A Computational Framework for the Verification and Synthesis of Force-Guided Robotic Assembly Strategies

Robotic assemblies are inherently hybrid systems. This paper pursues a class of multitiered peg-in-hole assemblies that we call "peg-in-maze" assemblies. These assemblies require a force-responsive, low-level controller governing physical contacts plus a decision-making, strategic-level supervisor monitoring the overall progress. To capture this dichotomy we formulate hybrid automata, where each state represents a different force-controlled "behavior" and transitions between states encode the high-level strategy of the assembly. Our over-arching goal is to produce a computational framework for the simulation, verification, and synthesis of such force-guided robotic assembly strategies. We investigate the use of three general hybrid-systems software tools (Hybrid cc, HyTech, and CEtool) for the simulation and verification of these strategies. We describe the computational environment we developed at Case to synthesize and implement real-world assembly strategies.