The development of a physics and constraint-based haptic virtual assembly system

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This paper aims to report the development and key features of a novel virtual reality system for assembly planning and evaluation called Haptic Assembly and Manufacturing System (HAMS). The system is intended to be used as a tool for training, design analysis and path planning. Design/methodology/approach -The proposed system uses the physics-based modelling (PBM) to perform assemblies in virtual environments. Moreover, dynamic assembly constrains have been considered to reduce the degrees of freedom of virtual objects and enhance the virtual assembly performance. Findings -To evaluate the effectiveness and performance of HAMS, the assembly of various mechanical components has been carried out, and the results have shown that it can be effectively used to simulate, evaluate, plan and automatically formalise the assembly of complex models in a more natural and intuitive way.Research limitations/implications -The collision detection performance is the bottleneck in any virtual assembly system. New methods of collision shape representation and collision detection algorithms must be considered. Originality/value -HAMS introduces the use of dynamic assembly constraints to enhance the virtual assembly performance. HAMS also uses features not yet reported by similar systems in the literature. These features include: automatic or manual definition of assembly constraints within the virtual assembly system; the implementation of control panels and widgets to modify simulation parameters during running time to evaluate its influence on simulation performance; assembly data logging such as trajectories, forces and update rates for post-processing, further analysis or its presentation in the form of chronocyclegraphs to graphically analyse the assembly process.

Multimodal Evaluation of the Differences between Real and Virtual Assemblies

“…It is worth to mention that, overall, Time ratios between real and virtual manipulations (L01) were close to the ones reported in some works cited in Sec. 2: [12], [14], and [15]. In contrast to this present study, those related works employed desktop-size haptic interfaces.…”

“…In contrast, using a PHANToM Omni and stereo visualization, the performance times were roughly ∼ 4.5× longer than in real environments. González-Badillo et al [15], amongst who are also the authors of the last two cited publications, evaluated a setup composed of two PHANToM Omnis using more complex scenarios, which consisted in assemblies of a gear, a pump, a bench, and similar. The authors achieved the best completion times in the virtual environment when combining collision haptics and assembly fixture guidance; yet, the time performance was ∼ 2 − 3× slower than in real environments.…”

Gamification of assembly planning in virtual environment

“…(Gallegos-Nieto et al, 2017) investigated the transfer of knowledge and skills from haptic-enabled virtual assembly environment to real-world assembly. The training platform was created upon the basis of HAMS (Haptic Assembly and Manufacturing System) developed by (Gonzalez-Badillo et al, 2014). The authors conducted a study involving three groups of subjects and three training modes: (VA) with haptic feedback, (VA) without haptic and training by watching a video.…”

On the Development of Virtual Reality Scenarios for Computer-Assisted Biomedical Applications

“…In the area of engineering, VR applications include the design and evaluation of components and prototypes before construction [ 14 – 16 ], the manufacturing planning of components [ 12 , 17 – 19 ], and assembly training [ 20 ]. On the other hand, VR applications in the area of art include virtual sculpting [ 21 ], reconstruction and preservation of buildings [ 22 , 23 ], and development of environments, structures, and scenarios for the film industry [ 24 ].…”