System design and interfaces for intelligent manufacturing workcell

This paper introduces a design technique for complex robotic systems called interfaces-first design. Interfaces-first design develops information interfaces based on the characteristics of information flow in the system, and then builds subsystem interfaces from combinations of these information interfaces. This technique is applied to a dual-arm workcell combining a graphical user interface, an on-line motion planner, real-time vision, and an on-line simulator. The system is capable of performing object acquisition from a moving conveyor belt and carrying out simple assemblies, without the benefit of pre-planned schedules nor mechanical fixturing. The information characteristics of this system are analyzed, and divided into three interfaces: world state, task command, and motion commands. Detailed descriptions of the resulting interfaces are provided. The paper concludes with experimental results from the workcell. Both single-arm and dual-arm actions are discussed