Modelling reversible execution of robotic assembly. Issue 5 (11th January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Laursen, Johan Sund; Ellekilde, Lars-Peter; Schultz, Ulrik Pagh
• Is Part Of: Robotica. Volume 36:Issue 5(2018)
• Page Start: 625
• Page End: 654
• Publication Date: 2018-01-11
• Subjects: Robot software architectures, -- Domain-specific programming language, -- Reversible computing, -- Error recovery, -- Assembly and disassembly; Robots -- Periodicals; 629.89205
• DOI: 10.1017/S0263574717000613
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0263-5747

Abstract

SUMMARY: Programming robotic assembly for industrial small-batch production is challenging; hence, it is vital to increase robustness and reduce development effort in order to achieve flexible robotic automation. A human who has made an assembly error will often simply undo the process until the error is undone and then restart the assembly. Conceptually, robots could do the same. This paper introduces a programming model that enables robot assembly programs to be executed in reverse. We investigate the challenges in running robot programs backwards and present a classification of reversibility characteristics. We demonstrate how temporarily switching the direction of program execution can be an efficient error recovery mechanism. Moreover, we demonstrate additional benefits arising from supporting reversibility in an assembly language, such as increased code reuse and automatically derived disassembly sequences. As a default approach to reversibility, we use program inversion and statement-level inversion of commands, but with a novel override option providing alternative sequences for asymmetric reverse actions. To efficiently program for this model, this paper introduces a new domain-specific language, SCP-RASQ (Simple C++ Reversible Assembly SeQuences). In initial experiments, where 200 consecutive assemblies of two industrial cases were performed, 18 of 22 errors were corrected automatically using only the trial-and-error capabilities that come from reverse execution.