Introduction.
The main part of the industrial robots available
today, are delivered as total systems, indudiq
everything from mechaaical construction to control
system and programming Upit. Such robot systems
are often characterized as ememely closed leaving
no possibility of changing the system according to
the customcis whishes and needs. This forces
smaller factories, whishing to invest in robots in
order to automatize production, to buy a standard
robot system which is often far more advanced
than necessary for the purpose in question.
In standard robot equipment the user has only
access to the arm through high-level "move-type"
commands and no control over the low-level motor
servo loops. Hence, the academic researcher is
prevented from using the arm to test and demonstrate
new control strategies as a supplement to
computer simulation. A testing ground for new
control techniques is needed to bridge the gap
beween theory and application.