ABSTRACT
Robot Calibration is the process of enhancing the accuracy of a robot manipulator through modification of the robot control software. The need for robot calibration arises in many applications that necessitate off-line programming and situations that require multiple robots to share the same application software. Without calibration, robots which share application programs may experience significant accuracy degradation. During the 1980's many robot calibration researchers came with their own model versions. From a data collection point of view Robot Calibration is not different from Robot Performance Evaluation. Many Calibration or Robot Testing studies during the 1980's were done using a variety of measurement techniques ranging from expensive Coordinate Measuring Machines and Tracking Laser Interferometer Systems to ones that employed inexpensive customized fixtures. Calibration implementation may involve, at most, additional camera calibration boards and specialized calibration software at a cost which is a tiny fraction of the total robotic cell cost.
