André Crosnier

Abstract: Although the concept of industrial cobots dates back to 1999, most present day hybrid human-machine assembly systems are merely weight compensators. Here, we present results on the development of a collaborative human-robot manufacturing cell for homokinetic joint assembly. The robot alternates active and passive behaviours during assembly, to lighten the burden on the operator in the first case, and to comply to his/her needs in the latter. Our approach can successfully manage direct physical contact between robot and human, and between robot and environment. Furthermore, it can be applied to standard position (and not torque) controlled robots, common in the industry. The approach is validated in a series of assembly experiments. The human workload is reduced, diminishing the risk of strain injuries. Besides, a complete risk analysis indicates that the proposed setup is compatible with the safety standards, and could be certified.

TL;DR: A control scheme that allows a humanoid robot to perform a complex transportation scenario jointly with a human partner and takes over the leadership of the task to complete the scenario.

TL;DR: This letter proposes a framework that allows the robot to use environmental contacts for shaping the cable, and introduces an index to quantify the contact mobility of a cable with a circular contact.

TL;DR: This paper proposes a framework for cable shapes manipulation with multiple robot manipulators that is parameterized by a Fourier series and a velocity control law is applied on the robot to deform the cable into the desired shape.

TL;DR: From the study of how human dyads achieve such a task, a control law for physical interaction is developed that unifies standalone and collaborative modes for trajectory-based tasks.