| Abstract: | A collision avoidance algorithm has been developed to augment the capability of an automatic (off-line) robot path planning (programming) tool. The use of off-line programming tools for robot task programming is becoming increasingly important, but the advantages to be gained by off-line programming may be lost if collision-free path planning capabilities are not included. This article addressed the problem of collision-free path planning in the context of a gantry type robot. The collision avoidance algorithm described here uses the <heuristic approach> to collision-free path planning. The manipulator and obstacles are modeled as spheres to simplify tests for collision. An important feature of this algorithm is that it permits the manipulation of objects in the robot's environment. When compared against an algorithm from the literature, given a lightly cluttered environment modelled by spheres, the new algorithm finds a collision-free path much faster. This new algorithm has been implemented as part of the CATIA/IBM 7565 interface which forms an automatic off-line programming system for the IBM 7565 robot. It has also been implemented as a supervisory collision filter to allow collision-free control of the robot from the operator's console. In both cases the algorithm has been demonstrated to provide efficient and effective collision avoidance for the IBM 7565 robot. |
