1998 Volume 16 Issue 6 Pages 851-859
A spatial path generation algorithm and its application to the highreliability seam tracking robotic system which can operate even under poor sensing conditions are proposed. First, the concept of the robotic system with a wrist mounted high performance vision sensor is presented, then an accurate spatial path generation algorithm based on the complementary use of nominal path data and sensory data of an actual path with a reliability coefficient is described. In the algorithm, the modification matrix that maps a nominal path to an actual path is generated by comparing nominal path data with actual path data acquired by a sensor located ahead of an end-effector at certain points. Then an actual path is restored by modifying nominal path data with the modification matrix. Computer simulations and experiments on a spatial path show that the proposed system operates effectively even under disturbances such as burst sensory data missing caused by joint configuration abnormalities like tack welding beads often appearing in practical applications.
