Automotive Wire Harness Connector Installation Using Skill-Based Robotic Programming

The automotive industry increasingly seeks to decrease costs by automation. This remains a challenge for tasks requiring high dexterity, such as wire harness connector installation. This work presents an automated approach for robust connector installation using force-controlled search and insertion strategies within a skill-based programming system. Validated on a car door, the system achieves a success rate of 76.7% while compensating positional uncertainties up to 15 mm. Additionally, a specialized wiggle skill to reduce cable tension during installation is developed. A dataset of 60 insertion trials is provided to support future research and development.