Assessment of a Haptic Virtual Assembly System that uses Physics-based Interactions

Assembly is one of the most extensively studied manual processes in manufacturing. Using design for assembly (DFA) methodologies relative times of real-world assembly tasks such as manipulation and insertion can be quantified. However, it is unclear if similar values can be reflected in a virtual assembly system? This question forms the rationale for the peg-in-hole assembly task addressed in this study. Although almost simplistic in nature, assembling a peg into a hole addresses three fundamental states in an assembly process -picking, placing and motion within an environment. The objective here is to investigate assembly performance in the virtual environment using a force feedback haptic device benchmarked against previously quantified data. Inclusive, is a kinematic evaluation of task performance for peg-in-hole manipulation based on geometric and force conditions.