UNIT IV

ROBOT CONTROL

Unit 4 Robot Control

Basics of control: Transfer functions, Control laws: P, PD, PID Non-linear and advanced
controls

Robot Control Systems

Limited sequence control – pick-and-place operations using mechanical stops to set

positions

Playback with point-to-point control – records work cycle as a sequence of points,

then plays back the sequence during program execution
Playback with continuous path control – greater memory capacity and/or interpolation
capability to execute paths (in addition to points)

Intelligent control – exhibits behavior that makes it seem intelligent, e.g., responds to
sensor inputs, makes decisions, communicates with humans

Robot Control System

Fig 4.1 Robot Control system

Motion Control

• Path control - how accurately a robot traces a given path (critical for gluing,
painting, welding applications);
• Velocity control - how well the velocity is controlled (critical for gluing, painting
applications)
• Types of control path:
- Point to point control (used in assembly, palletizing, machine loading); -
continuous path control/walkthrough (paint spraying, welding).
- controlled path (paint spraying, welding)
 Limited sequence control – pick-and-place operations using mechanical stops to set
positions
Playback with point-to-point control – records work cycle as a sequence of points,
then plays back the sequence during program execution
Playback with continuous path control – greater memory capacity and/or
interpolation capability to execute paths (in addition to points)
Intelligent control – exhibits behaviour that makes it seem intelligent, e.g.,
responds to sensor inputs, makes decisions, communicates with humans

Robot Control System

Fig 4.2 Robot Control System

Robot control consists in studying how to make a robot manipulator perform a task. Control
design may be divided roughly in the following steps:
• Familiarization with the physical system under consideration,
• Modeling.
• Control specifications.
Control specifications Definition of control objectives: • Stability • Regulation •
Trajectory tracking (motion control) • Optimization.
• Stability. Consists in the property of a system by which it goes on working at certain
regime or ‘closely’ to it ’forever’. – Lyapunov stability theory. – Input-output stability
theory. In the case when the output y corresponds to the joint position q and velocity q˙ . •
Regulation “Position control in joint coordinates” •
Trajectory tracking “Tracking control in joint coordinates”

Control Methods

• Non Servo Control

– implemented by setting limits or mechanical stops for each joint and
sequencing the actuation of each joint to accomplish the cycle
– end point robot, limited sequence robot, bang-bang robot
– No control over the motion at the intermediate points, only end points are
known
 • Programming accomplished by
– setting desired sequence of moves
– adjusting end stops for each axis accordingly
Servo Control

– Point to point Control

– Continuous Path Control

– Closed Loop control used to monitor position, velocity (other variables) of each
joint
– the sequence of moves is controlled by a “squencer”, which uses feedback
received
from the end stops to index to next step in the program
• Low cost and easy to maintain, reliable
• relatively high speed
• repeatability of up to 0.01 inch
• limited flexibility
• typically hydraulic, pneumatic drives
Point-to-Point Control
• Only the end points are programmed, the path used to connect the end points are
computed by the controller
• user can control velocity, and may permit linear or piece wise linear motion
• Feedback control is used during motion to ascertain that individual joints have
achieved desired location
• Often used hydraulic drives, recent trend towards servomotors
• loads up to 500lb and large reach
• Applications
• pick and place type operations
• palletizing
• machine loading

• In addition to the control over the endpoints, the path taken by the end
effectors can be controlled
• Path is controlled by manipulating the joints throughout the entire motion, via
closed loop control
• Applications:
– spray painting, polishing, grinding, arc welding

Sensors in Robotics

Two basic categories of sensors used in industrial robots:

1. Internal - used to control position and velocity of the manipulator joints
 2. External - used to coordinate the operation of the robot with other equipment in the
work cell Tactile - touch sensors and force sensors
Proximity - when an object is close to the
sensor Optical -
Machine vision
Other sensors - temperature, voltage, etc.

Electric Drive system

Uses electric motors to actuate individual joints
Preferred drive system in today's robots
Electric motor (stepper, servo, less strength, better accuracy and repeatability
Hydraulic Drive system
Uses hydraulic pistons and rotary vane actuators
Noted for their high power and lift capacity
Hydraulic (mechanical, high strength)
Pneumatic Drive system
Typically limited to smaller robots and simple material transfer applications
Pneumatic (quick, less strength)

Hydraulic Drive system

– High strength and high speed
– Large robots, Takes floor space
– Mechanical Simplicity
– Used usually for heavy payloads
Electric Motor (Servo/Stepper) Drive system
– High accuracy and repeatability
– Low cost
– Less floor space
– Easy maintenance
Pneumatic Drive system
– Smaller units, quick assembly
– High cycle rate
– Easy maintenance
Electro hydraulic servo valves
An electro hydraulic servo valve (EHSV) is an electrically operated valve that controls how
hydraulic fluid is ported to an actuator. Servo valves and servo-proportional valves are
operated by transforming a changing analogue or digital input signal into a smooth set of
movements in a hydraulic cylinder. Servo valves can provide precise control of position,
velocity, pressure and force with good post movement damping characteristics.

In its simplest form a servo or a servomechanism is a control system which measures its own
output and forces the output to quickly and accurately follow a command signal, se Figure 1-
1. In this way, the effect of anomalies in the control device itself and in the load can be
minimized as well as the influence of external disturbances. A servomechanism can be
designed to control almost any physical quantities, e.g. motion, force, pressure, temperature,
electrical voltage or current.

Fig 4.3 Basic Servo Mechanics

Capabilities of electro-hydraulic servos When rapid and precise control of sizeable loads is
required an electro-hydraulic servo is often the best approach to the problem. Generally
speaking, the hydraulic servo actuator provides fast response, high force and short stroke
characteristics. The main advantages of hydraulic components are.

• Easy and accurate control of work table position and velocity

• Good stiffness characteristics
• Zero back-lash
• Rapid response to change in speed or direction
• Low rate of wear
There are several significant advantages of hydraulic servo drives over electric motor drives:

♦ Hydraulic drives have substantially higher power to weight ratios

resulting in higher machine frame resonant frequencies for a given power
level.
 ♦ Hydraulic actuators are stiffer than electric drives, resulting in higher
loop gain capability, greater accuracy and better frequency response.
♦ Hydraulic servos give smoother performance at low speeds and have a wide
speed range without special control circuits.
♦ Hydraulic systems are to a great extent self-cooling and can be
operated in stall condition indefinitely without damage.
♦ Both hydraulic and electric drives are very reliable provided that
maintenance is followed.
♦ Hydraulic servos are usually less expensive for system above several
horsepower, especially if the hydraulic power supply is shared between
several actuators.

End Effectors Types

1) Standard Grippers (Angular and parallel, Pneumatic, hydraulic, electric, spring
powered, Power-opened and Spring-closed)
2) Vacuum Grippers (Single or multiple, use venturi or vacuum pump)
3) Vacuum Surfaces (Multiple suction ports, to grasp cloth materials, flat surfaces, sheet
material)
4) Electromagnetic Grippers (often used in conjunction with standard grippers)
5) Air-Pressure Grippers (balloon type)
1. Pneumatic fingers
2. Mandrel grippers
3. Pin grippers
6) Special Purpose Grippers (Hooking devices, custom positioners or tools)
7) Welding (MIG /TIG, Plasma Arc, Laser, Spot)
8) Pressure Sprayers (painting, water jet cutting, cleaning)
9) Hot Cutting type (laser, plasma, de-flashers-hot knife)
10) Buffing/Grinding/De-burring type
11) Drilling/Milling type
12) Dispensing type (adhesive, sealant, foam)
Mechanical Grippers

Mechanical grippers are used to pick up, move, place, or hold parts in an automated system.
They can be used in harsh or dangerous

VACUUM GRIPPERS: for non-ferrous components with flat and smooth surfaces, grippers
can be built using standard vacuum cups or pads made of rubber-like materials. Not suitable
for components with curved surfaces or with holes.

Vacuum grippers

Vacuum-grippers become in suction cups, the suctions cups is made of rubber. The suction
cups are connected through tubes with under pressure devices for picking up items and for
releasing items air is pumped out into the suction cups. The under pressure can be created
with the following devices:

The vacuum grippers use suction cups (vacuum cups) as pick up devices. There are different
types of suction cups and the cups are generally made of polyurethane or rubber and can be
used at temperatures between -50 and 200 °C. The suction cup can be categorized into four
different types; universal suction cups, flat suction cups with bars, suction cups with bellow
and depth suction cups as shown in figure 3.

Fig 4.4 Suction Cups

The universal suction cups are used for flat or slightly arched surfaces. Universal suction
cups are one of the cheapest suction cups in the market but there are several disadvantages
with this type of suction cups. When the under pressure is too high, the suction cup decreases
a lot which leads to a greater wear. The flat suction cups with bars are suitable for flat or
flexible items that need assistance when lifted. These types of suction cups provides a small
movement under load and maintains the area that the under pressure is acting on, this reduces
the wear of the flat suction cup with bars, this leads to a faster and safer movement. Suction
cups with bellows are usually used for curved surfaces, for example when separation is
needed or when a smaller item is being gripped and needs a shorter movement. This type of
suction cups can be used in several areas but they allow a lot of movement at gripping and
low stability with small under pressure. The depth suction cup can be used for surfaces that
are very irregular and curved or when an item needs to be lifted over an edge. [5] Items with
rough surfaces (surface roughness ≤ 5 µm for some types of suction cups) or items that are
made of porous material will have difficulty with vacuum grippers. An item with holes, slots
and gaps on the surfaces is not recommended to be handled with vacuum grippers. The air in
the suction is sucked out with one of the techniques described earlier, if the material is porous
or has holes on its surface; it will be difficult to suck out the air. In such cases the leakage of
air can be reduced if smaller suction cups are used. Figure 4 shows different types of suction
cups.

Magnetic Gripper: used to grip ferrous materials. Magnetic gripper uses a magnetic
head to attract ferrous materials like steel plates. The magnetic head is simply
constructed with a ferromagnetic core and conducting coils. Magnetic grippers are most
commonly used in a robot as end effectors for grasping the ferrous materials. It is
another type of handling the work parts other than the mechanical grippers and vacuum
grippers. Types of magnetic grippers:

The magnetic grippers can be classified into two common types, namely:

Magnetic grippers with

Fig 4.5 Magnetic Gripper

Electromagnets:

Electromagnetic grippers include a controller unit and a DC power for handling the
materials. This type of grippers is easy to control, and very effective in releasing the
part at the end of the operation than the permanent magnets. If the work part gripped is
to be released, the polarity level is minimized by the controller unit before the
electromagnet is turned off. This process will certainly help in removing the
magnetism on the work parts. As a result, a best way of releasing the materials is
possible in this gripper.

Permanent magnets:

The permanent magnets do not require any sort of external power as like the
electromagnets for handling the materials. After this gripper grasps a work part, an
additional device called as stripper push – off pin will be required to separate the work
part from the magnet. This device is incorporated at the sides of the gripper.

The advantage of this permanent magnet gripper is that it can be used in hazardous
applications like explosion-proof apparatus because of no electrical circuit. Moreover,
there is no possibility of spark production as well.

Benefits:

This gripper only requires one surface

to grasp the materials. The grasping of
materials is done very quickly.

It does not require separate designs for handling different size of materials.

It is capable of grasping materials with holes, which is unfeasible in the vacuum grippers.

Drawbacks:

The gripped work part has the chance of slipping out when it is moving quickly.
Sometimes oil in the surface can reduce the strength of the gripper.

The machining chips may stick to the gripper during unloading.

PID is acronym for Proportional Plus Integral Plus Derivative Controller.It is a

control loop feedback mechanism (controller) widely used in industrial control
systems due to their robust performance in a wide range of operating conditions &
simplicity.In This PID Controller Introduction, I have Tried To Illustrate The PID
Controller With SIMPLE Explanations & BASIC MATLAB CODE To Give You
 Idea About P,PI,PD & PID Controllers
For PID control, the actuating signal u(t),consists of proportional error signal added with
derivative and integral of error signal e(t).

1. A proportional controller (Kp) will have the effect of reducing the rise time and will reduce,
but never eliminate, the steady-state error.
2. An integral control (Ki) will have the effect of eliminating the steady-state error, but it may
make the transient response worse.
3. A derivative control (Kd) will have the effect of increasing the stability of the system,
reducing the overshoot, and improving the transient response but little effect on rise time
 4. A PD Controller could add damping to a system, but the steady-state response is not
affected.(steady state error is not eliminated)
5. A PI Controller could improve relative stability and eliminate steady state error at the same
time, but the settling time is increased(System response sluggish)

But a PID controller removes steady-state error and decreases system settling times while
maintaining a reasonable transient response

TEXT/REFERENCE BOOKS:
1.Saha, S.K., “Introduction to Robotics, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill Higher Education, New Delhi, 2014.
2. Ashitava Ghosal., “Fundamental Concepts and Analysis”, Oxford, New Delhi, 2006.
3. Mikell.P.Groover, Mitchell Weiss, Roger.N.Nagel, Nicholas.G.Odrey, “Industrial Robotics-
Technology, Programming and Applications”, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New
Delhi, Third Reprint 2008