Assembly sequencing for arbitrary motions

Considers the following problem that arises in assembly planning: given an assembly, identify a subassembly that can be removed without disturbing the rest of the assembly. Solutions of this problem have been presented when the motions allowed for the separation are of certain restricted types. These solutions are generalized to allow arbitrary relative motions between the two subassemblies. The generalization is based on a configuration space construction that makes explicit the spatial interferences between every pair of parts for every relative motion. Based on this construction, it is possible to simultaneously determine the path by which a subassembly can be removed and the parts contained in the subassembly. While the algorithms resulting from this construction may in the worst case require time exponential in the length of the removal path, the expected complexity for realistic assemblies is an open question