COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Department of Industrial Engineering and Technology

ELEX 105 – Industrial Robotics

First Semester, A.Y. 2020-2021

MODULE 4 – ROBOTICS CONTROLLER

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. determine the applications of robotic arm;

2. analyze the movement and functions of robotic arm;
3. and understand the mechanism of an industrial robot;

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LEARNER:

1. This module contains pre-test to be answered first which aims to help the reader
have an idea for the topics to be explained.
2. After answering the pre-test, wait for the feedback or the score before proceeding
to the learning activities.
3. In the learning activities, read and analyze carefully the topics and its content. The
instructor may set a meeting for a discussion of the topics.
4. Answer the post-test and wait for the feedback after answering the mentioned
post-test.

1
PRE-TEST: Encircle the letter of the correct answer. (2pts each)

1. The ________ functions as the "brain" of the robot.

a. Robot Controller
b. Sensor
c. Switches
d. End effector

2. An operator positions arm articulations to desired configurations. At

each desired location the articulation encoder positions are recorded in
_________.

a. Robot Controller
b. Sensor
c. Memory
d. End Effector

3. A means of getting a system (in our case a robot) to achieve and

maintain a desired state by continuously comparing its current and
desired state.

a. Reactive Control
b. Feedback (Close Loop) Control
c.Open Loop Control

4. This type of control does not require the use of sensors, since state is
not fed back into the system.

a. Reactive Control
b. Feedback (Close Loop) Control
c. Open Loop Control

5. Based on a tight loop connecting the robot's sensors with its effectors.

a. Reactive Control
b. Feedback (Close Loop)Control
c. Open Loop Control

PRE-TEST FEEDBACK:
____________________________________________________________

2
 Learning Activities

CONTENT OF THE MODULE

Robot Controller
The robot connects to a computer, which keeps the pieces of the arm working
together. This computer is the controller. The controller functions as the "brain" of the
robot. The controller can also network to other systems, so that the robot may work
together with other machines, processes, or robots.
A controller is a device which takes one or more inputs and adjusts its outputs
so a connected device functions in a controlled manner. We offer a wide range of
controllers from simple motor controllers to advanced microcontrollers that can be
tasked with multiple control outputs and perform closed-loop control.
Different actuators require differing control methods to achieve stable output,
choosing an appropriate controller is therefore important to the final operation of your
project.
We have an array of microcontrollers including the widely used Arduino and
Basic range and the recently hugely popular Raspberry Pi. For motor control we have
specific solutions for DC motors, Servos and Uni-Polar and Bi-Polar Stepper motors,
for other high current applications we have a range of relays to allow high power
actuators to be controlled
Given that the robot arm movement is appropriate to its application, that the arm
strength and rigidity meet the payload needs and that servo drives provide the
necessary speed of response and resolution, a robot controller is required to manage
the arm articulations, its End Effector, and the interface with the workplace. The
simplest type of control, still widely used, is "record-playback," or "lead-through".
An operator positions arm articulations to desired configurations. At each
desired location the articulation encoder positions are recorded in memory. Step by
step, an entire work-cycle sequence is recorded. Then in playback mode the
sequence is observed and modified.
These levels are interconnected by feedback mechanisms that inform the next
higher level of the status of previous actions. The advantage of a general-purpose
robot arm is that it can be programmed to do many jobs. The disadvantage is that the
programming tends to be a job for highly paid engineers.

3
 Even when a factory robot can perform a task more efficiently than a person,
the job of programming it and setting up its workplace can be more trouble than its
worth. Commotion Systems, a new California firm, is developing easier ways to
program robots using pre-designed software modules.

Feedback (Close Loop) Control

Feedback control is a means of getting a system (in our case a robot) to
achieve and maintain a desired state by continuously comparing its current and
desired state. The desired state is also called the goal state of the system. Note that
it can be an external or internal state: for example, a thermostat monitors and controls
external state (the temperature of the house), while a robot can control its internal
state (e.g., battery power, by recharging at proper times) or external state (e.g.,
distance from a wall).
If the current and desired state are the same, the control system does not need
to do anything. But if they are not, how does it decide what to do? That is what the
design of the controller is all about. A control system must first find the difference
between the current and desired states. This difference is called the error, and the
goal of any control system is to minimize that error.
In some systems, the only information available about the error is whether it is 0
or non-0, i.e., whether the current and desired states are the same. This is very little
information to work with, but it is still a basis for control and can be exploited in
interesting ways.
Additional information about the error would be its magnitude, i.e., how "far" the
current state is from the desired state. Finally, the last part of the error information is
its direction, i.e., is the current state too close or too far from the desires state (in
whatever space it may be). Control is easiest if we have frequent feedback providing
error magnitude and direction.
Notice that the behavior of a feedback system oscillates around the desired
state. In the case of a thermostat, the temperature oscillates around the set point, the
desired setting.
Similarly, the robot's movement will oscillate around the desired state, which is
the optimal distance from the wall. How can we decrease this oscillation? We can use
a smoother/larger turning angle, and we can also use a range instead of a set point
distance as the goal state.

4
Open Loop Control
The alternative to closed loop control is open loop control. This type of control
does not require the use of sensors, since state is not fed back into the system. Such
systems can operate (perform repetitive, state-independent tasks) only if they are
extremely well calibrated and their environment does not change in a way that affects
their performance.
We have talked about feedback control so far, but there is also an important
notion of feed forward control. In such a system, the controller determines set points
and sub-goals for itself ahead of time, without looking at actual state data.

Reactive Control
Reactive control is based on a tight loop connecting the robot's sensors with its
effectors. Purely reactive systems do not use any internal representations of the
environment, and do not look ahead: they react to the current sensory information.
Thus, reactive systems use a direct mapping between sensors and effectors, and
minimal, if any, state information. They consist of collections of rules that map specific
situations to specific actions.
If a reactive system divides its perceptual world into mutually exclusive or
unique situations, then only one of those situations can be triggered by any sensory
input at any one time, and only one action will be activated as a result. This is the
simplest form of a reactive control system. It is often too difficult to split up all
possible situations this way, or it may require unnecessary encoding.

The Subsumption Architecture

The following are the guiding principles of the architecture:
o Systems are built from the bottom up
o Components are task-achieving actions/behaviors (not functional
modules)
o Components can be executed in parallel
o Components are organized in layers, from the bottom up lowest layers
handle most basic tasks
o Newly added components and layers exploit the existing ones
o Each component provides and does not disrupt a tight coupling between
sensing and action

5
 o There is no need for internal models: "the world is its own best model"

Behavior Based Control

Behavior-based systems (BBS) use behaviors as the underlying module of the
system, i.e., they use a behavioral decomposition. Behaviors can vary greatly from
one BBS to another, but typically have the following properties:
• Behaviors are feedback controllers
• Behaviors achieve specific tasks/goals (e.g., avoid-others, find-friend, go-home)
• Behaviors are typically executed in parallel/concurrently
• Behaviors can store state and be used to construct world models/representation
• Behaviors can directly connect sensors and effectors (i.e., take inputs from
sensors and send outputs to effectors)
• Behaviors can also take inputs from other behaviors and send outputs to other
behaviors (this allows for building networks)
• Behaviors are typically higher-level than actions (go-home rather than turn-left-
by-37.5-degrees)
• Behaviors are typically closed-loop but extended in time (this is often a
consequence of #7 above)
• When assembled into distributed representations, behaviors can be used to look
ahead but at a time-scale comparable with the rest of the behavior-based system

Robot Controllers and Motion Control of Robots

The controller is the robot's brain and controls the robot's movements. It's
usually a computer of some type which is used to store information about the robot
and the work environment and to store and execute programs which operate the
robot.

Motion Control Systems

6
 Motion control is a sub-field of automation, encompassing the systems or sub-
systems involved in moving parts of machines in a controlled manner. Typically the
position or velocity of machines are controlled using some type of device such as a
hydraulic pump, linear actuator, or electric motor, generally a servo.

Control Functions
 Velocity Control
 Position (point-to-point) control: There are several methods for computing a
motion trajectory. These are often based on the velocity profiles of a move.
 Pressure or Force control.
 Impedance Control: This type of control is suitable for environment
interaction and object manipulation, such as in robotics.
 Electronic gearing

PID Controller
PID (proportional integral derivative) controllers use a control loop feedback
mechanism to control process variables and are the most accurate and stable
controller.

WORKING OF PID CONTROLLER

7
 Proportional tuning involves correcting a target proportional to the difference.
Thus, the target value is never achieved because as the difference approaches zero,
so too does the applied correction.
Integral tuning attempts to remedy this by effectively cumulating the error
result from the "P" action to increase the correction factor.
Derivative tuning attempts to minimize this overshoot by slowing the correction
factor applied as the target is approached.

8
POST-TEST: (10 points)

1. Explain how to use robotic controls.

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____

POST-TEST FFEDBACK:
____________________________________________________

9
 s

REFERENCES

Groover, M. (1986). Industrial Robotics: Technology, Programming and Applications.

Hegde, G. (2007). A textbook of Industrial Robotics

Ross, L. Walach, M. Fardo, S. (2017) Industrial Robotics Fundamentals: Theory and

Application

Park, F. Lynch, K. (2017) Modern Robotics: Mechanics, Planning, and Control.

10