What are some different methods of controlling a robotic arm?

According to Design Robotics, the first robotic arms were used for spot welding in manufacturing plants, but the range of applications grew as the technology developed over time. Unlike in the Terminator franchise, however, robots aren’t sentient beings yet. The operator is still required to be in control of the robot and determine what exact function it needs to do. In automation, the movement comes from what’s referred to as a robotic arm that has a gripper at the end for the specific application, such as welding or picking.

These industrial robotic arms operate similar to human arms, except they only have six degrees of freedom while humans have seven. The question is, what are some different methods of controlling a robotic arm?

Manually controlling a robotic arm

Have you ever played the claw crane game at an arcade? It’s the activity where you insert a coin and move around a claw and lower it to try and grab a specific prize. This a good example of using a manual action to control a robotic arm. In this instance, the joystick is what allows the operator to move the robotic arm around within the specified parameters.

That being said, there are several limitations to manually controlling a robotic arm.

For one, the speed and accuracy of the human hand-to-eye coordination. Again, using the claw crane game, how many times have you successfully picked a prize? This is because the precision of humans is never at the same level of an automated robot.

The second limitation is consistency. Unfortunately, there is no escaping the fact that a human worker will never be as consistent or reliable as a robot. They might be tired, unfocused, or simply having a bad day, which has a direct impact on their performance.

There have been recent developments in the robotics field for control-based systems where AI wearable tech enables operators to use real-time commands to input the desired manual action. However, this isn’t nowhere near as popular as programmed robots, which will be discussed next.

Controlling a robotic arm through programmed functions

Most industrial robotic arms are controlled through pre-built programs. These programs tell the robot what to do, while allowing the operator to have a high-level view of the process. That being said, these functions aren’t highly complex.

As mentioned before, robots aren’t sentient, nor have they developed cognitive-reasoning skills, so the functions need to be easily repeatable and consistent, such as moving items from and to a specific location and welding certain spots. They’re reliable and productive machines, but they aren’t about to displace human tasks where critical thinking and decision-making are required.

The biggest advantage of these kinds of robots is that they can be adapted for new functions by changing the gripper and programming. As a result, this allows the business to shift them to different areas of the production line, depending on the changing requirements or work environments.

Contact Yaskawa for robotic arm solutions

Through decades of technical progress and unrivalled experience, Yaskawa has cemented itself as a world-class leader in the field of robotics and automated solutions. Our understanding of the various industries and their specific challenges enables us to design flexible and intelligent robotic solutions that are customised and align to particular business needs. Additionally, we provide the necessary training, upskilling and support for the robot's entire life cycle, empowering you with the knowledge and required skills to get the best value out of your automated robotic solution.

If you would like to discuss which method of controlling a robotic arm is right for your business, please contact us for more info.