Understanding industrial robot programming by aid of a virtual reality environment

This paper reports on the construction of a virtual environment on top of a commercially available authoring platform that simulates an industrial robotic arm in pick-andplace movement scenarios. The user interface constructed follows in functionality the well-known teach pendants but exploits just a normal PC keyboard. However, both forward and inverse kinematics is served allowing the user to command movements in either the joint or the tool coordinate system. Perception pertaining to picking and placing movements and in particular the subtle docking positions was enhanced by adding so-called perceptual aids consisting of auxiliary objects with collision detection capabilities. The application was put to test by a group of practitioner-trainees who reported favourably, using a structured questionnaire, on its merits in enhancing their understanding of the robot's capabilities, its kinematics, as well as the task performance strategy. Thus, confidence is increased regarding the ability of Virtual Reality - based platforms to contribute to successful training regarding programming and manipulation of industrial equipment.