A Smart Workcell for Cooperative Assembly of Carbon Fiber Parts Guided by Human Actions

The production of carbon fiber parts is a complex process mainly performed by human operators. For small parts, high dexterity and skilled operators are needed while for large parts many people are often needed to transport the material without damaging it. The DrapeBot project aims at developing a human-robot cooperative system capable of assisting an operator working on carbon fiber parts. This requires environment perception in the workcell, intelligent robot task and motion planning, and the understanding of the production process. In particular, the project focuses on realizing a safe and effective collaboration where the operator can interact with the robot in an intuitive manner by means of gestures. This paper outlines the track proposed to create such an intelligent workcell.