An optimization technique for identifying robot manipulator parameters under uncertainty

Robot manipulators enable large-scale factory automation of simple and repeated tasks. Each manipulation is the result of the robot design and the command inputs provided by the operator. In this study, we focus on the accuracy improvement of practical robot manipulation under uncertainty, resulting in path-specific error values. Existing techniques for reducing the errors use high-precision sensors and measurements to obtain the values of a manipulator to provide feedback control. Instead of compensating errors in operation, this study designs a calibration table to obtain the error value for a designated path. This error is then used to adjust important parameters in the kinematic closed chain models of a manipulators via optimization. The proposed method reduces the cost and the dependence on the calibration process. Experimental results show that the overall accuracy of the manipulator is improved. The proposed method can also be extended to develop the optimal robotic manipulation planning and reliability assessment in the future.