Joint Alignment and Simultaneous Insertion of Multiple Objects in Precision Assembly

This article investigates simultaneous precision assembly of multiple objects, which plays a significant role in forming combined and complicated structures. Taking circular assembly as an example, we present a general alignment and insertion strategy, considering the difficulties of joint alignment as well as complicated interaction. In alignment, this article uses movable microscopic cameras to realize a large view area required by the spatial alignment and an optimization approach to achieve the even display of multiple objects. In insertion, we propose a wriggling insertion method to distinguish interaction forces, iteratively counting according to the relative movements of adjacent objects, and also an algorithm to plan the insertion: the compensational motion regarding the mutual effects of all objects and the toward-center motion based on radial forces. Experiments are carried out to demonstrate the validation of the proposed method.