Automated Assembly with a Robotics Manipulator/Hand System

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This research investigates the use of robotic hands in automated robotic assembly. In many assemblies, the clearances allowed between mating parts are smaller than the uncertainties associated with a robotic assembly cell and though it is possible to reduce these uncertainties by using special purpose mechanisms and high precision fixturing devices, this limits flexibility and increases cost. It is preferable for the manipulator to use force/torque feedback during the execution of assembly mating operations to reduce alignment errors between parts which are caused by the uncertainties. By incorporating a robotic hand into the robot manipulator system, the performance of the assembly cell will be improved. The accuracy of force/torque measurements will be increased by putting sensors on both the manipulator and the hand. The hand will serve as both a general fixturing device so that the grasped part can be held rigidly during assembly and a micromanipulator so that fine adjustments to the position of the grasped part can be made. The central goal of this project is a general and automated method for synthesizing force/torque guided motion strategies which operate on a manipulator/hand system and are capable of reducing uncertainty-induced errors during assembly execution. //