Synthesis, control and experimental validation of a robotic helping hand for manufacturing applications

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This research initiative aims at developing a safe and reliable advanced robotic assistant (helping hand) capable of interacting with human operators in the performance of manipulation and assembly tasks. The robotic helping hand's physical capabilities (forces, range of motion) will be comparable to those of a human arm. Additionally, the adaptability and repeatability of the helping hand will be at least equal to that of an advanced state-of-the-art robot. The requirements for the robotic helping hand will be determined based on ergonomic data as well as on geometric, static and dynamic analyses of the force transmission properties. Experiments will also be conducted using an existing robot in order to investigate practical issues related to workspace, safety, dexterity and force transmission. Then, based on the results of these investigations and based on safety mechanisms developed in a previous research project, a robotic helping hand will be synthesized and built. The robotic helping hand is an articulated robot that can be manipulated by a human operator that can use it as an interactive tool. It is anticipated that the helping hand will have at least 7 degrees of freedom. It will be designed to be mounted on an overhead rail support so that it can be moved over a large workspace. The helping hand can function as an autonomous robot but it can also be controlled manually and intuitively by a human operator. To this end, control algorithms will be developed in order to produce the associated behaviours, namely: simple position control for autonomous motion, impedance control for interactive tasks and force amplification for tasks in which the helping hand is used as an extension of the operator's own arm. In order to provide an effective and intuitive human-machine interface, novel sensors will also be developed and integrated in the helping hand. Intuitive teaching modes will be implemented in order to fully exploit the capabilities of the sensors and to provide the human with a rich yet simple to use interface. Finally, the capabilities of the helping hand will be demonstrated using example tasks identified by the industrial collaborators in order to clearly highlight the results of the project and transfer the technology to industry.