On the assessment of human-robot collaboration in mechanical product assembly by use of Virtual Reality

This work focuses on human - robot collaboration as exemplified in modern assembly cells. Assembly with robotic assistance was studied, in order to investigate in quantitative terms the robot contribution in collaboration with the human towards better efficiency and avoidance of musculoskeletal strain. The above were studied, presented and discussed on the basis of a case study concerning collaboration of a human with a virtual robot in assembling a prototype robotic filament winding head. The product consists of a number of mechanical engineering artifacts, such as a frame, axles, wheels, springs etc. The virtual environment was constructed in Unity 3DTM, whilst Leap MotionTM was used to track user's hands and a Head Mounted Display was exploited for immersion and navigation purposes. Multiple experiments with an audience of mechanical engineering students were conducted. Data collected from the execution of assembly scenarios was processed in order to provide both ergonomic indices and completion time that quantify the human – robot equilibrium in assembly tasks. Such indices can be easily relaced by others, if a different collaboration scenario between human and robot is to be set up.