An Approach for Direct Offline Programming of High Precision Assembly Tasks on 3D Scans Using Tactile Control and Automatic Program Adaption

This contribution defines a methodology for the direct offline programming of robotic high-precision assembly tasks without the need for real-world teach-in, even for less-accurate lightweight robots. Using 3D scanning technologies, the relevant geometrical relations of the offline programming environment are adjusted to the real application. To bridge remaining accuracy gaps, tactile insertion algorithms are provided. As repetitive inaccuracy compensation through tactile search is considered wasteful, a method to automatically adapt the robot program to continuously increase precision over time, taking into account multiple influence sets is derived. The presented methodology is validated on a real-world use case from electronics production.

LEADOR: A Method for End-To-End Participatory Design of Autonomous Social Robots

Participatory design (PD) has been used to good success in human-robot interaction (HRI) but typically remains limited to the early phases of development, with subsequent robot behaviours then being hardcoded by engineers or utilised in Wizard-of-Oz (WoZ) systems that rarely achieve autonomy. In this article, we present LEADOR (Led-by-Experts Automation and Design Of Robots), an end-to-end PD methodology for domain expert co-design, automation, and evaluation of social robot behaviour. This method starts with typical PD, working with the domain expert(s) to co-design the interaction specifications and state and action space of the robot. It then replaces the traditional offline programming or WoZ phase by an in situ and online teaching phase where the domain expert can live-program or teach the robot how to behave whilst being embedded in the interaction context. We point out that this live teaching phase can be best achieved by adding a learning component to a WoZ setup, which captures implicit knowledge of experts, as they intuitively respond to the dynamics of the situation. The robot then progressively learns an appropriate, expert-approved policy, ultimately leading to full autonomy, even in sensitive and/or ill-defined environments. However, LEADOR is agnostic to the exact technical approach used to facilitate this learning process. The extensive inclusion of the domain expert(s) in robot design represents established responsible innovation practice, lending credibility to the system both during the teaching phase and when operating autonomously. The combination of this expert inclusion with the focus on in situ development also means that LEADOR supports a mutual shaping approach to social robotics. We draw on two previously published, foundational works from which this (generalisable) methodology has been derived to demonstrate the feasibility and worth of this approach, provide concrete examples in its application, and identify limitations and opportunities when applying this framework in new environments.

Design and Analysis of the Spray-Painting Robot for tall statues and monuments

The painting on tall structures, statues, monuments and buildings is dangerous task for humans. Robotics finds its applications in operations, which are repetitive, hazardous, and dangerous. The aim of the present work is to design a manipulator for spray painting on surfaces of tall monuments, statues and structures. The robot can be installed on a crane platform for lifting and operated from the ground. A lightweight and compact design is desired that can be easily accommodated within the space of the crane. A Revolute-Revolute-Revolute-Prismatic (RRRP) type Robotic arm is developed and analysed for this application. By establishing the rigid body tree model in Robotics System Toolbox, the numerical model of direct and inverse kinematics using Homogenous Matrix Transformation is prepared in MATLAB. Using the spray patch method and offline programming method, the spray model is prepared in Solid woks to obtain trajectory waypoints. A B-spline path is generated through these waypoints. At each waypoint, joint displacement variables are calculated using an inverse kinematic model. An air-less spray gun is selected and attached with a robot. Controlled motion algorithm for spray painting operation on a circular surface were obtained with simulation results. A smooth trajectory for performing spray painting is obtained.

Simulation of manipulation task using iRVision aided robot control in Fanuc RoboGuide software

The article deals with simulation of visual guided robot (VGR) in offline programming software Fanuc RoboGuide. At the beginning there is a brief description of the Fanuc RoboGuide system. The practical part contains an example of the task where the configuration and demonstration of offline programming of visual guided robot system via industrial camera is presented. The main aim of the work is to practically verify the functionality of the system usable for intelligent handling and assembly workplaces.

An Augmented-Reality Based Human-Robot Interface for Robotics Programming in the Complex Environment

To solve the problems of complex robot programming tasks, we propose an Augmented Reality (AR) based human-robot interface for planning a collision-free path in a complex environment. Current robot programming methods usually require a high level of experience in robot programming (online programming), the time-consuming 3D modeling of the working environment for collision detection (offline programming), and a tedious and inefficient re-planing to adapt environment or task changes (both online and offline programming). In order to address these problems, an end-to-end AR human-robot interface is proposed, which provides a new affordance to users by enabling them to plan the path in the AR environment. A set of user-interactive tools allow users to define and edit waypoints as the high-level guidance and the direct inputs for the toolpath planning package, Kinematics and Dynamics Library (KDL). With the fast sensing of the workspace and accurate rendering, an in-situ simulation module is utilized for collision check and verification by the users’ perception. Users will repeat the process of 1) waypoints definition and editing, and 2) the collision checking and path feasibility verification, until a satisfactory path is obtained. A preliminary testing is conducted in a use case with complex obstacles to verified the effectiveness and the efficiency of the proposed interface.

A Camera-Based Position Correction System for Autonomous Production Line Inspection

Visual inspection is an important task in manufacturing industries in order to evaluate the completeness and quality of manufactured products. An autonomous robot-guided inspection system was recently developed based on an offline programming (OLP) and RGB-D model system. This system allows a non-expert automatic optical inspection (AOI) engineer to easily perform inspections using scanned data. However, if there is a positioning error due to displacement or rotation of the object, this system cannot be used on a production line. In this study, we developed an automated position correction module to locate an object’s position and correct the robot’s pose and position based on the detected error values in terms of displacement or rotation. The proposed module comprised an automatic hand–eye calibration and the PnP algorithm. The automatic hand–eye calibration was performed using a calibration board to reduce manual error. After calibration, the PnP algorithm calculates the object position error using artificial marker images and compensates for the error to a new object on the production line. The position correction module then automatically maps the defined AOI target positions onto a new object, unless the target position changes. We performed experiments that showed that the robot-guided inspection system with the position correction module effectively performed the desired task. This smart innovative system provides a novel advancement by automating the AOI process on a production line to increase productivity.

ROBOTIZED WORKPLACE FOR PICK AND PLACE OPERATION IN SIMULATION PROGRAM ROBOTSTUDIO

The aim of the article is to acquaint the proposal for a robotized workplace to sort the SM072 and SM155 servo motor. This workplace is designed and programmed in RobotStudio simulation environment. This program is from ABB and serves for offline programming of industrial robots. The article deals with the complete design of the workplace and parts thereof in this simulation environment. These are individual parts of the workplace, the creation procedure and the overall design of the industrial robot workplace. The article is a publication of scientific and methodical character.