Robot orientation control using digital compasses

This paper presents an application for controlling the orientation of a 6 degrees-of-freedom serial manipulator with the help of a digital compass. The goal of this research ss to obtain a flexible system in which the robot operator is not constrained to use predefined programs. The system is designed for tasks in which the operator does not require solid programming knowledge. The control system contains a digital compass and a micro-computer with low power consumption which can be easy manipulated by an operator or by another robot. The connection between the control system is made via the TCP/IP protocol. The system has been tested and calibrated in order to obtain the proper setup for a smooth robot motion.