A Dual-Robot System Design for In-Cabin Pose Adjusting of Heavy Parts

Abstract

A three-limb six degrees-of-freedom (DoFs) parallel robot whose topology is 3-PRPS is proposed. Herein, P, R, and S denote actuated prismatic joint, revolute joint, and spherical joint, respectively. It is applied to construct a dual-robot system for pose adjusting of heavy parts in narrow space such as aircraft cabin. Concerning kinematic transmissibility, workspace, stiffness, and total mass, a multiobjective optimization of a single 3-PRPS parallel robot is implemented. By searching for the best compromise among objectives, the cooperative equilibrium point (CEP) is adopted for determining the final optimum. A 3-PRPS parallel robot whose weight is 17.86 kg and payload capacity over 130 kg is designed. On this basis, a dual-robot system is constructed. Robot sensing for measuring relative poses between robots and with components is developed. Motion consistency for ensuring synchronous movements of dual robot is designed. Experiments on the robot payload capacity and repeatability confirm the performance of a single 3-PRPS parallel robot. Pose adjusting of components is illustrated to verify the feasibility of the dual-robot system.