Motoman Robot job security

Start the proceedings to put a lean against the company that owes you money.

Do not do "something" to the robot. Any malicious software or settings, or if you go back and remove the main processor when everyone is on lunch, can be considered industrial espionage. A charge like this on your record may prevent you from getting new contracts or traveling over an international boarder.

What I have seen is the programmer makes a full backup (cmos and individual files). They load the cmos that was saved before they started. The system is in the as installed state and hardware is fully functional, just not programmed to do anything.

This was done in a very rare cases where the customers had no issues just did not want to sign off. They wanted the equipment to run and make them money but did not want to sign off for ownership and final milestone payment.

Stanley1012

If you do so, please remember, it is quite easy to find current management mode password in actual CMOS file.

You should try to use all legal means first before You decide to remove/block programs you wrote.

Quote from Stanley1012

Guys thanks for the advice. The problem here is not the final customer but the contractor however, here is my plan to ensure i get paid.

-- Change the Management mode password.

-- Disable job edit function while enabling the modification of position data.

--Hand over factory delivered CMOS and setting files as back on job completion.

As i know for a fact the final customer could like to add another variant to their production line, this mild changes brings no one in harms way but ensures the project stops and questions asked when big changes are needed.

I don't know what country you live in so obviously business/corporate/industry/criminal codes vary wildly, but there are few common (albeit sometimes named or worded differently) laws and statutes you should probably be aware of:

- You do not own the robot, you own your intellectual property: that is, your program. And that too, is dependent on what your contract looked like when you signed it. What this means is anything you do to their equipment or existing IP assets (their programs, their CMOS, etc etc) is considered very much the same as you tampering with their pipes, wiring or roof. Property damage, sabotage, extortion, anti-trust; these are all terms you could see on a subpoena with your name on it.

-Your property, as a digital asset, is only yours as much as you can prove it is. If you aren't already, you should be having the people who hire you sign a document drafted by a legal professional outlining the scope of what services and products are yours, the limited liability of said products, and conditions for default or renege. if the contract you signed hasn't been met by the contractor, but you have no way of proving you wrote what you did, they could very easily just claim it as their own. And they will have no trouble proving that you did anything to their existing infrastructure, trust me.

- The best vengeance you can take is being honest with your industry peers and clients. If these people don't pay, make sure everyone knows they don't pay. It doesn't take long for a crap company to sink with a bad reputation.

Even if your plan goes full best case scenario; it's rife with opportunity for a company like that to trap you and even pin worse charges on you. Don't do it.