Robot concept for scalable, flexible assembly automation: A technology study on a harmless dual-armed robot

Abstract

This paper introduces a new robot concept that aims at closing the gap between a manual assembly and a fully automatic assembly. It is intended to be used for handling and assembly of small parts in a highly agile production scenario, which employs both human workers and robots in the same line, with a frequent need for reconfiguration. The development is at a stage where several prototypes leave the research lab and are being tested in pilot applications, with more work required to reach a fully agile assembly scenario. Substantial parts of the remaining research work are done in the FP7 project ROSETTA.