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Rule-Based Supervisory Control-Extension for Automated Manufacturing Processes

Sophie Klecker, Bassem Hichri, and Peter W. Plapper
Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Abstract—Before performing a surface finishing process, human operators analyze the workpiece-conditions and react accordingly, i.e. they adapt the contact-situation of the tool with respect to the surface. This first step is ignored in most suggested automation concepts. Although their performance is satisfactory for the general process thanks to adaptive position- and force-/torque-control algorithms, they are unable to address specific problematic cases as often encountered in practice because of variations in workpiece-dimensions or –positioning. In this work, a human mimicking element is developed to overcome this limitation of current control concepts and to translate human expertise to the robotic manipulator. A rule-based system is designed where human knowledge is encoded as if-then rules. This system is integrated with a previously suggested control strategy in a hierarchical manner. The developed concept is experimentally validated on a KUKA LWR 4+-robotic manipulator. 

Index Terms—programming by demonstration, rule-based system, human mimicry, biomimetics, supervisory system, hierarchical control

Cite: Sophie Klecker, Bassem Hichri, and Peter W. Plapper, "Rule-Based Supervisory Control-Extension for Automated Manufacturing Processes" International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 341-346, March 2020. DOI: 10.18178/ijmerr.9.3.341-346

Copyright © 2020 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the article is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.