Purpose-The paper aims to present interactive simulation with haptic feedback as a valid method for solving complex assembly problems in the context of industrial product development. Its purpose is to clarify the position of interactive simulation with respect to other methods, and to emphasize its specific value for design engineers.Design/methodology/approach -The paper describes the challenges faced by design engineers in the context of design for assembly and assembly process planning. It introduces and compares automatic path planning and interactive simulation as two different approaches for checking the feasibility of assembly tasks. It provides a review of the scientific challenges and technical issues faced when implementing interactive simulation with haptic feedback in this context. It presents recent research results in the domains of final insertion and human model simulation. Findings-The paper provides an overview of the scientific, technological and practical aspects of interactive simulation with haptic feedback. It explains how this method benefits from the manual skills and cognitive capabilities of the human operator for solving complex assembly problems. It proposes an assessment of the technical maturity using the Technology Readiness Level approach. Originality/value-The paper gives insights about the maturity and usability of interactive assembly simulation with haptic feedback, for the benefit of design engineers seeking new ways to decrease product development time and costs while increasing quality. KeywordsAssembly simulation, production planning, design for assembly Abstract Purpose -The paper aims to present interactive simulation with haptic feedback as a valid method for solving complex assembly problems in the context of industrial product development. Its purpose is to clarify the position of interactive simulation with respect to other methods, and to emphasize its specific value for design engineers. Design/methodology/approach -The paper describes the challenges faced by design engineers in the context of design for assembly and assembly process planning. It introduces and compares automatic path planning and interactive simulation as two different approaches for checking the feasibility of assembly tasks. It provides a review of the scientific challenges and technical issues faced when implementing interactive simulation with haptic feedback in this context. It presents recent research results in the domains of final insertion and human model simulation. Findings -The paper provides an overview of the scientific, technological and practical aspects of interactive simulation with haptic feedback. It explains how this method benefits from the manual skills and cognitive capabilities of the human operator for solving complex assembly problems. It proposes an assessment of the technical maturity using the Technology Readiness Level approach. Originality/value -The paper gives insights about the maturity and usability of interactive assembly simulation with haptic feed...

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In the context of virtual reality (VR) and of computed aided design (CAD), haptic simulations are used to perform assembly tasks between 3D objects. To ensure the good assembly of those objects, we propose a new method of interactive assembly that uses both kinematic constraints and guiding virtual fixtures. Modelling a haptic assembly task as a combination of mechanical joints, we focus on the guidance of objects and on the activation cues of kinematic constraints in physical simulation. In this article, we first outline the difficulties related to the haptic-assembly of CAD objects in VR simulation. Introducing the virtual constraint guidance (VCG), we present a new method for haptic guidance that decomposes a task in two independent steps: a guiding step which use geometries as virtual fixtures to position objects, and a functional step which use kinematic constraints to perform the assembly task. We finally present a complete application of our method on a peg-in-hole insertion task.

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As nuclear powerplants age, maintenance tasks become more critical and more dangerous. In most Western countries todq, and perhaps even more in the former East Block, the nuclear safety management becomes a major issue. In the next couple of years, strategic decisions have to be made regarding the nuclear waste management and the dismantling of old equipment.Sadly, most of the dirty work is still done by humans and not by robots. The robotics community has achieved many breakthroughs in the last decade, thanks to the progress of computing power, but their impact has been small in the domain of nuclear intervention. Radiation tolerance implies heavy shielding, which in turn reduces the flexibility of the machine.Looking ahead and striving for a better world, CY-BERNETLX has been bringing together the latest advances in radiation-hard electronics, spread-spectrum transmissions and teleconirol technology, onto a single, modular, mobile platform. We present in this paper the state of the project and point out the many innovations which have been necessary. We conclude with a short survey of the market, and a tentative glimpse in the future.