Simulated Mounting of a Flexible Wire for Automated Assembly of Vehicle Cabling Systems

• Type: Article in International Conference Proceedings Book
• Date: 2023

Authors

Leao, G (Author) Other; Armando Jorge Sousa (Author) FEUP; Dinis, D (Author) Other; Veiga, G (Author) Other

Conference proceedings International

Title: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems

Pages: 385-397

5th Iberian Robotics Conference, ROBOT 2022

23 November 2022 through 25 November 2022

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 1 Citation

Scopus

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00X-KGA

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-21065-5_32

Abstract (EN): The manipulation of deformable objects poses a significant challenge for the automotive industry. In particular, the assembly of flexible cables and wire-harnesses in vehicles is still performed manually as there is yet to be a reliable and general solution for this problem. This paper presents a simple yet efficient motion planning algorithm to mount a flexible wire in an assembly jig, where the wire must traverse a set of forks in order. The algorithm uses a heuristic based on a set of control points to guide the wire's movement. Various controlled assembly scenarios are built in simulation using MuJoCo, a physics engine that can emulate the dynamics of Deformable Linear Objects (DLO). Experimental results in simulation demonstrated that the amount and orientation of the forks has a large impact in the solution's performance and highlighted several key ideas and challenges moving forward. Thus, this work serves as a stepping stone towards the development of more complete solutions, capable of assembling flexible items in vehicles.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 13