Cyber-Physical-Robotics - Modelling of modular robot cells for automated planning and execution of assembly tasks

This paper presents an approach, which allows the utilization of the entire flexibility of modular robot cells. Solution independent requirements of products to be assembled are automatically extracted from their individual CAD files and used for the optimal selection and task oriented programming of cooperating devices in the robot cell. These devices and the products to be manufactured are Cyber-Physical-Systems (CPS), which possess individual virtual models of their requirements and abilities. Based on the communication between the CPS and the fusion of their models, the feasibility of the required assembly tasks with the devices available in the robot cell is determined. The product description is used to optimally assign the required assembly processes to cooperating devices in the robot cell and allows an automated planning and execution of all required tasks. This work presents the overall system architecture, the necessary subsystems and the various models in the virtual representations of the devices and products for a sufficient description of the conditions of entire robot cell to reach the before mentioned goals. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.