A Computer Control Structure for Coordination of Two Robot Arms

Research in the Robotics Laboratory in the School of Electrical Engineering at Georgia Tech is concentrated on the development and implementation of a methodology for the coordinated control of two robot arms. A Unimate PUMA 550 and 560 have been selected as a base for the research experiments. The computer control hardware provided with these two units has been replaced by a custom designed three level hierarchical network of 16 computers based on the Intel 8086. This hierarchy has been designed to provide the information and communication necessary for coordinated action. The system is designed such that one robot serves as the master and moves along a prescribed path. The other robot acts as a slave and is guided along a separate path with a prescribed relationship to the position of the master. One algorithm has been tested for an elementary master-slave motion.