A Novel Kinematic Calibration Method for Industrial Robots Based on the Improved Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm

Due to insufficient absolute positioning accuracy, industrial robots frequently face challenges in efficiently performing drilling and riveting operations during the assembly of aircraft and other large-scale workpieces. To enhance the absolute positioning accuracy of industrial robots, this paper proposes a novel kinematic calibration method for industrial robots based on the Improved Grey Wolf Optimization (IGWO) algorithm. Specifically, the method employs an enhanced selection and update strategy to avoid convergence stagnation and local optimum traps. The proposed method features a novel boundary search strategy, which leverages the Dimension-oriented Learning (DL) search strategy to enhance search speed and stability. Through parameter identification and calibration experiments, the effectiveness of the method was validated using an ABB IRB4600 industrial robot and a Leica laser tracker. Additionally, compared with the Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) algorithm, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Genetic Algorithm (GA), the IGWO algorithm demonstrates faster convergence and superior optimization performance. According to the calibration experimental results, by applying the IGWO algorithm, the absolute positioning accuracy of the industrial robot is ultimately improved from 1.918 mm to 0.475 mm and the absolute positioning accuracy is improved by 75.2%.