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Visual Programming
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the result of our Master thesis work at ABB Automation Technology
Products AB Robotics, performed late 2001 and early 2002.
ABB sees the potential in the visual programming field, and is interested in investigating
if it is possible to develop something new or improved for manufacturers that have not
got the possibility or knowledge to use RobotStudio1. These customers program in the
old fashioned way; online.
The main purposes with this thesis are to show the principle of visual online
programming by making an intuitive, robust, simple and usable prototype connected to
present online programming methods, as well as to investigate the state-of-the-art in
visual programming today.
The prototype has a straightforward, intuitive user interface, and the navigation is simple.
Unneeded, advanced features are hidden and the use of necessary ones is simplified and
automated to make it possible for a wider range of people to program arc welding robots.
A user evaluation with people inside ABB is also carried out and the result about how
these people understand the prototype is presented. The result from the user evaluation
can be used as input for future development projects with focus on visual programming.
Some of the comments from the test persons were “it is a very good idea and takes the
programming phase in the right direction” and “if it works satisfactory, it is an
opportunity to entice new customers to ABB robots”.
1
http://www.abb.com/robots
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