Simplified fine-motion planning in generalized contact space

A methodology is presented for planning fine motions for assembly operations in the presence of position, velocity, and model uncertainty. A nominal assembly motion plan, computed without regard to the effects of uncertainty, is provided a priori. The critical points where collisions and jamming are likely to occur are first identified in the nominal trajectory. The configuration space of the assembly is then linearized about each critical point, producing local hyperpolyhedral contact spaces that provide simplified motion planning domains in which to synthesize piecewise-linear trajectories. The hyperpolyhedral contact spaces are constructed with extra dimensions, one for each toleranced assembly part parameter. A heuristic search is performed in these generalized contact spaces to select a fine-motion trajectory that can be executed in the presence of position, velocity and model uncertainty without deviating from a predictable sequence of contact states. A hybrid control strategy is then generated for traversing each contact state in the sequence