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Electric connector assembly based on vision and impedance control using cable connector-feeding system

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Abstract

In this study, a method for the electric connector-mating process in a wiring harness assembly system is proposed. In connector-assembly tasks, grasping the electric connector is a crucial step. Therefore, a cable connector-feeding system is developed to align cable connectors so that they can be grasped straight and held firmly by the robot. After the grasping problems are solved, a tilt strategy with impedance control is used to overcome the position errors caused by the vision system. The location of the connector header (Female part of connector) is detected using visual servoing with markers. Then, impedance control is adopted to achieve compliant contact motion and minimize position/orientation errors. The performance of the proposed electric connector-assembly strategy is evaluated by a series of experiments using a six-degree of freedom industrial robot equipped with a force/torque sensor and an eye-in-hand camera.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 136-713, Korea

    Hee-Chan Song, Young-Loul Kim, Dong-Hyeong Lee & Jae-Bok Song

Authors
  1. Hee-Chan Song
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  2. Young-Loul Kim
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  3. Dong-Hyeong Lee
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  4. Jae-Bok Song
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jae-Bok Song.

Additional information

Recommended by Associate Editor Sangyoon Lee

Hee-Chan Song received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from Chung-ang University in 2007 and Yonsei University in 2010, respectively. He is now enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering doctoral program at Korea University. His research interests include machine vision and force control of robotic systems for machining and assembly.

Jae-Bok Song received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from Seoul National University in 1983 and 1985, respectively. He was awarded his Ph.D. degree from M.I.T. in 1992. Dr. Song is currently a Professor at the School of Mechanical Engineering of Korea University. He has served as a Director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory from 1993. His research interests include safe manipulators and the design and control of robotic systems.

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Song, HC., Kim, YL., Lee, DH. et al. Electric connector assembly based on vision and impedance control using cable connector-feeding system. J Mech Sci Technol 31, 5997–6003 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-1144-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-1144-7

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