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Industrial Robotics

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Book cover Springer Handbook of Robotics

Abstract

Most robots today can trace their origin to early industrial robot designs. Much of the technology that makes robots more human-friendly and adaptable for different applications has emerged from manufacturers of industrial robots. Industrial robots are by far the largest commercial application of robotics technology today. All the important foundations for robot control were initially developed with industrial applications in mind. These applications deserve special attention in order to understand the origin of robotics science and to appreciate many unsolved problems that still prevent the wider use of robots in manufacturing. In this chapter we present a brief history and descriptions of typical industrial robotics applications. We show how robots with different mechanisms fit different applications. Even though robots are well established in large-scale manufacturing, particularly in automobile and related component assembly, there are still many challenging problems to solve. The range of feasible applications could significantly increase if robots were easier to install, to integrate with other manufacturing processes, and to program, particularly with adaptive sensing and automatic error recovery. We outline some of these remaining challenges for researchers.

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Abbreviations

AGV:

automated guided vehicles

AR:

augmented reality

CAD:

computer-aided design

CCD:

charge-coupled devices

CNC:

computer numerical control

DLR:

Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt

DOF:

degree of freedom

FMS:

flexible manufacturing systems

I/O:

input/output

ISO:

International Organization for Standardization

IT:

inferotemporal

IT:

intrinsic tactile

MIG:

metal inert gas

MTBF:

mean time between failure

OLP:

offline programming

PC:

Purkinje cells

PC:

principal contact

PKM:

parallel kinematic machine

PLC:

programmable logic controller

PTP:

point-to-point

RSS:

realistic robot simulation

SAIL:

Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory

SCARA:

selective compliance assembly robot arm

SKM:

serial kinematic machines

VCR:

videocassette recorder

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Robot Systems, Fraunhofer IPA, Nobelstr. 12, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany

    Martin Hägele

  2. Department of Computer Science, Lund University, Ole Römers väg 3, 22100, Lund, Sweden

    Klas Nilsson Dr.

  3. Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Universidade de Coimbra, Polo II, 3030, Coimbra, Portugal

    J. Norberto Pires Prof

Authors
  1. Martin Hägele
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  2. Klas Nilsson Dr.
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  3. J. Norberto Pires Prof
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Martin Hägele , Klas Nilsson Dr. or J. Norberto Pires Prof .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. PRISMA Lab, Dipartimento di Informatica e Sistemistica, Universitá degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80125, Napoli, Italy, Via Claudio 21

    Bruno Siciliano Prof.

  2. Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, 94305-9010, Stanford, CA, USA

    Oussama Khatib Prof.

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag

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Hägele, M., Nilsson, K., Pires, J.N. (2008). Industrial Robotics. In: Siciliano, B., Khatib, O. (eds) Springer Handbook of Robotics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30301-5_43

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30301-5_43

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-23957-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-30301-5

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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