[5A1] Recent advances in robotic non-destructive testing
R Vithanage¹, G Pierce¹, M Shields¹, A Hifi¹, A Poole¹, E Mohseni¹, T O’Hare², G Munro², J O’Brian-O’Reilly², M Grosser³, C MacLeod¹ and A Gachagan¹
¹University of Strathclyde, UK
²Spirit AeroSystems, UK
³Spirit AeroSystems, USA
Current robotic non-destructive testing (NDT) systems are predominantly based on the ‘part-to-process’ notion, where the part is delivered and precisely positioned within an inspection cell. They also require dedicated floor spaces bounded by safety fences, are unsuitable for human-robot collaboration and lack the flexibility to accommodate a diverse range of components. The complex nature of high-value components exacerbates the above challenges.
The recent developments in the automation industry led to the emergence of collaborative mobile robotic systems and advanced vision systems, particularly combining mobile platforms’ capabilities with robotic arms (for example KUKA KMR) and state-of-the-art vision systems. These platforms offer a unique opportunity to realise flexible and agile workspaces capable of close human-robot collaboration. Compared to conventional fixed manipulators, the fundamental challenge of mobile robotic platforms arises from the moving mobile base, which introduces increased degrees of freedom and positional uncertainties. Hence, novel robotic capabilities are required to identify and locate the workpiece, avoid obstacles and execute collision-free robotic NDT scan paths in real time, typically in partially organised environments. This work presents recent robotics and 3D vision advances at the University of Strathclyde, leveraging existing robotic NDT capabilities.
The recent developments in the automation industry led to the emergence of collaborative mobile robotic systems and advanced vision systems, particularly combining mobile platforms’ capabilities with robotic arms (for example KUKA KMR) and state-of-the-art vision systems. These platforms offer a unique opportunity to realise flexible and agile workspaces capable of close human-robot collaboration. Compared to conventional fixed manipulators, the fundamental challenge of mobile robotic platforms arises from the moving mobile base, which introduces increased degrees of freedom and positional uncertainties. Hence, novel robotic capabilities are required to identify and locate the workpiece, avoid obstacles and execute collision-free robotic NDT scan paths in real time, typically in partially organised environments. This work presents recent robotics and 3D vision advances at the University of Strathclyde, leveraging existing robotic NDT capabilities.
