ELITE Calibration Program
This topic introduces the process of automatic hand-eye calibration when an ELITE robot communicates with Mech-Mind Vision System through Standard Interface.
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Before proceeding, please make sure that:
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Preparation before Calibration
Make preparation before calibration according to the camera mounting method.
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If the camera is mounted in the Eye to Hand method, see Preparation before Calibration in Automatic Calibration in the Eye-to-Hand Setup.
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If the camera is mounted in the Eye in Hand method, see Preparation before Calibration in Automatic Calibration in the Eye-in-Hand Setup.
Pre-calibration Configuration
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Open Mech-Vision, and click the Camera Calibration button in the toolbar. The Configuration before Calibration window will be prompted.
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Confirm that the checks are performed, click I’ve finished all checks, and then click Next.
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In the Select how to calibrate window, select the New calibration radio button, and then click the Next button.
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In the Select calibration task window, select Hand-eye calibration for listed robot from the drop-down list box, click the Select robot model button to select the robot model used by the project, and then click the Next button.
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In the Select camera setup window, select the camera mounting method in this project, and then click the Next button.
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In the Calibration method and robot control window, select Automatic and Standard Interface, and then click the Calibrate button to go to the Calibration window.
Calibration Procedure
Conduct calibration according to the camera mounting method.
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If the camera is mounted in the Eye to Hand method, see Calibration Procedure in Automatic Calibration in the Eye-to-Hand Setup.
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If the camera is mounted in the Eye in Hand method, see Calibration Procedure in Automatic Calibration in the Eye-in-Hand Setup.
Precautions
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When you proceed to the third calibration step (connecting the robot) and you click Start interface service button in the Connect the robot window, the button will change to Waiting for the robot to connect.... If the interface service is already started, you do not need to perform this operation.
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When the button displays Waiting for the robot to connect..., perform the following steps on the robot side. Then, continue the calibration in the software.
1. Open Needed Variables
The tool center point (TCP) of the calibration point is stored in the variable V099, and the corresponding joint positions are stored in P099. Open variables V099 and P099 according to the steps below before calibration.
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On the teach pendant, press to check if the variable V099 is open. If the dot in the Status column is red, the variable is not opened.
Select a closed variable, and press Open in the lower left to open it.
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Similarly, press and open variable P099. Press Quit to return to the home page.
2. Teach Calibration Start Point
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On the home page, select the mm_calibration program, and press Open.
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Move the robot to the start point for calibration.
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On the teach pendant, press , and select the variable to store the calibration start point (P004 is used in the following figure).
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If the variable is closed, press Open to store the calibration start point.
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If the variable is opened, press Close first and then Open to store the calibration start point.
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Select the second line in the mm_calibration program, and press .
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Select the P variable that stores the calibration start point, and press Done. Press the yellow SERVO ON switch at the back of the teach pendant, and press OK in the lower left to confirm inserting the move instruction.
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If the MOVJ instruction is successfully inserted, you can see the following command in line 3 of the program.
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Select the type of move instructions (MOVJ or MOVL) according to the actual situation. If using MOVJ instruction, store the calibration start point in a P variable in the form of JPs; If using MOVL instruction, store the calibration start point in a* V variable* in the form of TCP. |
3. Run Calibration Program
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Move the cursor to the first line of the program, and turn the key to PLAY.
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Press the yellow button in the lower right of the teach pendant to start the servo motors, and then press the green button to run the program automatically.
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When, in the Configuration window in Mech-Vision, the current status changes to connected and the button Waiting for the robot to connect changes to Disconnect robot, click Next. Next, proceed to the fourth step of the calibration process (i.e. setting the movement path).
| If the robot does not reach the next calibration point within 60 seconds, Mech-Vision will report a timeout error and stop the calibration process. In such cases, please select and run the calibration program on the teach pendant again, and restart the calibration process in Mech-Vision. |
Change the Extrinsic Parameter File
If the camera’s extrinsic parameter file has been used by a Mech-Vision project, you need to change the extrinsic parameter file used by the Mech-Vision project to a new one after you finish the hand-eye calibration.
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Select the Capture Images from Camera Step.
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In the Step Parameters panel, click
of the Calibration Parameter Group parameter, and select the newly calibrated extrinsic parameter file.
Calibration-Related Status Codes
During automatic calibration via Standard Interface communication, the vision system returns data together with the status code to the robot. Status codes, which are categorized into error codes and normal status codes, indicate the command execution status. Calibration related status codes are listed in the tables below.