Application of FPGAs in Industrial Robots

Time: 2025-04-18 11:00:53View:

Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are increasingly critical in industrial robotics due to their parallel processing capabilities, low-latency determinism, and hardware reconfigurability. They enable high-performance control, real-time sensor processing, and flexible customization for specialized robotic applications.

Key Applications of FPGAs in Industrial Robots

1. Real-Time Motion Control

Function: High-speed, deterministic control of multi-axis servo motors.
FPGA Advantages:

Sub-microsecond latency for closed-loop control
Hardware-accelerated trajectory planning

Example:

ABB IRB 6700 – Uses Xilinx FPGAs for nanosecond-level servo synchronization.
KUKA KR C5 – FPGA-based EtherCAT Master for precise motor control.

2. High-Speed Sensor Processing

Function: Real-time processing of encoders, LiDAR, force/torque sensors, and vision systems.
FPGA Advantages:

Parallel ADC data processing
Low-latency filtering (e.g., Kalman filters in hardware)

Example:

Fanuc R-30iB Plus – Intel Cyclone FPGAs process 16-bit encoder data at 10kHz.
Universal Robots e-Series – FPGA-based 6-axis torque sensing for collaborative robots.

3. Machine Vision & AI Acceleration

Function: Edge AI for object recognition, defect detection, and 3D vision.
FPGA Advantages:

Low-power, high-throughput CNN acceleration
Real-time image preprocessing (e.g., HDR, noise reduction)

Example:

Omron TM Robotics – Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ runs YOLOv4 at 60FPS.
Sick Ranger3 Camera – FPGA-enabled 3D point cloud generation for bin picking.

4. Industrial Communication Protocols

Function: Hardware-accelerated EtherCAT, PROFINET, or Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN).
FPGA Advantages:

Jitter-free (<1µs) communication
Multi-protocol support in a single chip

Example:

Yaskawa Motoman HC20 – Altera FPGA implements dual EtherCAT ports.
B&R Automation – Xilinx FPGAs enable PROFINET IRT for robotic cells.

5. Safety-Critical Functions

Function: Safe torque off (STO), emergency stop, and collision detection.
FPGA Advantages:

SIL3/PL e compliance with lockstep cores
Redundant signal processing

Example:

KUKA LBR iiwa – Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ runs dual-core safety logic.
ABB SafeMove2 – FPGA monitors position/speed limits in real time.

6. Power Electronics Control

Function: PWM generation for servo drives and regenerative braking.
FPGA Advantages:

Nanosecond-precision PWM (e.g., for SiC/GaN inverters)
Dead-time compensation in hardware

Example:

Fanuc Servo Amplifiers – Altera FPGAs control IGBT/SiC-based drives.
Yaskawa Σ-7 Servo – FPGA-managed adaptive current control.

7. Custom Robotic Peripherals

Function: Proprietary algorithms (e.g., adaptive grippers, haptic feedback).
FPGA Advantages:

Reconfigurable I/O for custom sensors/actuators
No OS overhead (bare-metal execution)

Example:

Schunk EGI Gripper – FPGA implements force-controlled gripping.
OnRobot HEX 6-Axis F/T Sensor – Lattice FPGA processes 6D force data.

FPGA vs. Traditional Processors in Robotics

Feature	FPGA	CPU/GPU
Latency	Nanosecond-level deterministic	Microsecond/millisecond delays
Parallelism	True parallel processing	Limited by cores/threads
Power Efficiency	Low power for fixed tasks	Higher power consumption
Flexibility	Reconfigurable hardware	Fixed architecture
Safety Certification	Easier SIL3/PL e compliance	Requires additional hardware

Future Trends

✔ AI/FPGA Hybrids – Combining FPGA acceleration with neural networks (e.g., Xilinx Vitis AI).
✔ 5G-Enabled Robotics – FPGAs for ultra-low-latency wireless control.
✔ Predictive Maintenance – FPGA-based vibration/fault analysis.
✔ Soft Robotics – Reconfigurable control for adaptive grippers.

Conclusion

FPGAs are revolutionizing industrial robotics by enabling ultra-fast, deterministic, and customizable control. From high-speed motor control to real-time vision processing, they address critical challenges in Industry 4.0 automation.