The distributed control of an articulated arm robot

Due to the quick evolution of manufacturing processes, the demand for more flexible automation systems is on the rise. To answer these requirements, distributed motion control architecture based on intelligent drives tends more and more to replace the traditional solutions. This paper presents the control of an articulated arm robot with two local intelligent servo drives connected on a CAN network to a motion controller. The control structure has a pyramidal topology where in the front of the pyramid is a host computer, in the middle is the motion controller and on the base of pyramid, close to the arm robot actuators, are the local intelligent servo drives.