Robots can be divided into hardware and software components. The hardware component mainly includes the robot body and the controller, while the software component mainly refers to its control technology.
Main body
Let's start by talking about the robot's body. Industrial robots are designed to mimic the human arm. Taking the Hyundai HS220 model as an example, from the outside, it mainly consists of six parts: base, lower frame, upper frame, arm, wrist, and wrist support.
Just like human muscles, the joints of a robot are controlled by servo motors and reducers. The servo motor is the power source; the robot's operating speed and load capacity are both related to the servo motor. The reducer, on the other hand, is the intermediary for power transmission and comes in many different sizes. Generally, micro-robots require very high repeatability, typically below 0.001 inches or 0.0254 millimeters. Connecting the servo motor to the reducer helps improve accuracy and increases the reducer's transmission ratio.
The HS220 has six servo motors and reducers, mounted on each connector, enabling the robot to move in six directions—a six-axis robot. These six directions are: X-axis (forward/backward), Y-axis (left/right), Z-axis (up/down), RX (rotation around the X-axis), RY (rotation around the Y-axis), and RZ (rotation around the Z-axis). It is this multi-dimensional movement capability that allows the robot to assume different postures and complete various tasks.
controller
The robot's controller is like its brain. It is involved in the entire process of calculating and sending instructions and supplying energy. Based on the instructions and sensor information, it controls the robot to complete certain actions or tasks and is the main factor that determines the robot's functions and performance.
In addition to the two main components mentioned above, the robot's hardware also includes:
SMPS, a switching power supply, provides energy.
CPU module, controls actions;
The servo drive module controls the current to move the robot's joints;
The continuous module, analogous to the human sympathetic nervous system, takes over the robot's safety, rapidly controls the robot, and stops it in emergencies.
The input/output module, which is equivalent to the detection and response nerve, is the interface between the robot and the outside world.
Control technology
Robot control technology refers to the field of applications that involve operating robots quickly and accurately. A major advantage of robots is that their programs can be easily modified, allowing them to be used in different scenarios. To enable humans to operate robots, a teach pendant is essential. On the teach pendant's display interface, we can see the robot's programming language, HR Basic, and various robot states. We can program the robot using the teach pendant.
The second part of the control technology involves drawing tables and then controlling the robot's movement based on the charts. We can use calculated mechanical data to complete the planning and motion control of the robot.
In addition, machine vision, as well as the recently popular immersive deep learning and classification of artificial intelligence, all fall under the category of control technology.
Modern robots also have dedicated R&D teams to study robot control technology. In addition, we have a mechanical systems R&D team responsible for the robot body, a control platform team responsible for the controller, and an application control team responsible for control technology. It is the collaborative efforts of these multiple departments that have made modern robots what they are today.
