A fusion welding device includes: a robot arm; a fusion welding hand attached to the robot arm and including a fusion welding head for fusing and joining together workpieces while being separated from the workpieces; a support provided to the fusion welding hand and abutting on the workpieces; a force sensor for detecting a force and a moment exerted, through the support, by the workpieces; and a control section configured to control motion of the robot arm in accordance with parameters calculated from a signal outputted from the force sensor.

A robot control apparatus for a more precise seam tracking operation, includes: a storage unit in which teaching data is stored; an accepting unit that accepts a sensing result of a laser sensor, from a robot including a working tool and the laser sensor attached to the working tool and configured to detect a shape of a working target before an operation of the working tool; and a control unit that moves the working tool based on the teaching data, corrects the movement of the working tool based on the sensing result, and adjusts an angle about a tool axis such that an operation point indicated by the sensing result is at a center of a field of view of the laser sensor. Accordingly, an operation line can be detected near the center of the field of view of the laser sensor, and thus more precise detection is possible.

The present disclosure provides a robot pose determination method including: collecting laser frames; calculating a current pose of the robot in a map pointed by a first pointer based on the laser frames, and obtaining an amount of the laser frames having been inserted into the map pointed by the first pointer; inserting the laser frames into a map pointed by the first pointer, if less than a first threshold; inserting the laser frames into the map pointed by the first pointer and a map pointed by a second pointer, if greater than or equal to the first threshold and less than a second threshold; and pointing the first pointer to the map pointed by the second pointer, pointing the second pointer to a newly created empty map, and inserting the laser frames into the map pointed by the first pointer, if equal to the second threshold.

The invention discloses a material transport method between process points of a photovoltaic production line. A mobile robot receives an instruction to transport materials from one process point to another, and the mobile robot and the process point dock based on near field communication to take or discharge materials. In the operation method and system of the invention, the flower baskets are transported from one process point to another on the photovoltaic production line by means of a mobile robot instead of manual human effort, significantly improving the automation degree and production efficiency of the photovoltaic production line, ensuring transportation safety, and reducing labor cost.

The invention relates to a process for painting a workpiece using a painting robot including a robot arm equipped with a paint spraying device, the process including, an operation S1 of modeling a realistic 3D model corresponding to the workpiece as deformed and positioned in a paint cell, the realistic 3D model including paint trajectory information suitable for the workpiece as deformed and positioned in the paint cell, and a paint spraying operation S2 during which the paint spraying device is moved along the paint trajectory opposite the workpiece.

The present disclosure provides a painting robot and a painting method using the painting robot. The painting robot includes: an arm control unit which controls operation of the robot arm; a head control unit which controls driving of nozzles of the nozzle head; a distance measuring device which measures the distance between the painting portions and the nozzle discharging surface; and an image processing portion which forms a three-dimensional model for painting, which is a three-dimensional model, based on the painting coverage of the vehicle expected to be painted. The head control unit, based on the distances measured between the painting portions in the three-dimensional model for painting and an imaginary nozzle head or the distances measured by distance measuring device, controls to discharge paint from nozzles with distances within the prescribed range, and to not discharge paint from nozzles outside the prescribed range.

A non-destructive inspection system is presented. The non-destructive inspection system comprises a robotic end effector having an extendable actuator and a flange-mounted roller containing an ultrasonic sensor, the flange-mounted roller connected to the extendable actuator by a pivot connection, the extendable actuator configured to extend the flange-mounted roller until the flange-mounted roller contacts an inspection surface.

A processing apparatus includes an articulated robot having an arm distal-end portion to which a processing tool configured with a cutting edge portion and a profiling portion and a shape measurement unit are attached, and a processor. The processor, in a workpiece set state, recognizes, by measuring a shape of the workpiece using the shape measurement unit, a tilt of a profiled surface portion of the workpiece and a position of a process portion of the workpiece to generate processing-target-portion information based on the position of the process portion, generates processing-point information indicating a processing point, moves the arm distal-end portion to the processing point based on the processing-point information, controls an orientation of the processing tool in accordance with the tilt of the profiled surface portion of the workpiece to perform the specified processing on the workpiece using the processing tool.

A fluid exchanging system and method for use in exchanging fluids in insulating glass units (IGUs). The fluid exchanging system includes an articulating arm having a plurality of members and arms to allow movement about multiple axes defined by the articulating arm, an optical sensor system, coupled to the articulating arm, for identifying an opening in a spacer frame of an IGU, and a fluid exchanging apparatus releasably couplable to the articulating arm. The fluid exchanging apparatus also includes a fluid exchanging head for evacuating atmospheric air from the IGU and dispensing fluid into the IGU.

In an embodiment, a processing device relating to an inspection of an inspection object by a photography unit is provided. A processor of the processing device calculates a plurality of photography points as positions photographing the inspection object based on shape data in which a shape of a surface of the inspection object is indicated by a point group, and information relating to a position and a normal vector on the surface of the inspection object is defined by the point group. The processor executes analysis regarding a path that passes through all of the calculated photography points and minimizes a sum of a movement cost from each of the photography points to a photography point of a next movement destination, and calculates a path corresponding to an analysis result as a path for moving the photography unit.