Sensitivity analysis of distance accuracy test for six-degree-of-freedom serial industrial robots

Purpose In recent years, industrial robot technologies and applications have developed rapidly, making it necessary to improve their performance testing methods. This paper aims to investigate the sensitivity of the distance accuracy test method specified in ISO 9283:1998 (Manipulating industrial robots – Performance criteria and related test methods) to error sources in the kinematic model of industrial robots, aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of this standard. Design/methodology/approach Based on the Denavit–Hartenberg kinematic model of industrial robots, a simulation framework is established to analyze the sensitivity of distance accuracy performance indices to kinematic parameter errors. Using the kinematic model parameters of a real industrial robot, the sensitivity matrices of the distance accuracy test to the kinematic parameter errors are obtained through simulation. Additionally, the improvement suggestion of the positioning distance accuracy test is proposed, and the experimental validation results are presented. Findings The analysis of this study shows that the positioning distance accuracy of the ABB 1410 robot is insensitive to its four geometric parameters of Joint 1, as well as to five other kinematic parameters. Moreover, the orientation distance accuracy performance index is found to be largely insensitive to most kinematic parameter errors of the focused ABB industrial robot, and thus fails to effectively capture its error characteristics associated with length-related parameters in the actual kinematic model. Based on the experiment, it is found that the positioning distance accuracy test based on the alternative test configuration proposed in this study can more effectively reflect the kinematic model parameter errors of the ABB 1410 industrial robot. Originality/value The research approach presented in this paper provides a potential methodological reference for improving the distance accuracy test method in ISO 9283:1998.