Information requirements and interfaces for the programming of robots in flexible manufacturing

Flexible automation limits what information is known during robot commissioning, requiring new robot programming methodologies. To adapt robot behavior to product variation, an operator can supply missing information, controlling predefined robot behaviors via a user interface. This operator interface can abstract domain expertise (in robotic programming, assembly planning), allowing the efficient specification of changes to a robot program by a wide range of potential users. Towards designing such interfaces, this paper analyzes the requirements of flexible manufacturing, the required changes to the robot program, and the information needed to make those changes. Two user interfaces are presented, a drag and drop and a gesture interface, implemented on a robotic flexible manufacturing testbed.