Wire Harness Assembly Process Supported by Collaborative Robots: Literature Review and Call for R&D

Abstract

The wire harness assembly process is a complicated manufacturing activity, which is becoming more complex because of the evolving nature of mechatronic and electronic products that require more connectors, sensors, controllers, communication networking, etc. Furthermore, the demand for wire harnesses continues to grow in all industries worldwide as the majority of equipment, appliances, machinery, vehicles, etc., are becoming “smart” (i.e., more mechatronic or electronic). Moreover, most of the wire harness assembly process tasks are done manually, and most of these are considered non-ergonomic for human assembly workers. Hence, the wire harness manufacturing industry is faced with the challenge of increasing productivity while improving the occupational health of its human assembly workers. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature review exploring the state of the use of collaborative robots in the wire harness assembly process due to their potential to reduce current occupational health problems for human assembly workers and increase the throughput of wire harness assembly lines, and to provide main findings, discussion, and further research directions for collaborative robotics in this application domain. Eleven papers were found in the scientific literature. All papers demonstrated the potential of collaborative robots to improve the productivity of wire harness assembly lines, and two of these in particular on the ergonomics of the wire harness assembly process. None of the papers reviewed presented a cost–benefit or a cycle time analysis to qualitatively and/or quantitatively measure the impact of the incorporation of collaborative robots in the wire harness assembly process. This represents an important area of opportunity for research with relevance to industry. Three papers remark on the importance of the integration of computer vision systems into a collaborative wire harness assembly process to make this more versatile as many types of wire harnesses exist. The literature review findings call for further research and technological developments in support of the wire harness manufacturing industry and its workers in four main categories: (i) Collaborative Robotics and Grippers, (ii) Ergonomics, (iii) Computer Vision Systems, and (iv) Implementation Methodologies.

Implementation Management of Collaborative Robots in Knowledge-Based Organizations: An Innovative and Sustainable Perspective

“…In the specialized literature, collaborative robots are recognized as entities integrated into various manufacturing-related sectors, playing an active role in processes such as wire harness assembly, screwing or unscrewing, distributing various materials, as well as picking and placing [33][34][35][36][37]. Collaborative robots, in contrast to their predecessors, stand out for their increased flexibility, successfully enabling a wide range of processes, including object manipulation, welding, finishing applications, machining, and assembly.…”

Manipulation Planning for Cable Shape Control

“…Cables, wires, and other deformable linear objects (DLOs) are integral to a wide range of everyday applications, encompassing tasks such as wiring in the automotive industry [1][2][3], belt assembly [4], and surgical suturing [5,6]. However, robotizing the DLOs-related tasks is still an open challenge in the robotics community due to the inherent complexity and the multitude of ways in which DLOs can deform [7].…”

Collaborative robots in manufacturing and assembly systems: literature review and future research agenda

“…However, recently, some reviews that address human-robot collaboration appeared in the literature such as Simões et al, 2022, Faccio et al, 2023 Figure 2 shows that besides the robotics and computer science fields, studying manufacturing systems has become more popular in recent years. Moreover, several studies focus on the human-machine dimension (see Appendix Table 4), for example, human-robot communication (Hjorth & Chrysostomou, 2022) or the use of computer science for analyzing human-robot collaboration (Navas-Reascos et al, 2022b) in manufacturing systems.…”