Framework for Identifying Gripper Requirements for Collaborative Robot Applications in Manufacturing

Abstract

Robots designed for collaborative applications based on the interaction between human operators are on the rise in the industry. With the involvement of humans, special consideration should be given to select the end effector of cobot generally referred to as grippers. This paper presents a framework for the identification of gripper requirements in a systematic way. The paper first provides general information on DFAA analysis and task allocation methods used in the framework. Different levels of interaction and gripper principles are also presented. Scenarios for varying levels of interaction are presented, followed by the framework to identify gripper requirements with an explanation for each step in the framework. The advantages of using the proposed framework are shown in the discussion, followed by concluding remarks.