🤖 AI Summary
In high-precision manufacturing, robotic positioning accuracy lags significantly behind repeatability—yet conventional calibration methods rely on expensive external equipment (e.g., laser trackers) or multiple sensors. Method: This paper proposes a novel, stepwise kinematic calibration approach that uses only a single draw-wire encoder for one-dimensional distance measurement. It establishes an end-to-end framework comprising pose-error decoupling modeling, Jacobian-based sensitivity analysis, and kinematic-constraint-driven iterative optimization—integrating geometric modeling, least-squares parameter identification, and constrained optimization. Results: Validated on a representative six-axis industrial manipulator, the method reduces end-effector positioning error from 5.2 mm to 0.8 mm (an 84.6% improvement) while cutting calibration time by 60%. It substantially lowers hardware dependency and implementation complexity, offering a practical, cost-effective solution for in-situ high-accuracy robot calibration.