Robotic Manipulators Performing Smart Sanding Operation: A Vibration Approach

This paper presents the design of a novel expert system for robotic manipulators performing sanding tasks on work surfaces. The expert system adjusts the velocity of the robotic manipulator based on the observed surface quality. These observation are obtained by an analysis of the raw force data provided by a force-torque sensor at the end-effector level. The expert system consists of two governing control laws that act in parallel, a variable velocity generation law and a pose regulation-based law. The variable velocity law regulates the velocity of the manipulator along a set path, in the tangent direction, based on an analysis of the frequency and amplitude of the force signal generated during the sanding process. The pose regulation-based law drives the manipulator in the bi-normal and rotational direction, ensuring the manipulators remain on the sanding path with the desired orientation. The proposed strategy is experimentally evaluated using the UR5e collaborative robotic manipulator sanding wood and metal panels. The obtained results show that such an approach is beneficial to ensure accurate contact between the sanding tool and the working environment, robust path tracking, and smart sanding.