Robots: Industrial Robots in Research

Posted 22 Jan 2009 at 12:17 UTC by mwaibel

The latest episode of the Robots podcast features an interview with Raúl Ordóñez, director of the Nonlinear Control Lab and the newly created Motoman Robotics Lab at the University of Dayton, Ohio. Raúl is using a number of state-of-the-art industrial robots (including a seven-axis, actuator-driven IA20 robot; a 15-axis, actuator-driven and human-like dual-arm DIA10 robot; a four-axis YS450 high-speed SCARA robot; two six-axis HP3 articulated robots and one HP3C six-axis, articulated robot with a compact controller) to investigate visual servoing. The idea is to advance closed-loop robot control based on visual feedback derived from cameras. This could pave the way for novel possibilities of applying robots in industry, in particular enhancing performance in changing environments. It could also allow the robots to improve their pole-balancing, juggling and, of course, dancing skills (see video above). Tune in!