Manipulator, particularly industrial robot, having a redundant sensor arrangement, and method for the control thereof

An industrial robot, comprising:

• a stationary robot base;
• a manipulator supported by the stationary robot base, the manipulator having a plurality of motion axes movably situated thereon, the manipulator including:
• a plurality of actuators corresponding to the plurality of motion axes;
• and
• at least one axis sensor associated with each of the axes of the plurality of motion axes;
• a multiaxial redundant sensor arrangement including a plurality of redundant sensors redundant to one another;
• and
• a robot controller configured to:
• acquire an axis value by the axis sensor for each of the plurality of motion axes;
• acquire at least one overall redundant manipulator value by the redundant sensor arrangement that is related to combined forces and/or moments acting on the overall manipulator;
• balance the overall redundant manipulator value and the axis values acquired by the axis sensors;
• and
• output a signal corresponding to the result of the balancing.

A method of controlling a manipulator for an industrial robot, the manipulator including a plurality of motion axes, to each of which at least one axis sensor is associated, the manipulator further including a redundant sensor arrangement, the method comprising:

• acquiring an axis value by a robot controller from the axis sensor associated with each of the plurality of motion axes,
• acquiring at least one overall redundant manipulator value by the robot controller from the redundant sensor arrangement that is related to combined forces and/or moments acting on the overall manipulator, wherein the redundant sensor arrangement includes a plurality of redundant sensors redundant to one another,
• balancing, by the robot controller, the overall redundant manipulator value and the axis values acquired by the axis sensors, and
• outputting, by the robot controller, a signal corresponding to the result of the balancing.