Optical Sensors for Robot Performance Testing and Calibrat10n

espite the tremendous growth in the use of robots during the last D five years, no standard robot performance and calibration tests exist. Currentfy, several commitees formed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) are working on the development of such standards on the intemational level. In the US, several technical committees of the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) in Ann Arbor, MI. in collaboration with the American National Standards institute, are working for the establishment of similar standards. Fundamental to the establishment of these robot performance and calibration tests is the existence of reliable and accurate metrol ogy sensors to perform the required measurements. Our experience is that noncontact sensors are preferable since contact force (depending on its magnitude) could have a significant effect on the robot’s dynamic response. Thus, optical metrology sensors could be ideal for such uses assum-