A unified calibration method for robot manipulators: hand-eye parameters, kinematic parameters and TCP position calibration
Robotic Intelligence and Automation
ISSN: 2754-6969
Article publication date: 15 October 2024
Issue publication date: 18 November 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to propose an efficient, simple and concise unified robot calibration method that simultaneously considers errors in hand-eye parameters, kinematic parameters and tool center point (TCP) position.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes a unified robot calibration method. First, the initial hand-eye matrix and TCP position are computed without considering kinematic parameter errors. Second, the nominal TCP positions in the laser tracker coordinate system {S} are computed. The actual TCP positions in {S} are directly measured. Third, a unified parameter error calibration model is established, and the sequential quadratic programming algorithm is used for error identification. Finally, the identified errors are used for direct error compensation.
Findings
Simulation results prove that the proposed scheme can accurately calibrate the hand-eye parameters, kinematic parameters and TCP position simultaneously. Experimental results reveal that the maximum value of the absolute positioning errors is reduced from 5.4725 mm to 0.4095 mm (reduced by 92.52%). Thus, the proposed approach meets the accuracy requirements of most robotic applications.
Originality/value
The main contributions of this paper are: (1) this scheme is efficient. The method can achieve fully automatic calibration by incorporating Kronecker products for the initial hand-eye matrix and TCP position computation. Thereby significantly improving the calibration efficiency and liberating the labor force. (2) This scheme is simple and concise. The hand-eye parameters, kinematic parameters and TCP position errors are modeled in a unified framework. Furthermore, the related redundant parameters are deleted.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 51875114) and Self-Planned Task (No. SKLRS202204B) of State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System (HIT).
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Availability of data and material: The data sets supporting the results of this article are included within the article.
Authors’ contributions: Kang Min, Fenglei Ni: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis and investigation; Kang Min: writing – original draft preparation; Kang Min, Fenglei Ni, Zhaoyang Chen: writing – review and editing; Fenglei Ni: funding acquisition; Fenglei Ni, Hong Liu: resources; Hong Liu: supervision.
Citation
Min, K., Ni, F., Chen, Z. and Liu, H. (2024), "A unified calibration method for robot manipulators: hand-eye parameters, kinematic parameters and TCP position calibration", Robotic Intelligence and Automation, Vol. 44 No. 6, pp. 897-909. https://doi.org/10.1108/RIA-06-2023-0076
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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