Model Driven Robot Simulation: RoboCell

Abstract

Robotics courses are offered in the College of Engineering at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Subjects such as robot applications, end of arm tooling, safety, and analysis of robot specifications are covered in these courses. These robotics fields have benefited considerably in the last three decades from the advancement of computer science, as advanced software tools were developed to study the working of robots. As robots have begun to proliferate in industry, so have the demands on the level of sophistication of their performance. Careful attention to safety planning has been required because; these industrial tools present many of the same hazards as conventional machine tools. Thus, engineers working in the areas of robotics must have a well-structured understanding of robotic systems. Model driven simulation is a valuable tool for helping in this aspect. RoboCell simulation software is one such model driven simulation program. Simulation is a powerful tool, but robotics research should be conducted on robots. In this paper we provide a brief approach to learning technical aspects of industrial robots through use of an educational robot and RoboCell simulation software. The educational hardware and software together emulate manufacturing environments. These aid engineers to rapidly test and refine new behaviors before running them on the actual robotic system.