Coordination of Two Robots for Manipulating Heavy and Large Payloads Collaboratively: SOFOCLES Project Case Use

Abstract

During the last two decades a great impulse in the development of applications to improve the collaboration between human and robots has been achieved in several sectors. This paper presents a new research carried out for coordinating two robots with the aim to manipulate heavy and large payloads up to 250 kg. This process is performed with the collaboration of the final user who clamps each robot to one point of the part by means of a flexible and reconfigurable tool. The architecture of the system and the followed methodology is envisaged. Also, information about the generation of the trajectory is explained. The work is focused on the coordination problem of two collaboratives robots used in a pick and place application, synchronized with a second process (e.g., sealing, painting, welding). The test has been performed using an 80 kg payload, handling the part synchronously using both collaborative robots, showing good articular coordinates tracking. This research has been done within SOFOCLES project, funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.