Robot Controller Specific Languages

Controller-specific languages were the original method of controlling industrial robots, and are still the most common method today. Every robot control has some form of machine language, and there is usually a programming language to go with it that can be used to create programs for that robot. These programming languages are usually very simple, with a BASIC-like syntax and simple commands for controlling the robot and program flow. A good example is the language provided by KUKA for its industrial robots. Programs written in this language can be run on a suitable KUKA robot or tested in the simulation system provided by KUKA.

Despite having existed for as long as industrial robots have been in use, controller-specific languages have seen only minor advances. In one case, Freund and Luedemand-Ravit (2002) have created a system that allows industrial robot programs to be generalized around some aspects of a task, with a customized version of the robot program being generated as necessary before being downloaded into a robot controller. The system uses a “generation plan” to provide the basic program for a task. For example, a task to cut shaped pieces of metal could be customized by the shape of the final result. While such a system can help reduce the time for producing programs for related products, it does not reduce the initial time to develop the robot program.

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