Adaptive Assembly - sensitive assembly of non-rigid parts
The “Adaptive Assembly” application demonstrates the fitting of a non-rigid part. In the assembly of domestic appliances such as washing machines or dishwashers, hose connections are required. The installation of these hose components is often still carried out manually and is a simple, extremely repetitive process. This is where KUKA makes good use of human-robot collaboration, splitting the task into several parts. One job is assigned to the LBR iiwa with its sensitive touch: the robot grips a length of hose, which is presented individually from a feeder, uses its sensitive features to search for the hose end and pushes it onto a rigid component. At the same time, a worker can perform parallel work steps. Visitors at our booth can try this process for themselves and experience just how much sensitivity and fine control is needed to correctly push and fit the hose.
Interactive Assembly - workpiece transfer by manual guidance
The integrated safe torque sensors in the LBR iiwa give rise to completely new possibilities for intuitive operator guidance within the realm of human-robot collaboration (HRC). The human can use simple gestures to influence the process, depending on the situation. The robot’s program sequence can be influenced purely by means of manual guidance – gently touching or pushing the robot in a desired direction is sufficient. For example, the operator can request various workpieces which the robot will fetch from different workpiece stores and subsequently install. In this way, HRC allows tasks to be shared effectively between humans and machines, with the human taking over the tasks which require cognitive abilities. For example, in a quality inspection situation, the robot can present parts to the worker in various orientations for the maximum ergonomic effect. The operator advances the sequence by simply touching the robot. Trade fair visitors can try their hand as an operator, controlling the robot by touch alone.