Teaching-less robot system for finishing workpieces of various shapes using force control and computer vision

In the case of conventional industrial robot systems, operators have to write robot-language programs for each type of workpiece. This is an onerous task, especially when each workpiece has a different shape. We propose a teaching-less robot system for the finishing of two-dimensional workpieces of various shapes and thicknesses using force control and computer vision. The robot system does not require shape information for the workpiece to be included in the CAD data or to be input by the operator. Each workpiece shape is acquired by segmenting edges into straight lines and circular arcs from the image data of the workpiece. The robot-language program for each workpiece is generated automatically from the workpiece shape data and finishing condition data. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by experiments using a newly developed robot system. In the system, the robot picks up a workpiece whose shape is not previously known on the workpiece stand by itself and carries out the finishing tasks using the automatically generated robot-language program. This method provides a compact and inexpensive finishing robot system which reduces the programming and workpiece-setting burden on the operators