The EURECA project is dedicated to innovating the assembly of aircraft interiors putting the worker needs at the centre of the working scene and deploying the automation as-needed paradigm it is possible to increase of the productivity as well as the ergonomics.
A pool of devices/frameworks has been therefore deployed for teaming up with human operators in a human-centred assistive environment, and the design has been focused on the improvement of ergonomics in workloads, the increase in the usability level of assembly actions, the digitalization of procedures with logs and visuals for error prevention through dedicated devices. EURECA, furthermore, exploits only insight-information coming from sensors mounted on the robotic system, without any external sensorial system. Therefore, proprioception of the robotic system is given by 3D cameras and 2D cameras, plus the usage of force/torque sensors to guarantee the possibility to adapt the robot behaviours to the variabilities of the tasks.
Solutions have been designed for addressing both the working conditions and the management of the cabin-cargo installation process, such as limited manoeuvring space, limited weight allowed on the cabin floor, reducing lead time and recurring costs. EURECA brought together research advancements spanning across design, manufacturing and control, robotized hardware, and software for the specific use-cases in the cabin-cargo final assembly.
Specifically, three prototypes have developed in EURECA:
- the first prototype has been designed to achieve a step-change in the logistics performance, and an innovative AGV with mechanisms to reduce the pressure on the floor and outstanding localization performance without any external reference;
- the second prototype is a cutting-edge robotic system that integrates all the most advanced technologies for the manipulation and assembly of lightweight but bulky objects like panels, where the accuracy in the assembly needs the fusion of vision and forces information;
- the third prototype is an innovative empowering robot tailored on the task specifications, for a step-change in the mobile manipulation of heavy and very large objects like.
EURECA technologies have demonstrated that the collaboration between humans and robots allows addressing the most important challenges in the assembly of bulky objects in completely unstructured environments.
