4. Case study
The case study tested by this application originates from the automotive industry and has been applied to the robotics cell that is shown in Figure 8. A high payload robot (COMAU NJ 370) is used in order to load the 25 kg axles on the fixture and to support the human by holding the rear wheel groups in the assembly area. The axle loading is solely carried out by the robot in the automatic mode, while the wheel group assembly requires the cooperation between the robot that carries the weight (10-12 kgs) and the human, who uses his hands to directly adjust the position of the parts. The heaviest part lifted by the operator in this scenario is that of the screwdriver (1.5kg). While the human performs delicate tasks (cable assembly), the robot continues bringing the second wheel group, avoiding any collision with the human.