Abstract
Robotic assembly tasks are typically implemented in static settings in which parts are kept at fixed locations by making use of part holders. Very few works deal with the problem of moving parts in industrial assembly applications. However, having autonomous robots that are able to execute assembly tasks in dynamic environments could lead to more flexible facilities with reduced implementation efforts for individual products. In this paper, we present a general approach towards autonomous robotic assembly that combines visual and intrinsic tactile sensing to continuously track parts within a single Bayesian framework. Based on this, it is possible to implement object-centric assembly skills that are guided by the estimated poses of the parts, including cases where occlusions block the vision system. In particular, we investigate the application of this approach for peg-in-hole assembly. A tilt-and-align strategy is implemented using a Cartesian impedance controller, and combined with an adaptive path executor. Experimental results with multiple part combinations are provided and analyzed in detail.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Andreas Stemmer for the general discussions on assembly with impedance controlled robotic arms, Michael Kaßecker for the support in the implementation of the visual detector and Mikel Sagardia for providing the VPS algorithm, and Maximo A. Roa for a general revision of the paper.
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Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. Partial financial funding was received from the DLR-internal project “Factory of the Future”.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Korbinian Nottensteiner and Arne Sachtler. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Korbinian Nottensteiner and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Nottensteiner, K., Sachtler, A. & Albu-Schäffer, A. Towards Autonomous Robotic Assembly: Using Combined Visual and Tactile Sensing for Adaptive Task Execution. J Intell Robot Syst 101, 49 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-020-01303-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-020-01303-z