Industrial robot and method to operate an industrial robot

A method for operating an industrial robot comprising a robot arm apparatus comprising at least one robot arm mounted on a base, said robot arm being movable with respect to each of a plurality of axes, at least one of said axes having an electrical drive associated therewith that moves said robot arm with respect to said at least one of said axes, said method comprising the steps of:

• via said electrical drive, using a three-phase synchronous motor to drive said robot arm with respect to said at least one of said axes, and with said electrical drive, operating said three-phase synchronous motor based on electrical currents and electrical voltages generated by said electrical drive;
• from a signal emitter, emitting a first signal representing at least one of said electrical currents and said electrical voltages;
• from a position detector, emitting a second signal representing the position of said at least one of said axes;
• operating said robot arm from a computerized control unit by controlling said electrical drive, and supplying said computerized control unit with said first signal from said signal emitter said second signal from said position detector and, in said computerized control unit, determining a position of said at least one of said axes from said first and/or said second signals and controlling said electrical drive dependent on said position.