STMicroelectronics: Industrial Robot Control Application Solutions

Industrial robotics is a branch of engineering that combines electronics, control systems, mechatronics, artificial intelligence, computer science and bioengineering. A robot is a device that contains sensors, actuators and control systems. Robots can generally be classified according to their purpose: factory robots or industrial robots perform tasks such as cutting, welding, gluing, etc.; service robots or mobile robots are primarily designed to be able to move around in their working environment.

The main smart products are:-

32-bit microcontroller based on ARM Cortex M4 core

Standard low-side, high-side and bridge smart power devices for driving solenoid valves, DC motors and stepper motors

Dedicated ICs for actuator driving, charging and power management

One of the broadest ranges of power MOSFETs and IGBTs in the industry

AC/DC Power Management Unit

Industrial robots require high-performance power management. According to ISO 8373, robots are defined as industrial automation equipment that can be fixed or mobile, can be automatically controlled, are reprogrammable, multi-purpose, and the operator can be programmed in three or more axes. In a broad sense, robots have high payload and inertial mass and are generally used in industrial or factory automation environments with dedicated power buses. From the perspective of voltage and EMC, the industrial environment is quite harsh, so robots must consider the design of power control units and the connection with field devices to avoid interference. STMicroelectronics devices and turnkey reference designs provide electrical engineers with fast and reliable solutions, with detailed documentation and evaluation boards designed specifically by leading power solution providers. For example, a large number of solutions and supporting devices are provided for AC-DC converters, such as high-voltage converters, load sharing controllers, PWM (pulse width modulation) controllers, synchronous rectification controllers, and voltage and current controllers.

Multimode sensor control unit

Sensors have been used in robots since their inception, and their use in modern robots is growing dramatically as their cost decreases and the intelligence of these devices increases, shrinking the size of the signal conditioning circuits surrounding them.

Robot motion control unit

Robotic system design is recognized as the most difficult task, which requires determining the best kinematic algorithm for the robot and generally requires at least expertise in control engineering, computer science, and electronic engineering.

Robotic end effectors and manipulators

Robotic system design is recognized as the most difficult task, which requires determining the best kinematic algorithm for the robot and generally requires at least expertise in control engineering, computer science, and electronic engineering.

Air pressure bionic muscle actuator

Industrial robot AC-DC conversion is the basis for obtaining a stable DC bus from the AC power supply. The industrial environment is very noisy from the voltage and EMC point of view, so the design of the power management unit and its connection to the field devices must be very reliable and safe in this regard.