A timing model for vision-based control of industrial robot manipulators

Visual sensing for robotics has been around for decades, but our understanding of a timing model remains crude. By timing model, we refer to the delays (processing lag and motion lag) between "reality" (when a part is sensed), through data processing (the processing of image data to determine part position and orientation), through control (the computation and initiation of robot motion), through "arrival" (when the robot reaches the commanded goal). In this study, we introduce a timing model where sensing and control operate asynchronously. We apply this model to a robotic workcell consisting of a Stäubli RX-130 industrial robot manipulator, a network of six cameras for sensing, and an off-the-shelf Adept MV-19 controller. We present experiments to demonstrate how the model can be applied.