical and hydraulic drive robots most of the time make use of the pneumatic
tools or end effectors. Pneumatic drives are used especially when the gripping action of the
end effectors is simple open and close operation to pick light objects. But the pneumatic drive
system is preferred for smaller robots as these are less expensive than electric or hydraulic
robots and suitable for relatively less degrees of freedom design for simple pick and place
application.

1.5.2 Classification based on work envelop geometries

Based on the physical configuration or the combination of the revolute or prismatic joints for
the three major axes, a particular geometry of the work envelop is achieved. The table below
shows the some of the most common robot work envelops based on the major axes.

Table 1.1: Robot work envelops based o major axes

Robot work Axis 1 Axis 2 Axis 3
envelop
Cartesian L L L
Cylindrical T L L
L T L
L V L
Spherical T R L
SCARA R R L
Articulated R R R

Thus based upon the combination of the various joints types for the major axes, the industrial
robots can be classified into the following four types:
1. Cartesian configuration
2. Cylindrical configuration
3. Polar configuration
4. Joint-arm configuration

Cartesian Configuration
As shown in figure 1.4, the robots with Cartesian configuration consist of links connected by
linear joints (L). Thus the resulting configuration is (LLL). Here the three joints corresponds
to the notation for the moving the wrist up and down, in and out, and back and forth. Thus the
work envelop/ work volume generated by this robot is a rectangular box. The example of
Cartesian robots is the gantry robot and they are commonly used for pick and place work for
heavy loads, assembly operations, handling machine tools, and arc welding operations.

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 Figure 1.4: Cartesian coordinate robot
The major advantages of Cartesian coordinate robot are:
1. Ability to do straight line insertions into furnaces.
2. Easy computation and programming.
3. Most rigid structure for given length.
But Cartesian coordinate robots do have certain disadvantages also as listed below:
1. Requires large operating volume.
2. Exposed guiding surfaces require covering in corrosive or dusty environments
3. Can only manipulate the objects in front of it.
4. Axes of robot are hard to seal

Cylindrical Configuration
Changing the first prismatic joint of the Cartesian coordinate robot by revolute joint, to have
TLL configuration we bet the cylindrical coordinate robot. The space in which this robot
operates is cylindrical in shape, hence the name cylindrical configuration. As shown in figure
1.5, the first axis twists the robot wrist about a vertical base axis and second and third joints
which are prismatic moves the wrist up and down along the vertical axis, and in and out in
horizontal direction respectively. As there is always some minimum radial position up to
which the third joint would be moving, the work envelop we get from this configuration is
actually the volume between two concentric cylinders. In short a robot with cylindrical
configuration has one revolute (T) joint at the base and two linear (L) joints succeeded to
connect the other links. But in addition to this TLL configuration, we can also get the
cylindrical robot configuration by LTL and LVL configurations as listed in table 1.1.

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 Figure 1.5: Cylindrical coordinate robot

The cylindrical coordinate robots are commonly used for handling at die-casting machines,
assembly operations, handling machine tools, and spot welding operations.

The cylindrical coordinate robots have the following major advantages over other robot
configurations:
1. can reach all around itself
2. rotational axis easy to seal
3. relatively easy programming
4. rigid enough to handle heavy loads through large working space
5. good access into cavities and machine openings

The main disadvantages of the cylindrical coordinate robots are:

1. can't reach above itself
2. linear axes is hard to seal
3. won’t reach around obstacles
4. exposed drives are difficult to cover from dust and liquids

Polar (spherical) configuration

Polar robots have a work envelop of spherical shape. Generally, the arm is connected to the
base with a twisting (T) joint, and rotary (R) and linear (L) joints follow to give us a
configuration TRL. Here the first joint swings the arm back and forth about a vertical base
axis, the second revolute joint moves the arm up and down about the horizontal shoulder, as
shown in figure 1.6.

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 Figure 1.6: Polar coordinate robot

Robots with the designation TRL are also called spherical robots. Those with the designation
TRR are called articulated robots. An articulated robot more closely resembles the human
arm. The Spherical/Polar Robots are commonly used for material handling at die casting or
fettling machines, handling machine tools and for arc/spot welding etc.
The following are the advantages of spherical coordinate robots:
1. Large working envelope.
2. Two rotary drives are easily sealed against liquids/dust.
The disadvantages are:
1. Complex coordinates more difficult to visualize, control, and program.
2. Exposed linear drive.
3. Low accuracy.

Figure 1.7: SCARA (Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm)

Like a spherical coordinate robot, a SCARA robot (Selective Compliance Assembly Robot
Arm) is a robot with at least two parallel rotary joints (R) and having one linear joint for the
positioning of the wrist. But for a SCARA robot all three joint axes are vertical as shown in
figure 1.7. The first rotary axis swings the arm back and forth and can be thought of as the
vertical shoulder axis. The second revolute joint swings the forearm back and forth about the
vertical elbow axis. The third joint which is linear joint, slides up and down, to give vertical
motion to the robot wrist. Thus the two rotary joints are in the same horizontal plane. The
SCARA robot is commonly used for pick and place work, and assembly operation with high
working speeds.

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Following are the main advantages of SCARA:
1. High speed.
2. Height axis is rigid.
3. Large work area for floor space.
4. Moderately easy to program.
The main disadvantages of SCARA are:
1. Limited applications.
2. Two ways to reach a point.
3. Difficult to program off-line.
4. Highly complex arm.

Jointed Arm Configuration

The jointed-arm is a combination of cylindrical and articulated configurations. The arm of the
robot is connected to the base with a twisting joint, as shown in figure 1.8. The links in the
arm are connected by rotary joints. Many commercially available robots have this
configuration.

Figure 1.8: Jointed Arm Robot

A jointed arm robotic configuration that is a robot with at least 3 rotary joints, are commonly
used for assembly operations, welding, weld sealing, spray painting, and handling at die
casting or fettling machines.
The main advantages of a jointed arm robotic configuration are:
1. All rotary joints allows for maximum flexibility
2. All joints can be sealed from the environment.
The main disadvantages are:
1. Extremely difficult to visualize, control, and program these robots.
2. Restricted volume coverage.
3. Low accuracy.

1.5.3 Classification based on motion control systems

To have the proper motion of the various joints of the robot it must have some appropriate
control system to regulate the drive system which provides the motion to the various robot
joints. The control system used in the industrial robots can be classified into the following
categories:
1. Limited sequence robots

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 2. Point-to-point (PTP) control robot
3. Continuous-path (CP) control robot
4. Controlled-path robot
5. Intelligent robots.

Limited Sequence Robots

The limited sequence robots do not make use of the feedback control to indicate the relative
positions of the joints, and hence we get no feedback that the desired position has been
achieved or not. In these robots the joint motions are controlled by the limit switches to detect
the end point of travel of the respective joints. Thus in this method of robot control the
individual joints can only be moved to their respective extreme limits of travel. This limits
the number of distinct positions which can be specified for the robot in a program. The
sequence in which the robot’s various joints will move to get the desired motion of the end
effector is controlled by a sequencing device, which is called robot controller. The robot
controller gives the input signals to each actuator to operate in a particular sequence. These
types of robots generally make use of pneumatic drives and are used for rather simpler
applications like pick and place operations.

Point to Point Control Robot (PTP)

The PTP robot is capable of moving from one point to another point. These point locations
are taught to the robot and recorded in the memory of robot control unit. During operation
cycles the robot controller commands the actuation of the various robot joints in a proper
sequence so that the robot’s end effector moves from one point to another in a desired
sequence. Point to point robots do not control the path followed while moving from one point
to the next point. Thus if the programmer want the robot to follow a particular path while
moving from one position to another, then he must specify a series of intermediate points
along the desired path between the given points. Some common applications of the point to
point robots include: component insertion, spot welding, hole drilling, machine loading and
unloading, and assembly operations.

Continuous-Path Control Robot (CP)

The continuous-path control robot is capable of performing movements in which the path
followed by the robot is controlled. For continuous-path control, the points along the path
must be stored explicitly in the robot's control memory. Thus actually continuous-path
control is accomplished by making the robotic manipulator move through the sequence of
closely spaced points which describe the path to be followed by the robot. These individual
points along the path are defined by the robot controller unit. Straight-line motion is the
simplest example for this type of robot, where the task of the programmer is to just specify
the start and the end point of the path, and the controller calculate the intermediate points
along the path and allow the robot to move along the straight line path. Some continuous-path
controlled robots also have the capability to follow a smooth curve path that has been defined
by the programmer. In such cases the programmer manually moves the robot arm through the
desired path and the controller unit stores a large number of individual point locations along
the path in memory. Some typical applications of continuous-path control robot include:
spray painting, gluing, and arc welding operations

Controlled-Path Robot
In controlled-path robots, the control equipment can generate paths of different geometry
such as straight lines, circles, and interpolated curves with a high degree of accuracy. Good
accuracy can be obtained at any point along the specified path. Only the start and finish

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points and the path definition function must be stored in the robot's control memory. This
controlled path control is accomplished by making the robot move through a series of closely
spaced points which fall along the desired path to be followed by the robot. These
intermediate points along the path are defined by the controller of the robot, not by the
programmer. Straight line motion is the common type of controlled path robots, where in the
task of the robot programmer is to specify the start and the end points of the path, and the
robot’s control unit determines the sequence of the intermediate points along the straight line
path. Similarly robots for certain industrial applications possess the capability to follow a
smooth curved path that is defined by the robot programmer by manually moving the robotic
arm through the desired complicated curved path. Here in such case the controller memory
should be sufficiently large to store the large number of individual point locations that define
the curved path with sufficient accuracy. It is important to mention that all controlled-path
robots have a servo capability to correct their path.

Intelligent robots
Intelligent robots are the type of industrial robots that posses the capability to interact with
the environment they are working in addition to play back the programmed motion cycles.
These robots possess the capability to alter the programmed instructions by perceiving the
change in the working environment through the data received from the various robotic
sensors. These robots also possess the capacity to communicate with the humans or the
computer based systems. These robots are programmed using the higher level (English like
and symbolic) language so that the complex activities could be accomplished, like complex
assembly operations etc.

Figure 1.9: Work Volume for Various Robot Configurations (a) Cartesian coordinate
(b) Cylindrical coordinate and (c) Polar coordinate.

1.6 Robot Reach/ Work Volume

Robot reach, also known as the work envelope or work volume, is the space of all points in
the surrounding space that can be reached by the robot arm. Reach is one of the most
important characteristics to be considered in selecting a suitable robot because the application
space should not fall out of the selected robot's reach.

The definition of the robots work volume is conventionally done based on the positions in the
space surrounding the robot which can be reached by the robots wrist. The positions of the
robots wrist are used for the purpose of defining the robots work volume mainly to avoid the
complication of different sizes of the end effectors that may be attached to the robots wrist.
The end effector is in addition to the basic robot and it should not be accounted as the part of
the robot’s work volume.

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The work volume of an industrial robot is determined by the following physical
characteristics of the robot:
(i) The robot’s physical configuration
(ii) The sizes of the links for the body, arm and wrist of robot
(iii) The limits of the robot’s joint movements.

As shown in figure 1.9, the work volume for a Cartesian coordinate robot is a rectangular-
type space, where as for a cylindrical configuration, and polar configuration the reach/ work
volume of the manipulator is a hollow cylindrical space, and a part of a hollow spherical
shape. Robot reach for a jointed-arm configuration does not have a specific shape.

1.7 Robot Specifications

We broadly categorize the robots based upon the drive technologies, work volume
geometries, and the motion control methodologies. But in addition to these three things, there
are several additional characteristics that help us categories the industrial robots which are
mentioned below:
(i) Number of axes
(ii) Load carrying capacity (kg)
(iii) Maximum speed (mm/sec)
(iv) Reach and stroke (mm)
(v) Tool orientation (deg)
(vi) Precision, accuracy and Repeatability of movement (mm)
(vii) Robot compliance
(viii) Operating environment

1.7.1 Number of Axes

The industrial robots have got a number of axes about which its various links rotate or
translate. As explained earlier the first three axes of the robot called major axes are used to
establish the position of the wrist. The remaining axes of the robot are used to establish the
orientation of the robots wrist, called minor axes. Thus a six axes robot is a general
manipulator which can move its end effector to both an arbitrary location and an arbitrary
orientation with in its work volume. Some industrial robots have more than six axes, where
the additional axes after the six axes in a robot are termed as the redundant axes, which are
generally used to avoid certain obstacle in the robots work volume. The mechanism to
activate the robot tool (end effector), or the opening and closing of the robots gripper, is not
considered as the independent robot axis, as this mechanism (axis) do not contribute to
acquire either the position or the orientation of the end effector in robots working space.
1.7.2 Load Carrying Capacity
The load carrying capacity of industrial robots is mainly determined by various factors such
as robot’s size, configuration, type of drive system and the type of application for which the
robot is designed. The load carrying capacity of modern robots has a very wide range, from
few grams to several thousand of kilograms. The maximum load carrying capacity of the
industrial robots arm should be specified for the condition that it is in its weakest position.
The weakest position most of the time is the position when the robots arm is at maximum
horizontal extension. This can be understood in a way that if compared with the human arm,
it is most difficult to lift a heavy load when the arm is fully extended rather than a position
when some load is to lifted which is placed close to the body.

The specification of load carrying capacity provided by the most of the robotic manipulator
manufacturers is actually the gross weight capacity that can be put at the robotic wrist. Thus

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to make use of this specification the user must be aware of the weight of the end effector. For
an example, if the gross load carrying capacity of a robot is 10.0 kg and it’s end effector
weigh 3.0 kg, then the net load carrying capacity of the robot would be only 7.0 kg.

1.7.3 Maximum Speed of Motion

The maximum tool tip speed of the robots also vary widely, from a few mm per second to a
magnitude of several meters per second. The speed of the robot is measured at robot’s wrist.
Thus the highest speeds can be achieved by the larger industrial manipulators with maximum
horizontal extension of the arm away from the base of the robot. Also the type of the drive
system of the robot affects the joint speeds, for example, the hydraulic robots are having
faster joint motions than the electrical drive robots.

A more meaningful measure of the robot speed is the cycle time, which is the time required to
accomplish a given work cycle, consisting of several periodic motions of robot. As it is
desirable for any production operation to minimize the cycle time of the given task, most of
the robots have the provision to regulate or adjust the speed. The selection of the desirable
speed of the robot depends upon the number of other factors as well, like:
(i) The accuracy of positioning of the end effector or robot’s wrist
(ii) The distance to be moved by the robot’s wrist
(iii) The load at the wrist.

There is an inverse relation between the accuracy of wrist positioning and the speed of the
robot motions. As the desired accuracy is increased, the robot need more time to reduce the
location errors in its various joints to achieve the final desirable position of end effector or the
robot wrist. The load at the wrist also affects the operational speed of the robot as the heavier
loads would generate greater inertia and momentum, which would restrict us to lower robot
speeds for safer manipulator operations. The length of distance to be traveled by the robot
wrist will also affect the operation speeds, as the acceleration and deceleration of the various
joints take some time. Thus a longer distance will be traveled in relatively shorter time than a
series of short distances. Thus the shorter distances will prevent the robot to achieve its
maximum operating speeds.

The maximum load carrying capacity and maximum operating speed of industrial robot have
got a wide range, thus we must consider the aforesaid factors while selecting the robot for a
particular application. In some cases the load carrying capacity required may be more, but
accuracy may not be a constraint, thus we should select the appropriate configuration, as
there is no use of paying for the characteristics which are not at all necessary for a particular
required application where the robot is to be used.

1.7.4 Reach and Stroke

Reach and stroke of the robot are the measure of the work volume of the robot. The
horizontal reach is the maximum radial distance at which the robotic wrist can be positioned
away from the vertical axis about which the robot rotates, or the base of the robot. The
horizontal stroke is the total radial distance the wrist can move. There is always a certain
minimum distance the robot’s wrist will remain away from the base axis.
Thus, the horizontal stroke is always less than equal to the horizontal reach. For a cylindrical
coordinate robot the horizontal reach is the outer cylinder of the workspace, while the
horizontal stroke is the difference between the radii of the concentric outer cylinder and the
inner cylinder, as shown in figure 1.10.

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 Figure 1.10: reach and stroke for a cylindrical robot

The vertical reach is the maximum vertical distance above the working surface that can be
reached by the robot’s wrist. The vertical stroke is the total vertical distance that the wrist can
move. Similar to the horizontal stroke, the vertical stroke is also always less than equal to the
vertical reach. Figure 1.10 shows the concept of horizontal and vertical stroke, and maximum
and minimum reach along horizontal and vertical direction.

1.7.5 Tool Orientation

The three major axes of the robot determine the work volume, while remaining additional
axes of the robot determine the orientation of the robot’s end effector. If three independent
minor axes are present then the end effector of the robot will be able to achieve any arbitrary
orientation in the three dimensional work volume of the robot.
As defined earlier the position of the three axes associated with the wrist of the robot, namely
yaw-pitch and roll, are used to define the orientation of end effector of robot.

1.7.6 Precision, Accuracy and Repeatability of movement

The precision of movement for the robotic manipulator is basically a function of three
features namely, special resolution, accuracy, and repeatability. These terms are defined for
the robot's wrist end without any tool attached and for the conditions under which the robot's
precision will be at its worst. Generally the robot has least precision of movement with the
robot's arm is fully extended. For any robotics configuration, it is easier to define the various
precision features in a static context rather than a dynamic context.
(i) Spatial Resolution
The spatial resolution of a robot can be defined as the smallest increment of movement into
which the robot can divide its work volume. It depends on the system’s control resolution and
the robot's mechanical inaccuracies.

The control resolution for a robot is determined by the position control system and the
feedback measurement system. It is the controller's ability to divide the total range of
movement for the particular joint into individual increments that can be addressed in the

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controller. The ability to divide the joint range into small special increments depends on the
bit storage capacity in the memory of the control units.

The number of separate, identifiable increments of movements for a particular axis is equal to
2n. Here n is the number of bits in the control memory. For example, a robot with 8 bits of
storage can divide the range of a joint movement into 256 discrete positions. The control
resolution would be defined as the total motion range divided by the number of increments. A
robot with several degrees of freedom would have a control resolution for each joint of
motion.

Example 1.1
If we have a robot’s one particular joint’s motion range from Rmin to Rmax and the position
control signal is generated by controller of the robot through a n bit digital to analog
converter. Determine the precision of movement (control resolution) of the robot joint.

Solution:
The number of control increments obtainable in the specified range of joint movement = 2n.
The total range of movement = (Rmax - Rmin).
Thus, the control resolution or the special resolution for robot joint will be = (Rmax - Rmin)/ 2 n

To determine the control resolution for the entire robot, component resolutions for each joint
would have to be summed vectorially. Since some of the joints are likely to be rotary while
others are sliding, the robot's control resolution can be a complicated quantity to determine.
Mechanical inaccuracies which arises from imperfections in the mechanical system in the
robot, is another factor that degrades the spatial resolution. The inaccuracies would also be
influenced by such factors as the load being handled, the speed with which the arm is
moving.

Figure 1.11: Accuracy and control resolution of a robot

(ii) Accuracy
Accuracy can be defined as the ability of a robot to position its wrist end at a desired target
point within its reach. In terms of control resolution, the accuracy can be defined as one-half
of the control resolution. This definition of accuracy applies in the worst case when the target
point is between two control points. The reason is that displacements smaller than one basic

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control resolution unit (BCRU) can be neither programmed nor measured and, on average,
they account for one-half BCRU.

The accuracy of a robot is affected by many factors. The accuracy of robot varies within the
work volume. It is worse when the arm is in the outer range of its work volume and better
when the arm is closer to its base. The reason for this is that when the arm is fully stretched
out, the mechanical inaccuracies tend to be larger. Another factor influencing accuracy is the
load being carried by the robot. Heavier workloads cause greater deflection of the mechanical
links of the robot, resulting in lower accuracy. This relationship is il1ustrated in figure 1.11.
In fact, the mechanical inaccuracies would affect the ability to reach the target position.

(iii) Repeatability
Repeatability is the measure of the ability of the robot to position the tool tip at same position
repeatedly. There is always some repeatability error associated because of backlash in gears,
flexibility of the mechanical linkages and drive systems. The repeatability errors are
generally very small in magnitude for well designed robotic manipulators.

Repeatability and accuracy refer to two different aspects. Accuracy is an absolute concept,
repeatability is relative. Accuracy relates to the robot's capacity to be programmed to achieve
a given target point. The actual programmed point will probably be different from the target
point due to limitations of control resolution. Repeatability refers to the robot's ability to
return to the programmed point when commanded to do so. A robot that is repeatable may
not be very accurate, and visa versa.

The repeatability could be better understood from figure 1.12. Let T be the desired target
point to where the robot is commanded to move, but because of the limitations on its
accuracy, the programmed position becomes point P. The distance between points T and P is
robot's accuracy. When, the robot wrist is commanded to the programmed point P, however,
it does not return to the exact same position. Instead, it returns to position R. The difference
between P and R is a result of limitations on the robot's repeatability. The robot will not
always return to the same position R on subsequent repetitions of the motion cycle. Instead, it
will form a cluster of points on both sides of the position P in figure 1.12.

.
Figure 1.12: Repeatability and Accuracy

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Repeatability errors form a random variable and constitute a statistical distribution as shown
in the figure 1.12. It would be convenient if the repeatability errors formed a nice bell-shaped
curve, suggesting a normally distributed random variable. Mechanical inaccuracies of the
various joints of the robot which are basically responsible for the repeatability errors do not
have the nice symmetric bell-shaped distribution as shown in the figure 1.12. However, when
the errors from several axes of motion are combined together, the resulting aggregate error is
influenced by the central limit theorem in probability. This theorem states that the sums of
random variables tend to form a normally distributed variable, even though the individuals
come from a distribution other than the normal. Thus we can say that the repeatability error
of a multi-jointed robot will follow the normal distribution. In three-dimensional space, the
repeatability errors will surround the programmed point P, forming a distribution whose outer
boundary can be conceptualized as a sphere. A robot manufacturer typically quotes the
repeatability of its manipulator as the radius of an idealized sphere, usually expressing the
specification as plus or minus a particular value. The size of the sphere will tend to be larger
in the regions of the work volume that are further away from the center of the robot. It is
likely that the shape of the sphere is not perfectly round, but instead is oblong in certain
directions due to compliance of the robot arm.

1.7.7 Robot Compliance

The compliance of the robotic arm refers to the displacement of the wrist end in response to a
force or torque exerted against it. Higher compliance will tend to displace the robotic wrist by
a large amount with a relatively small force, where as a low compliance robotic arm would be
relatively stiff and will not be displaced by a significant amount. Robot manipulator
compliance is a directional feature, which means that the compliance of the robot arm will be
greater in certain directions than in other directions because of the mechanical construction of
the arm.
Compliance is important aspect to be considered for robot design because it reduces the
robot's precision of movement under load. If the robot is handling a heavy load, the weight of
the load will cause the robot arm to deflect and the robot's performance will be degraded
because of compliance when it operates under loaded conditions.

1.7.8 Operating Environment

The uses of the robots are justified for the jobs which are repeated in nature, or to get the
work in some harsh or dangerous environment by the robot. For example for transportation of
radioactive materials, spray painting, welding, and the loading and unloading of furnaces. For
each of these applications the robot must be specifically designed to operate in extreme
working conditions. The various robot joints must be protected from the exposure to dust and
foreign contaminating materials, so that the robot may be able to perform its stipulated task
with desired accuracy and precision.

1.8 Speed of Response and Stability of Robot

The characteristic which determine the dynamic performance of the robot are speed of
response and stability. These characteristics are the inherent features of the control systems of
robot. The speed of response corresponds to the ability of robotic manipulator to move its
wrist to the next desirable position in its work volume in a short span of time and it is directly
related to the motion speeds of various joint actuators of robot.

The stability of robot manipulation is a parameter to determine the amount of oscillations

occurring in the robotic arm when it moves from one position to another. Robot with higher

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stability will have little or no oscillations, either during start of operation, during intermediate
joint motions or at the end of the arm movement. Where as poor stability would be indicated
by a large amount of oscillation. The most desirable aspect about the design of the robot
control system is to design the controller which can provide good stability and a fast response
time. But these two characteristics are just opposite to each other, as if we increase the
stability the response time increases, and vice versa. The stability of a robot can be improved
by using damping elements into the robot's design and this will reduce its tendency toward
oscillation. But this will not be desirable as use of high damping reduces the speed of
response. Thus one must find an optimum balance between the two conflicting parameters.

Figure 1.13 Speed of response and damping in robotics: (a) low damping and fast response, (b) high
damping and slow response

A good robot is one that is fast enough but at the same time has good stability. The figure
1.13 below shows the concept of stability and its relation to damping. Figure 1.13(a) shows
the position of the robot's wrist as a function of time for small damping; where as figure
1.13(b) shows the position of the robot's wrist as a function of time for large damping. With
low damping, the robot arm moves to the target position rapidly, but experiences large
amount of oscillation about the final position. And in the second case, with a large amount of
damping, the arm movement becomes is very slow but will not have oscillatory motion about
the final position.

1.9 End Effectors

End effectors are the devices which are attached to the robot wrist to enable the robotic
manipulator to perform the intended task for which it has been designed. They include the
tooling which attaches to the robot's wrist and the sensor systems which allow the robot to
interact with its environment. The robotic end effectors are generally custom engineered to fit
them for the particular purpose/job.
End effectors are broadly divided into two main categories namely grippers and tools.

Grippers are used for pick and place operations, and are utilized to grasp the objects/
workpart, and hold it during the robot work cycle.
The most common methods of grasping used in grippers in industrial robot are:
(i) Mechanical Grippers: this method consists of mechanical means of
grasping the part between two or more fingers as shown in figure 1.14.
(ii) Suction cups: this method uses the vacuumed cups to hold the flat objects.
(iii) Magnetized grippers: can be used for ferrous parts
(iv) Hooks: used to lift the parts from the conveyors
(v) Scoops or ladles: these are used for the fluids, powdered, or granular
substances.

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 (vi) Tools are mostly directly mounted on the wrist and acts as the end effector.
Only in some applications it may happen that a gripper is used to hold the
tool. A tool would be used as an end effector in applications where the
robot is required to perform some operation on the work part. These
applications include spot welding, arc welding, spray painting, and
drilling.

Figure 1.14: Mechanical Grippers

1.10 Architecture of Robotic Systems

The general robot architecture comprises of the following components, as listed below:
(a) Mechanical Structure
• Kinematics model
• Dynamics model
(b) Actuators: Electrical, Hydraulic, Pneumatic, Artificial Muscle
(c) Computation and controllers
(d) Sensors
(e) Communications
(f) User interface
(g) Power conversion unit

Environmental Motion Mechanical

Sensors Planner Controller Structure

Configuration
Sensor
Figure 1.15: General architecture of the robotic system

These components are connected to each other in a way shown in figure 1.15, for the proper
execution of the robot motions. We shall be discussing about these components in details in
the next units.

1.11 Robot Selection

After the selection of the application which needs to be automated using robot, a suitable
robot should be chosen from the many commercial robots available in the market. The
characteristics of robots generally considered in a selection process include:

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 (i) Size of class
(ii) Degrees of freedom
(iii) Velocity
(iv) Drive type
(v) Control mode
(vi) Repeatability
(vii) Lift capacity
(viii) Right-left traverse
(ix) Up-down traverse
(x) In-out traverse
(xi) Yaw
(xii) Pitch
(xiii) Roll
(xiv) Weight of the robot

The size of the robot is given by the maximum dimension (x) of the robot work envelope.
Based upon the size of work volume the robots are classified as:
(i) Micro (x < 1 m)
(ii) Small (1 m < x < 2 m)
(iii) Medium (2 < x < 5 m)
(iv) Large (x > 5 m)

The cost of the robot increases with the number of degrees of freedom. Six degrees of
freedom is suitable for most works. Robots with higher degrees of freedom are called
redundant robot, and are used most of time for complex applications and generally to avoid
obstacles in their work volume.

Velocity consideration is effected by the robot’s arm structure, which may be rectangular,
cylindrical, spherical, and articulated. It also depends upon the drive technology used in the
robots.

1.12 Robot Applications

Industrial robots have been successfully used for almost all industrial applications. Major
applications of industrial robots are as follows:

1.12.1 Loading/unloading parts to/from the machines

(i) Unloading parts from die-casting machines
(ii) Loading a raw hot billet into a die, holding it during forging and unloading it from the
forging die
(iii) Loading sheet blanks into automatic presses
(iv) Unloading molded parts formed in injection molding machines
(v) Loading raw blanks into NC machine tools and unloading the finished parts from the
machines

Single machine robotic cell applications include:

(i) The incoming conveyor delivers the parts to the fixed position
(ii) The robot picks up a part from the conveyor and moves to the machine
(iii) The robot loads the part onto the machine
(iv) The part is processed on the machine
(v) The robot unloads the part from the machine

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(vi) The robot puts the part on the outgoing conveyor
(vii) The robot moves from the output conveyor to the input conveyor

Multi-machine robotic cell application: Two or three CNC machines are served by a robot.
The cell layout is normally circular.

1.12.2 Welding
(i) Spot welding: Widest use is in the automotive industry
(ii) Arc welding: Ship building, aerospace, construction industries are among the many
areas of application.

1.12.3 Spray Painting

Robots provide a consistency in paint quality and widely used in automobile industry for
medium batch production.

1.12.4 Assembly Operations

Electronic component assemblies and machine assemblies are two areas of application.

1.12.5 Inspection
Industrial robots are used for inspection applications, in which the robot end effector is
special inspection probe.

References:
1. M. P. Groover and E. W. Zimmers, Jr., “CAD/CAM: Computer-Aided Design and
Manufacturing”, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1984.
2. Mikell P. Groover, et. al., “Industrial Robotics, Technology, Programming, and
applications, International Edition,” Mc-Graw Hill book Company, 1986, chap. 3.
3. K. S. Fu, R. C. Gonzalez, and C. S. Lee “Robotics: Control, Sensing Vision and
intelligence”, McGraw Hill Book Company Pvt. Ltd., 1987, Chap 2
4. Robert J. Schilling, “Fundamentals of Robotics- analysis and control”, Prentice-Hall
India, 2003, Chap 1 and 2.
5. John J. Craig, “Robotics”, Pearson Education, New Delhi.
6. A. Ghosal, “Robotics”, Oxford, New Delhi, 2006.
7. S. K. Saha, “Introduction to Robotics”, Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi, 2008.

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