Digital Twin-based Design and Operation of Human-Robot Collaborative Assembly

Abstract

Human-robot collaborative assembly (HRCA) can reduce human work intensity and improve the level of assembly automation. However, high assembly efficiency requires not only a reasonable division of labor between humans and robots, but also close communication and flexible control during the assembly process. In this paper, we propose a Digital Twin (DT) based framework for the design and operation of HRCA. The framework consists of five elements: physical entities, virtual entities, twin data, service centers and their connections. In particular, the design process is oriented to layout design, sequence planning and task assignment; the operation process is oriented to data processing and visualization, event processing, task scheduling and human-robot control. Through virtual and reality real-time mapping, simulation and optimization, it enables deep human-robot collaboration and efficient assembly. We finally use the example of satellite plate assembly to illustrate the rationality of the framework in the design and operation of HRCA.