Diagnostic method for a real time sensor mounted on a robot

A diagnostic method for a real time sensor mounted on a robot and used to detect a position of an object on a real-time basis and to detect an operation target position, which is a location on the object that a particular operation is to be performed, said diagnostic method comprising the steps of:

• (a) detecting a position of the object with the sensor during operation of the robot to obtain object position data indicative of the object position;
• (b) analyzing the object position data obtained in said step (a) to determine operation target position data indicative of the operation target position;
• (c) storing the object position data obtained in said step (a) and the operation target position data determined in said step (b), along with robot position data indicative of designated robot positions at the time of the detection;
• and
• (d) diagnosing an operation state of the sensor by analyzing the object position data and operation target position data stored in said step (c) and, in response, adjusting parameters pertaining to the operation of the sensor.

A diagnostic method for a real-time sensor mounted on a robot and used to detect a position of an object on a real-time basis and to measure an operation target position, which is a location on the object that a particular operation is to be performed, said diagnostic method comprising the steps of:

• (a) determining the operation target position by analyzing object position data indicative of the position of the object during the operation of the robot;
• (b) selecting a conditional value representing a case corresponding to one of where the position of the robot is at a predetermined position, where the operation target position has failed to be detected, and where the variation of the operation target position from a previous operation target position of a previous cycle is at least as great as a set value;
• (c) storing operation target position data indicative of the operation target position determined in said step (a), along with robot position data indicative of robot positions at a time of the measurement;
• (d) storing the object position data in accordance with the conditional value selected in said step (b);
• and
• (e) diagnosing the operation state of the sensor by analyzing the operation target position data stored in said step (c) and the object position data stored in said step (d) and, in response, adjusting parameters pertaining to the operation of the sensor.