Disclosed herein is a method. The method includes moving a payload through a motion path proximate at least one sensor. Detecting edges of the payload such that at least three points on at least two edges are detected. Capturing a position when the at least one sensor detects at least one edge of the payload.

An apparatus and method for calibrating or teaching a robot, the apparatus includes a reflective photoelectric sensor arranged on a gripper of the robot and a controller. The controller is configured to: cause the reflective photoelectric sensor to scan over a target object; monitor changes in an output signal from the reflective photoelectric sensor; for each detected change exceeding a threshold, determine a coordinate of a gripping component on the gripper in a robot coordinate system, to obtain a set of coordinates; determine a position of the target object in the robot coordinate system based on the set of coordinates and a predefined offset value (PO) between the reflective photoelectric sensor and the gripping component; and store the position of target object for future use in assembling objects.

Implementations disclosed describe an integrated sensor controller comprising a sensor circuit and a logic circuit. The sensor circuit includes a light source driver to generate a driving signal, a demultiplexer to produce, using the driving signal, a plurality of output driving signals to be delivered to one of a plurality of sensors, and an amplifier to: receive a first signal from a first sensor, the first signal being associated with a first event representative of a position of a substrate within a device manufacturing machine, and generate a second signal. The sensor circuit further includes an analog-to-digital converter to receive the second signal and generate a third signal. The logic circuit includes a memory device and a processing device coupled to the memory device, the processing device to obtain based on the third signal, information about the position of the substrate.

The present invention provides a multi-degree-of-freedom error measurement system for rotary axes and the method thereof. By producing a first ray, a second ray, and a third ray, the multi-facet reflector and the axicon disposed on an axis average line can receive the first, the second, and the third rays, respectively, for producing a reflective ray, a refractive ray, a first emitted ray, and a second emitted ray. Thereby, errors of the axicon in a plurality of degrees of freedom caused by shift or vibration of the axis average line, such as the x-axis radial error, the y-axis radial error, the axial error, the x-axis tilt error, the tilt error for the y-axis, and the angular alignment error for rotation can be measured.

An apparatus for use with a robot is disclosed. The apparatus includes a reflective photoelectric sensor arranged on a gripper of the robot and a controller. The controller is configured to: cause the reflective photoelectric sensor to scan over a target object; monitor changes in an output signal from the reflective photoelectric sensor; for each detected change exceeding a threshold, determine a coordinate of a gripping component on the gripper in a robot coordinate system, to obtain a set of coordinates; determine a position of the target object in the robot coordinate system based on the set of coordinates and a predefined offset value between the reflective photoelectric sensor and the gripping component; and store the position of target object for future use in assembling objects. A method, a robot and a computer program product are also disclosed. The apparatus and the method provide a new solution for calibrating or teaching the robot.

Disclosed herein is a method. The method includes moving a payload through a motion path proximate at least one sensor. Detecting edges of the payload such that at least three points on at least two edges are detected. Capturing a position when the at least one sensor detects at least one edge of the payload.

Implementations disclosed describe an integrated sensor controller comprising a sensor circuit and a logic circuit. The sensor circuit includes a light source driver to generate a driving signal, a demultiplexer to produce, using the driving signal, a plurality of output driving signals to be delivered to one of a plurality of sensors, and an amplifier to: receive a first signal from a first sensor, the first signal being associated with a first event representative of a position of a substrate within a device manufacturing machine, and generate a second signal. The sensor circuit further includes an analog-to-digital converter to receive the second signal and generate a third signal. The logic circuit includes a memory device and a processing device coupled to the memory device, the processing device to obtain based on the third signal, information about the position of the substrate.

The present invention provides a multi-degree-of-freedom error measurement system for rotary axes and the method thereof. By producing a first ray, a second ray, and a third ray, the multi-facet reflector and the axicon disposed on an axis average line can receive the first, the second, and the third rays, respectively, for producing a reflective ray, a refractive ray, a first emitted ray, and a second emitted ray. Thereby, errors of the axicon in a plurality of degrees of freedom caused by shift or vibration of the axis average line, such as the x-axis radial error, the y-axis radial error, the axial error, the x-axis tilt error, the tilt error for the y-axis, and the angular alignment error for rotation can be measured.

A tool center point calibration device includes a laser light source and a semi-transparent mirror configured to split a light beam of the laser light source into the first light beam and the second light beam. The second light beam is at of about a 90 angle to the first light beam. A first light detector at the first light beam generates a first signal when the first light beam is interrupted, and a second light detector at the second light beam generates a second signal when the second light beam is interrupted.