Digitisation of a moving assembly operation using multiple depth imaging sensors

Date published

2015-10-09

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Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Springer

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Type

Article

ISSN

0268-3768

Format

Citation

Vinayak Ashok Prabhu, Boyang Song, John Thrower, Ashutosh Tiwari and Phil Webb. Digitisation of a moving assembly operation using multiple depth imaging sensors. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, July 2016, Volume 85, Issue 1, pp163-184

Abstract

Several manufacturing operations continue to be manual even in today’s highly automated industry because the complexity of such operations makes them heavily reliant on human skills, intellect and experience. This work aims to aid the automation of one such operation, the wheel loading operation on the trim and final moving assembly line in automotive production. It proposes a new method that uses multiple low-cost depth imaging sensors, commonly used in gaming, to acquire and digitise key shopfloor data associated with the operation, such as motion characteristics of the vehicle body on the moving conveyor line and the angular positions of alignment features of the parts to be assembled, in order to inform an intelligent automation solution. Experiments are conducted to test the performance of the proposed method across various assembly conditions, and the results are validated against an industry standard method using laser tracking. Some disadvantages of the method are discussed, and suggestions for improvements are suggested. The proposed method has the potential to be adopted to enable the automation of a wide range of moving assembly operations in multiple sectors of the manufacturing industry.

Description

Software Description

Software Language

Github

Keywords

Multiple depth imaging sensors, Wheel loading, Intelligent automation, Motion tracking and capture, Moving assembly, Kinect

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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms. Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. Information: No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

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