Intelligent force/torque sensing functions enable easy interface to robots

An intelligent six-axis force/torque (F/T) sensor system is presented. It provides several options for preprocessing the measured F/T values and for transmitting the result(s) to an industrial robot via parallel or serial signal path. The sensor system can eliminate the effect of preload forces when contact forces are to be measured, provide information on the occurrence of any preprogrammed F/T state, range the measured F/T values to produce coarse path control information. A menu-driven programming frame supports F/T application development. The system can be remotely controlled by the robot making use of a well-defined control procotol. The sensor system also restarts autonomously after a power failure