A novel approach for automated car body panel fitting

Abstract

In this paper we propose a novel algorithm to bring car body panels into the “BestFit”-position of the related object. The algorithm provides the necessary correction in a single step, it is not iterating to reach the panel's “BestFit”-position. Additionally, no model coordinates of the panel or the object are necessary to set up the system. Since only a single correction value has to be transmitted to the robot, an implementation of complicated communication interfaces for continues position updates like Kuka/RSI [1] is unneeded. The proposed algorithm also has a positive influence on the stability of the process, because the algorithm can detect critical deviations in the panel's shape as soon as the panel is being grabbed.