Geometrical calibration and uncertainty estimation methodology for a novel self-propelled miniature robotic machine tool

This paper reports on a novel calibration method which enables completely automatic identification of the kinematics of a walking hexapod robotic machine tool. The method uses three on-board cameras and relies on a coupled model that combines kinematics and photogrammetry. Both the mathematical modelling and the actual implementation are detailed. Besides the calibration method, the paper proposes an analytical methodology to estimate the uncertainties of the identified kinematical parameters. The methodology is validated against both experimental results and against previously reported observability indexes. This methodology enables moving from qualitative indexes, observability indexes, to quantitative estimations. The methodology is applied to guaranty a calibration configuration that allows estimating the robot parameters with an uncertainty of 0.1 nun due to non-repeatability of the measurements. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.