This paper presents a novel solution for precision draping of prepreg composite fabrics onto double curved molds. Our contributions relate to system design, including hardware and software components, and to system integration. On the hardware side, design and implementation of a drape tool with up to 120 suction cups positioned individually by linear actuators are described. On the software side, design and implementation of the software architecture are presented, along with necessary algorithms within sensor technologies and mathematical modeling. The essential system’s components were verified individually, and the entire integrated system was successfully validated in the Proof-of-Concept experiments, performed on an experimental physical model of the system.

Light-weight manipulators are used in industrial tasks mounted on mobile platforms to improve flexibility. However, such mountings introduce compliance affecting the tasks. This work deals with such scenarios by designing a controller that also takes into account compliant environments. The controller allows the tracking of a target force using the estimation of the environment stiffness (EKF) and the estimation of the base position (KF), compensating the robot base deformation. The closed-loop stability has been analyzed. Observers and the control law have been validated in experiments. An assembly task is considered with a standard industrial non-actuated mobile platform. Control laws with and without base compensation are compared.

A task-oriented system structure has been developed. In normal industrial robot programming, the path is created and the process is based on the path. Here a process-focused method is proposed, where a task can be split in sub-tasks, one for each part of the process with similar process-characteristics. By carefully encapsulating the information needed to execute a sub-task, this component can be re-used whenever the actual sub-task occurs. Applications using system design do not change between simulation and actual shop floor runs and the system allows a mix of real- and simulated components during simulation and run-time.