Abstract: A robot capable of being operated at a high-speed by the full use of a power of a servo-motor, including a motor and a speed reducer, wherein the motor drives the robot through the speed reducer, and the speed reducer is a variable speed reducer capable of varying a reduction ration thereof while the robot is operating reproducibly.

Abstract: A method for controlling a robot that comprises shafts having one degree of freedom or a plurality of degrees of freedom, and where a dynamic load is applied to at least one of the above shafts, the shafts being driven by a servo motor via a speed reducer, includes the steps of stopping the robot at a point, thereafter moving the shaft to which the load is applied in a load acting direction and thereafter stopping the shaft.The efficiency (normal efficiency) from the servo motor to the arm (shaft) forms an inverse number relative to the efficiency (reverse efficiency) from the arm to the servo motor. A condition of transmitting the load from the arm is intentionally made and the load is made to establish equilibrium with the torque generated by the servo motor, thus reducing the consumption of electricity and the generation of heat.

Abstract: A quick method of calibrating an industrial robot. A calibrating device (3) which has 6 degrees of freedom and has a displacement detector for each of 6 axes is mounted either to a reference surface (lp) established on the robot (1) itself or to a reference surface having a known positional relation to the robot. The front end of the calibrating device (3) is mechanically coupled to the front end of the wrist of the robot. The position and the posture of the robot are calculated from the data for the position and the posture of the calibrating device derived from the displacement detectors of the calibrating device (3) to calibrate the robot.