A Method of Computer Control for an Industrial Robot with Conversational Mode

Abstract

The manipulator control with a digital computer has been studied mainly in the exploration of the outer space and the deep ocean. On the other hand, the idea of applying a manipulator with some intelligence to the industries has existed for some years. The typical ones belonging to the industry are Versatran and Unimate. These and other so-called industrial robots have been put to practical use. Industrial robots of this sort, having only simple functions such as recording and regenerating, seem to have very limited applications.
In this paper, a computer control system of the industrial robot with conversational mode is described. The industrial robot is controlled by means of a digital computer through effective communications with an operator. This control system is similar to MANTRAN developed in M.I.T. for supervisory control of a remote manipulator, and has the following features so as to find suitable applications in industry.
(1) the operator can teach the robot various kinds of jobs through conversations with a computer,
(2) the robot grows wise as it gathers experiences, and the operator has to teach less accordingly.
(3) When the robot cannot make a decision, the operator is ready to make a suitable decision for the situation, and
(4) it is not necessary to prepare programs for every kind of situation at first, and the robot can construct new job command freely and easily by combining job programs accumulated already.