SBIR Phase I: Process Control for Robotic Surface Finishing

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目探索机器人的创新，就像生物生物一样，通过施加和感知接触力来运作。今天的位置控制机器人在许多制造任务中的适用性有限，特别是那些与材料去除和表面精加工相关的任务。模仿人类的徒手运动能力极大地提高了机器人的能力。这样的机器人可以跟踪零件轮廓以平滑和抛光。它可以“感觉”零件边缘发现零件的位置，并将测量的几何图形与建模的理想形状进行比较，以检测精加工要求。机器人可以遵循精加工策略，在工作时通过触摸获取所需的信息。这些能力将应用于涡轮叶片的精加工。具有武力能力的机器人在整个行业中的应用无处不在。几乎所有由铸造、锻造、机械加工或模制而成的零件都需要一定程度的表面精加工才能达到最终所需的形状和光洁度。其他潜在的应用包括：机械组装、分类和包装不规则物体，以及双臂操纵笨重和笨重的物品。担任这些角色并进行重复动作的人所面临的危险是众所周知的，肌肉骨骼损伤每年给美国造成的损失估计为150亿美元。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project explores the innovation of a robot that, like biological creatures, operates by applying and sensing contact forces. Today's position-controlled robots have limited applicability to many manufacturing tasks, especially those related to material removal and surface finishing. Emulating a human's free-hand motion capability greatly advances robot capability. Such a robot could trace part contours to smooth and polish. It could "feel" for part edges to discover a part's location, and compare measured geometry to a modeled ideal to detect finishing requirements. The robot could follow finishing strategies, acquiring needed information by touch as it worked. These capabilities will be applied to turbine blade finishing. Applications for force capable robots are ubiquitous across industry. Virtually all parts made from casting, forging, machining, or molding require some degree of surface finishing to arrive at a final desired shape and smoothness. Other prospective applications include: mechanical assembly, sorting and packaging irregular objects, and dual-arm manipulation of heavy and bulky items. The hazards to people filling these roles andperforming repetitive motions are well known, with musculo-skeletal injuries costing the U.S. an estimated $15 Billion/yr.