Calibration and parameter identification of a 6-DOF robot using a single radial-distance transducer

The main goal is the identification of all the kinematic parameters of a robot to improve its absolute accuracy. The authors use a simple radial-distance linear transducer which measures the distance from a fixed point in the workspace to the robot´s endpoint. These scalar data are accumulated as the robot endpoint is moved within one or more spherical shells centered about the fixed point. Optimal values for all of the independent kinematic parameters of the robot can then be found. The motivation, theory, implementation, and performance of this particularly easy calibration and parameter identification method are discussed. A disagreement in the literature about the class of measurements needed to fully identify a robot´s kinematic parameters is addressed