Dec 8, 2011 , by
Public Summary Month 14/2011
First force- and target guided positioning tasks of the airplane component have been performed. The challange is, to handle the coupling of relatively soft parts of the components (e.g. the elastic ends of the formers see here
) as well as stiff parts (see here
). Further efforts have to be made to develop a robust controller strategy.
A measurement system available at ZHAWs premises (Leica TS30) is installed in the lab and connected to the system via a serial interface. In a first step the position of components will be measured via attached reflex tapes previously attached to them. You can see the actual status of the measurement system here
.
Oct 17, 2011 , by
Public Summary Month 12/2011
In order to assemble parts, the forces of the assembly movement have to be controlled. In the JILAS experiment this is done via a force sensor mounted at the wrist of the robot.
Different controller strategies were discussed and assessed for their use in the contact task during the assembly of the airplane components.
==> see here and here for a demonstration of two different algorithms. In the first video you see the robot laying down a part. The second video shows a simple force controlled assembly of two parts. Both movements are controlled by the use of the force sensor signals.
May 30, 2011 , by
Public Summary Month 8/2011
Since this month the test-bed is finally available and fully functional. In a first step we will assemble the components by the handguided and forcecontrolled robot in order to research the occuring contact forces and to develop strategies to handle them. In a second step, we will define a measurement strategy in order to assemble the components by the use of a Leica Absolute Tracker.
Fig. 1: The testbed in the ZHAW lab
Mar 31, 2011 , by
Public Summary Month 3/2011
In this second project phase (months 4-6) the robot could be finally ordered after receiving the funds of EU. After the modifications by our partner MRK the delivery of the robot at ZHAW is awaited in week 18/2011. Thus the hardware installation will not be finished before end of May 2011. The lab at the premises of ZHAW is prepared, the installation of a concrete fundament for the robot is in process.
The airplane fuselage is ready to ship to ZHAW (delivery in week 14/2011), a rack for installing the fuselage is built up. A robot gripper for of the fuselage component grasping is developed and built up.
The task researching the compensation of forces and torques induced by the movement of the gripped component is still ongoing.
During a visit to Leica Geosystems, the suitable measurement equipment was discussed and the availability for the JILAS experiment was checked.
As far as possible without robot controller available the software development phase is started. Parts of the mainprogram are in work or already realised.
Jan 27, 2011 , by
Public Summary Month 1/2011
In the first three months of the JILAS experiment the focus has been set on the description of the concept and the development of the testbed layout. Developing the concept has shown where the essential technical difficulties lie.
The installation of the test bed is initiated by preparing the laboratory facilities and the ordering of the airplane fuselage and the robot- and measurement hardware.
During a visit to Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, the current manual assembly process was observed and analyzed.
