SACA Robotics and Automation 2

Question 1

What defines the 'workspace' of an industrial robot arm?

Accepted Answer

The three-dimensional volume that the robot's tool center point (TCP) can reach

Answer

The floor space required for the robot's safety fence

Answer

The number of programs stored in the robot controller memory

Answer

The maximum payload the robot can carry at full extension

Question 2

What is 'teach pendant programming' in industrial robotics?

Accepted Answer

Manually guiding the robot through desired positions while recording the joint angles for playback

Answer

A simulation method using CAD models to generate robot paths offline

Answer

Writing robot programs in a high-level language on a desktop computer

Answer

Using a vision system to automatically teach robot positions from reference images

Question 3

What distinguishes a 'collaborative robot' (cobot) from a traditional industrial robot in terms of safety design?

Accepted Answer

Cobots are designed with force/torque sensing and power limiting to safely stop when contact with a person is detected

Answer

Cobots are faster and carry heavier payloads than traditional robots

Answer

Cobots use a different programming language exclusively developed for human interaction

Answer

Cobots require no programming — they learn entirely from human demonstration

Question 4

In industrial robot programming, what does 'tool center point' (TCP) calibration accomplish?

Accepted Answer

It defines the position and orientation of the active tool tip relative to the robot's mounting flange

Answer

It sets the maximum speed limit for the robot's end effector

Answer

It calibrates the robot's base coordinate system to the factory floor

Answer

It programs the robot to automatically avoid fixture clamps in its path

Question 5

What is 'dead reckoning' in autonomous mobile robot navigation, and what is its primary limitation?

Accepted Answer

Estimating current position by integrating wheel encoder data from a known starting point; limited by cumulative error accumulation

Answer

Using LIDAR to detect and map obstacles in real time; limited by sensor range

Answer

Using GPS coordinates for outdoor navigation; limited by indoor GPS unavailability

Answer

Using pre-programmed waypoints without sensing; limited by dynamic obstacle handling

Question 6

In industrial vision-guided robotics, what is the role of a 'calibration target' (e.g., checkerboard pattern)?

Accepted Answer

To establish the mathematical relationship between camera pixel coordinates and real-world robot coordinates

Answer

To set the white balance of the camera for consistent color detection

Answer

To calibrate the robot's force sensor after tool changes

Answer

To verify that the vision light source intensity is within specification