A prototype integrated robotic painting system: Software and hardware development

An integrated scheme for robotic painting operation is presented and an integrated robotic painting system (IRPS) was developed. The IRPS is a unified system in which software and hardware are generically integrated for robot motion planning and control, and can be viewed as an extended robot controller containing an automatic programming feature. In robot motion planning, the IRPS can automatically generate efficient robot trajectories based on part geometry, painting mechanics and robot kinematics. The planned and verified robot trajectories can be executed by the control module of the IRPS. Integrated features encompassing part description, automatic trajectory planning and robot motion control, together with a built-in CMM feature, distinguishes the IRPS from contemporary painting robot systems based on the lead-through method and from off-line robot programming systems. The architecture and capabilities of the IRPS, including software and hardware, are described. The effectiveness of the prototype system is tested and illustrated by both computer simulation and real experiment.