Flexible robotic assembly efforts at Ford Motor Company IEEE/RSJ international conference on intelligent robots and systems

Ford Motor Company has been seeking ways to improve the quality of its assembly operations and to reduce ergonomic injuries related to repetitive strain. Recently, Ford Motor Company has installed force controlled robotic assembly systems that emulate human assembly performance by limiting the forces of contact with the environment. These systems apply forces and moments in pre-programmed ways that insure a quality assembly process.