Assembly cell concept for human and robot in cooperation

Procedia CIRP, 2014

This paper presents the vision and architectures, proposed by the EU project ROBO-PARTNER. The project aspires to the integration of the latest industrial automation systems for assembly operations, in combination with human capabilities. Focus is given to combining robot strength, velocity, predictability, repeatability and precision with human intelligence and skills to get at a hybrid solution that would be involving the safe cooperation of operators with autonomous and adapting robotic systems. The main enablers are: the development of intuitive interfaces for safe human-robot cooperation (HRC), the use of safety strategies and equipment, allowing fenceless human robot assembly cells, the introduction of methods and tools for the efficient planning programming and execution of assembly operations, as well as the use of mobile robots, acting as assistants to human operators. The project also provides a more flexible integration and communication architecture by utilizing a distributed computing model along with ontology services. A pilot case from the automotive industry is used as the ground for developing and testing the aforementioned technologies.

Applied Sciences, 2020

In current industrial systems, automation is a very important aspect for assessing manufacturing production performance related to working times, accuracy of operations and quality. In particular, the introduction of a robotic system in the working area should guarantee some improvements, such as risks reduction for human operators, better quality results and a speed increase for production processes. In this context, human action remains still necessary to carry out part of the subtasks, as in the case of composites assembly processes. This study aims at presenting a case study regarding the reorganization of the working activity carried out in workstation in which a composite fuselage panel is assembled in order to demonstrate, by means of simulation tool, that some of the advantages previously listed can be achieved also in aerospace industry. In particular, an entire working process for composite fuselage panel assembling will be simulated and analyzed in order to demonstrate an...

Production Engineering, 2018

In order for humans and robots to collaborate on an assembly line, safety of operations is a prerequisite. In this article, two assembly stations where a large industrial robots collaborate with humans will be analysed with the aim to 1. determine the characteristics of hazards associated with human-robot interaction and 2. design solutions that can mitigate risks associated with these hazards. To support the aim of this article, a literature review will attempt to characterize automation and detail the problems associated with human-automation interaction. The analysis points at situational awareness and mode-awareness as contributing factors to operator and process safety. These underlying mechanisms, if recognised by the risk assessment team as hazards, can mitigate risks of operator injury or production delays. This article details the function of visual and physical interfaces that allow operators to comprehend system-state in order to avoid undesirable situations.

Procedia CIRP, 2017

Risk assessment is a systematic and iterative process which involves risk analysis where the probable hazards are identified and corresponding risks are evaluated along with solutions to mitigate the effect of these risks. In this article the outcome of a risk assessment process will be detailed where a large industrial robot is being used as a intelligent and flexible lifting tool that can aid operators in assembly tasks. The realization of a collaborative assembly station has several benefits such as increased productivity and improved ergonomic work environment. The article will detail the design of the layout of a collaborative assembly cell which takes into account the safety and productivity concerns of automotive assembly plants.

Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 2021

Robot safety standards defines Collaborative Operation as a state in which purposely designed robots work in direct cooperation with a human within a defined workspace. That is, an operator and an industrial robot complete assembly tasks at the collaborative workspace. A prerequisite to ensuring safety during all phases of operation is an understanding of the nature of hazards pertinent to collaborative systems. An automotive assembly station, where plastic panels are assembled on a continuously moving line, formed the basis for research operations meant to understand safety issues when a large industrial robot aids an operator in assembly tasks. This led to the development of a laboratory demonstrator whose design and functioning will be presented in this article. Additionally, the hazards identified during risk assessment along with measures to mitigate the associated risks will be presented in order to highlight the nature of hazards pertinent to collaborative systems.

International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 1999

This work examines a robot drilling system in the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation of Taiwan. Work procedures, human errors and robot failures are also assessed. Based on those assessments, countermeasures and feasible recommendations are proposed to enhance the hybrid system's safety and performance. In addition, some of the recommendations are applied toward the system studied herein, along with the implementation results presented as well. Relevance to industry Industrial robot safety and performance can be advanced through the collaborative efforts of ergonomists and practitioners investigating the work environment and the interaction between humans and robots. based on their observation, sound recommendations regarding human factor-related issues can be made. Therefore, this survey provides a valuable reference for human-robot system designers and practitioners.

Preprints, 2023

The paper provides a comprehensive review of the recent advancements and methodologies in Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) applied to the manufacturing assembly process. In modern manufacturing, the assembly process involves intricate and time-consuming operations, often necessitating flexible manual interventions. However, the cost and stability issues associated with manual labor highlight the need for collaborative solutions integrating humans and robots. HRC, as a viable solution, involves the joint effort of humans and robots in manufacturing tasks, presenting advantages in terms of precision, reproducibility, and cycle time. This review categorizes and discusses methodologies such as task allocation, reinforcement learning, and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS)-based planning approaches that facilitate HRC in the assembly process. It also explores experiments and future trends to address challenges and enhance efficiency in manufacturing assembly through intelligent collaboration be...

Safety, 2021

One of the key interesting features of collaborative robotic applications is the potential to lighten the worker workload and potentiate better working conditions. Moreover, developing robotics applications that meets ergonomic criteria is not always a straightforward endeavor. We propose a framework to guide the safe design and conceptualization of ergonomic-driven collaborative robotics workstations. A multi-disciplinary approach involving robotics and ergonomics and human factors shaped this methodology that leads future engineers through the digital transformation of a manual assembly (with repetitive and hazardous operations) to a hybrid workstation, focusing on the physical ergonomic improvement. The framework follows four main steps, (i) the characterization of the initial condition, (ii) the risk assessment, (iii) the definition of requirements for a safe design, and (iv) the conceptualization of the hybrid workstation with all the normative implications it entails. We appli...

International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing

Aeronautics, in the context of industry 4.0, is continuously evolving to respond to the market dynamics and has incorporated automation to many stages of aircraft manufacturing. However, most of the final assembly line processes are still done manually and remain a challenge. Virtual Reality (VR) technologies can be leveraged to study the incorporation of automation systems involving Human-Robot Coexistence (HRC) in assembly processes before the physical system is available, which is beneficial for increasing the productivity and identifying issues beforehand, thus, preventing unexpected costs. In this context, a VR simulation environment was developed with two innovative factors: (1) The possibility to evaluate multiple new automated and semiautomated cabin and cargo processes and select the best one in terms of specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for a future implementation in the physical system and (2) the capability to study the ergonomics of the human worker inside the narrow space of the fuselage while assembling the parts and coexisting with robots, without compromising the worker's safety. The results show that most of the new proposed strategies improve the assembly time, worker cost, or ergonomics of the process, with an investment varying between 100 K and 200 K euros and ROI of 1-2 years.

Procedia Manufacturing, 2020

Human-robot collaboration (HRC) within the manufacturing processes has become a growing need across the manufacturing industries. This paper explores one such opportunity within the developed assembly line of the small vehicle for children called karet. The time necessary to do the assembly tasks is analysed to further optimize the assembly process. The aim is to create the human-robot collaboration system for assembly of the drive module and the base plate of the product. When selecting assembly operations, especially with a robotic arm, attention is paid to the limitations of the system and the challenges posed by existing operating conditions. By setting up three variants of operations, waiting times, parallel activities and functional delays are analysed. It is concluded that the third variant of the assembly process gives the shortest duration.

DAAAM Proceedings

The recent proliferation of smart manufacturing technologies has emerged the concept of hybrid automation for assembly systems utilizing the best of humans and robots in a combination. Based on the ability to work alongside human-workers the next generation of industrial robots (or robotics 2.0) are referred to as collaborative robots or cobots. This paper presents a systematic framework based on Roozenburg's engineering design cycle for the deployment of cobots in existing assembly cells for enhanced productivity. A model for defining evaluation-parameters for a cobot are presented. The effectiveness of virtual simulations is discussed for validation and optimization of human-robot work environment.

2012

Collaborative tasks between human operators and robotic manipulators can improve the performance and flexibility of industrial environments. Nevertheless, the safety of humans should always be guaranteed and the behaviour of the robots should be modified when a risk of collision may happen. This paper presents the research that the authors have performed in recent years in order to develop a human-robot interaction system which guarantees human safety by precisely tracking the complete body of the human and by activating safety strategies when the distance between them is too small. This paper not only summarizes the techniques which have been implemented in order to develop this system, but it also shows its application in three real human-robot interaction tasks.

IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 2020

This paper aims at studying the combination of different collaboration modes between operator and collaborative robot in order to optimize an assembly process for both economic and ergonomic objectives. Based on a real case study, and using a energy expenditure ergonomic model, the authors have determined by experiment the different ergonomic and economic variables under each possible collaboration mode. They propose a set of indicators to evaluate the quality of assignment solutions, as well as a multi-objective cost function to determine optimal trade-offs between the different collaboration modes. An initial set of trials has indicated that combining several modes of collaboration may deliver benefits for both economic and ergonomic performance.

FME Transactions, 2019

Collaborative robots belong to the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0. They allow the setup of semi-automatic workcells where robots and humans collaborate in the execution of complex tasks, with unprecedented flexibility if compared with standard robotic cells. This paper addresses some of the many issues that arise from introducing in the factory, not only a new workcell, but also a new working paradigm. The study considers the introduction of collaborative robots in a small production workcell. To increase the chances of success of the new cell, it proposes a method for firstly assigning tasks to human and robotics operators, based on the task characteristics and operator abilities, and then dynamically reassigning tasks to overcome disturbances or delays at the shop floor level. The justification of the method is that outages are frequent in small nonstandardized productions, therefore offline optimized task assignment could be ineffective. The method is tested against an industrial case study and the results are discussed.

2020

I hereby declare that this dissertation incorporates material that is result of joint research, as follows: This dissertation incorporates the outcome of a joint research undertaken in collaboration with Professor Majid Ahmadi from University of Windsor in Chapters 3 and 4, and Dr. Mahta Khoshnam and Dr. Carlo Menon from Simon Fraser University in Chapter 7, under the supervision of professor Mehrdad Saif. In all chapters, the key and primary contributions, experimental designs, data analysis and interpretation, were implemented by the author. The contributions of the co-authors were primarily through the provision of valuable suggestions for representing of ideas, proof reading and reviewing the research papers regarding the technical and vocabulary contents.