Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2024-06-01T21:27:23.024Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Automated planning and programming environments for robots

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2009

H. A. ElMaraghy  and
J. M. Rondeau
H. A. ElMaraghy
Affiliation:
Centre for Flexible Manufacturing Research and Development, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) L8S 4L7
J. M. Rondeau
Affiliation:
Centre for Flexible Manufacturing Research and Development, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) L8S 4L7
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Traditionally, most industrial robots are programmed by teaching. Automatic planning of robotic tasks has many potential benefits for flexible automation. It allows the user to describe a task to the robot programming system in a formal and natural manner, and reduces the time required to generate and update robot programs. Two main levels of abstraction in describing robot tasks can be identified. Robot-level programming is based on robot movements and actions, as detailed by the programmer. Object-level or task-level programming allows the user to describe assembly tasks in terms of operations performed on objects being manipulated instead of specifying the individual motions of the robot end-effector. However, commercially available robot-level programming languages still fall short of the robot user's need to programme complex tasks and consequently are not widely used in industry. There is an increasing need for integrating sensors feedback into the robot system to provide better perception and for improving the capacity of the robot to reason and make decisions intelligently in real-time. Task-level programming represents the highest level of abstraction and is the most attractive, as it uses reasoning capabilities provided by Artificial Intelligence. To date, no system of this class has been completely implemented in industry. This paper reviews the progress made in robot programming and task planning systems in the last twenty years, and discusses the current research trends.

Keywords

Automated planningAutomated programmingRobotsTask-level programming
Type
Article
Information
Robotica , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , January 1992 , pp. 75 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Shimano, B. and Geschke, C.C., “VAL II: a new robot control system for automatic manufacturing” IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics,Atlanta, Georgia (1985) pp. 278–292; “VAL II Reference Guide” Version 2.0 (Adept Technology Inc., Sunnyvale CA, USA, 1984).Google Scholar
2.Latombe, J.C. and Mazer, E., “LM: a high-level programming language for controlling assembly robots” Proc. 11th ISIR, Tokyo, Japan (1981) pp. 683–690.Google Scholar
3.Binford, T.O., “The AL language for intelligent robot” In: Languages et methodes de programmation de robots industriels (IRIA Press, Paris, 1979) pp. 73–88.Google Scholar
4.Taylor, R.H., Summers, P.D. and Meyer, J.M., “AML: A Manufacturing Language” Int J. Robotics Research 1, 19–41 (1982).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Blume, C. and Jacob, W., “Design of a Structured Robot Language (SRL)” Proc. Advanced Software in Robotics, Liege, Belgium (1983) pp. 127–143.Google Scholar
6.Mazer, E., “Geometric programming of assembly robot-LM-GEO”, Proc. Advanced Software in Robotics, Liege, Belgium (1983) pp. 99–110.Google Scholar
7.Popplestone, R.J. and Ambler, A.P., “RAPT: A language for specifying robot manipulations” In: (Pugh, A., ed.) Robotic Technology (Peter Peregrinus, London, 1983) pp. 125–141.Google Scholar
8.Lieberman, L.I. and Wesley, M.A., “AUTOPASS: an automatic programming system for computer controlled mechanical assembly” IBM J. Res. Dev. 21, 321–333 (1977).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Hamid, L. and ElMaraghy, H.A., 1988, “WROPE-A Workcell and Robot Off-line Programming Environment” Proc. of the Manufacturing Applications Programming Languages Conference, MAPL'88, Winnipeg, Manitoba (1988) pp. 49–60.Google Scholar
10.ElMaraghy, H.A., Hamid, L. and ElMaraghy, W.H., “ROBOCELL–A Computer-Aided Robots Modelling and Workstation Layout System” The Int. J. of Adv. Manuf. Technology 2, No. 2, 43–59 (1987).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Sahlman, S., “A Planning System for Robot Construction Tasks” Artificial Intelligence 5, 1–49 (1974).Google Scholar
12.Fikes, R.E. and Nilsson, N.J., “STRIPS: a new approach to the application of theorem proving to problem solving” Artificial Intelligence 2, 189–208 (1971).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13.Warren, D.H.D., “WARPLAN: A system for generating plans” Memo N76 (University of Edinburgh, Dept of Computational Logic, Edinburgh, UK, 1974).Google Scholar
14.Sacerdoti, E., A Structure for Plan and Behaviour (Amer. Elsevier Publ. Co., New York, 1977).Google Scholar
15.Wilkins, D.E., Practical Planning: Extending the Classical AI Planning Paradigm (Morgan Kaufmann Publisher, SRI, 1988).Google Scholar
16.Ernst, G.W. and Newell, A., GPS: A Case Study in Generality and Problem Solving (Academic Press, New York, 1969).Google Scholar
17.Ambler, A.P. et al. , “A versatile system for computer–controlled assembly” Artificial Intelligence 6, No. 2 129–156 (1975).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Fikes, R.E., Nilsson, N.J. and Hart, P.E., “Learning and executing generalized robot plans” Artificial intelligence 3, 251–288 (1972).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Dufay, B. and Latombe, J.C., “An approach to automatic robot programming based on inductive learning” Int. J. Rob. Res. 3, No. 4, 3–20 (1983).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Segre, A.M., Machine Learning of Robot Assembly Plans (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, USA, 1988).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21.Schwartz, J.T. and Sharir, M., “A survey of motion planning and related geometric algorithms” Artificial Intelligence 37, 157–169 (1988).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.Lozano-Perez, T., “Spatial Planning: A Configuration Space Approach” IEEE Trans. on Comp. C32 (2), 108–120 (1983).Google Scholar
23.Brooks, R.A. and Lozano-Perez, T., “A Subdivision Algorithm in Configuration Space for Findpath with Rotation” IEEE Trans. Systems, Man and Cybernetics 15 (2), 224–233 (1985).Google Scholar
24.Brooks, R.A., “Solving the Find-Path Problem by Good Representation of Free Space” IEEE Trans. Syst. Man. Cybern. SMC 13, 190–197 (1983).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25.Lozano-Perez, T., “A Simple Motion Planning Algorithm for General Robot Manipulators” IEEE J. of Rob. and Autom. RA3, No. 3, 224–238 (1987).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26.Gini, M. and Gini, M. “Interactive development of object handling programs” Computer Languages 7, 1–10 (1982).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27.Laugier, C., “A program for automatic grasping of objects with a robot arm” 11th ISIR, Tokyo, Japan (1981).Google Scholar
28.Lozano-Perez, T., Mason, M.T. and Taylor, R.H., “Automatic synthesis of fine motion strategies for robots” Int. J. Robotic Research 3 (1), 3–24 (1984).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29.Mason, M.T., “Robotic manipulation: Mechanics and Planning” In: Robotics Science (Brady, M. ed.) (MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1989) pp. 262–288.Google Scholar
30.Whitney, D.E., “A Survey of Manipulation and Assembly: Development of the Field and Open Research Issues” In: Robotics Science (Brady, M. ed.) (MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1989) pp. 291–348.Google Scholar
31.Brooks, R.A., “Symbolic error analysis and robot planning” Int. J. Robotics Research 1, 29–68 (1982).Google Scholar
32.Taylor, R., “A synthesis of manipulator control programs from task-level specifications” Artificial Intelligence Lab., Stanford, Memo 282 (1976).Google Scholar
33.McQuillian, F.J. and Goldenberg, A.A., “Geometric Uncertainty in Off-line Programming of Robot Manipulators for Assembly Tasks” Proc. of the USA-JAPAN symposium on flexible automation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA 333–340 (1988).Google Scholar
34.Donald, B.R., “Planning Multi-Step Detection and recovery Strategies” Int. J. of Rob. Res. 9, No. 1, 3–60 (02, 1990).Google Scholar
35.Gini, M. and Gini, G., “Recovery from failures: a new challenge to industrial robotics” 26th IEEE Computer Society Int. Conf. COMPCON 83, Washington, D.C. (1983) pp. 220–227.Google Scholar
36.Lee, M.H., Hardy, N.W. and Barnes, D.P., “Research into automatic error recovery” UK Robotics Research, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London, 1984).Google Scholar
37.Nnaji, B.O., “CAD-Based Schema for an Assembly Planning Reasoner” In: Expert Systems, Strategies and Solutions in Manufacturing Design and Planning (Kusiak, A. ed.) (Society of Manufacturing Engineers, USA, 1988) pp. 215–255.Google Scholar
38.McDermott, D., “A Temporal Logic for Reasoning about Processes and Plans” Cognitive Science 6, 101–155 (1982).Google Scholar
39.Georgeff, M.P. and Lansky, A.L., “Reasoning about Actions and Plans” Proceedings of the 1986 Workshop, Timberline, Oregon, USA (SRI International 1986).Google Scholar
40.Wolter, J.D., “On the Automatic Generation of Assembly Plans” IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA (1989) pp. 62–68.Google Scholar