Comparison of registration methods for mobile manipulators

Abstract

Mobile manipulators can be effective, efficient, and flexible for automation on the factory floor but will need safety and performance standards for wide adoption. This paper looks at a specific area of performance standards [1] for docking and workpiece registration, with the intent of evaluating how quickly, repeatably, and accurately a mobile manipulator end effector can be aligned with a known physical target to facilitate peg-inhole insertion tasks. To evaluate mobile manipulator docking, we conducted experiments with an automated guided vehicle (AGV)-mounted arm in a laboratory space equipped with an extensive optical tracking system and a standardized test piece (artifact) simulating an industrial assembly. We experimented with different strategies and sensors for registration and report on these approaches. 2016, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd. All rights reserved.