A programming system for robot-based remote-laser-welding with conventional optics

The authors present a task oriented programming system for remote-laser-welding (RLW) with conventional optics, which considers real workpiece data and process limits for the calculation of robot paths. This approach relies on an augmented-reality-based user interface for effective 3D-interaction and task definition. A powerful task and motion planning system has been developed, that transfers task-descriptions to optimized, executable robot operations. The resulting system offers fast and efficient spatial interaction methods that allow even novel users to quickly define operations on a task-level. The approach simplifies and accelerates the programming process, consequently leading to a reduction of cycle time for a RLW-task by more than 30%.