A failure diagnostic device for performing a failure diagnosis on a multi-axis robot includes a position detector that detects a movement position of each of joint shafts included in the multi-axis robot, a torque detector that detects a disturbance torque applied to the joint shaft, a routine-operation determination circuit that determines whether or not the multi-axis robot is executing a predefined routine operation, from the movement position detected by the position detector, a reference-value calculation circuit that calculates a disturbance-torque reference value from the disturbance torque detected during execution of the routine operation, a torque correction circuit that corrects the disturbance torque detected while the multi-axis robot executes an operation different from the routine operation by using the disturbance-torque reference value, calculated by the reference-value calculation circuit, to thereby acquire a corrected disturbance torque, and a failure diagnostic circuit that performs a failure diagnosis.

A failure diagnostic device includes a torque detector that detects disturbance torques applied to joint shafts included in a multi-axis robot, a torque grouping circuit that groups the disturbance torques according to a content of an operation executed by the multi-axis robot upon detection of each disturbance torque, a torque correction circuit that obtains a corrected disturbance torque standardized between a plurality of operations with different contents based on a representative value preliminarily set for each grouped disturbance torque and the disturbance torque detected by the torque detector, and a failure diagnostic circuit that performs a failure diagnosis on the multi-axis robot by comparing the corrected disturbance torque with a threshold.

A robot system and a maintenance method, capable of easily managing maintenance information and/or predicting a failure, with respect to each module constituting a robot. The robot system includes a plurality of robots each having an arm configured as an exchangeable module. The robot system also includes: a robot information storing section configured to store robot information including at least one of an operational status, failure prediction information, failure diagnosis information and maintenance history information of each module; a reading section configured to read a unique identifiable information of the module; a robot information referring section configured to refer to the stored robot information with respect to the module corresponding to the read unique identifiable information; and a robot information outputting section configured to output the robot information with respect to each module of the robot.

A protocol created in such a format that a series of operations for process targets in the fields of engineering related to living organisms are executable by a robot 10 is acquired (S1). The robot 10 is controlled to implement the operations for the process targets according to the protocol (S2). In order to modify the protocol after the implementation of the operations, modification information on at least one action among basic actions which serve as bases for implementing the operations and is performed on an instrument used by the robot 10 in the operations, and complementary actions which complement the basic actions is acquired (S5). The robot 10 is controlled to produce processed products from the process targets by using the protocol modified based on the modification information (S7).

A method of controlling a robot system including an articulated robot and a control device is provided. The articulated robot includes links connected by joints, motors configured to drive the joints respectively, and detection devices configured to detect rotation amounts of the joints respectively. The control device controls the motors. The method includes the steps of, by the control device, recording movement information of the joints based on outputs of the detection devices; when detecting an abnormality in the operation of the articulated robot, determining presence or absence of a failure in the articulated robot based on the movement information recorded in at least a period from before detection of the abnormality until detection of the abnormality; and specifying a failure portion of the articulated robot if it is determined that there is a failure in the articulated robot in the step of determining.

A correction device includes: a measurement point generation unit configured to generate a plurality of candidate points corresponding to posture of a robot within a movable range of the robot based on robot mechanism model information representing a mechanism of the robot and end effector information concerning an end effector installed in the robot, and determine, among the generated plurality of candidate points, a candidate point at which joint torque of each joint of the robot in the posture corresponding to each candidate point is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold as a measurement point; and a parameter identification unit configured to calculate a position error between a calculated position and a measured position of the end effector in the posture corresponding to the measurement point and identify mechanism error parameters so that the calculated position error is minimized.

A method of controlling a robot system including an articulated robot and a control device is provided. The articulated robot includes links connected by joints, motors configured to drive the joints respectively, and detection devices configured to detect rotation amounts of the joints respectively. The control device controls the motors. The method includes the steps of, by the control device, recording movement information of the joints based on outputs of the detection devices; when detecting an abnormality in the operation of the articulated robot, determining presence or absence of a failure in the articulated robot based on the movement information recorded in at least a period from before detection of the abnormality until detection of the abnormality; and specifying a failure portion of the articulated robot if it is determined that there is a failure in the articulated robot in the step of determining.

An evaluation apparatus includes: a processor; a memory; and an interface configured to receive data output by devices. The processor being configured to: receive action indicators including indicative data representing at least one physical quantity measured by a device and indicative data representing at least one specific of an action performed by the device through the interface; store the received action indicators to the memory; presume the action of the device by finding a match through comparing the received action indicators with templates each specifying a combination of items of indicative data required to presume an action of the devices; extract indicative data required to evaluate the presumed action from the received action indicators; and evaluate quality of the presumed action based on the extracted indicative data.

The present invention relates to a method and device for diagnosing a defect of a collaborative robot, the method comprising the steps in which: an electronic device generates a sensing data structure for managing sensing data collected from at least one collaborative robot; the electronic device generates an operation data structure for managing operation data associated with the operation of the collaborate robot; the electronic device generates a malfunction data structure for managing malfunction data of a point in which the severity of the operation equals to or is higher than a threshold; and the electronic device stores data collected from the at least one collaborative robot in accordance with the structures. Application to other embodiments is also possible.