A robot-assisted large-scale inspection of wind turbine blades in manufacturing using an autonomous mobile manipulator

  • Wind energy represents the dominant share of renewable energies. The rotor blades of a wind turbine are typically made from composite material, which withstands high forces during rotation. The huge dimensions of the rotor blades complicate the inspection processes in manufacturing. The automation of inspection processes has a great potential to increase the overall productivity and to create a consistent reliable database for each individual rotor blade. The focus of this paper is set on the process of rotor blade inspection automation by utilizing an autonomous mobile manipulator. The main innovations include a novel path planning strategy for zone-based navigation, which enables an intuitive right-hand or left-hand driving behavior in a shared human–robot workspace. In addition, we introduce a new method for surface orthogonal motion planning in connection with large-scale structures. An overall execution strategy controls the navigation and manipulation processes of the long-running inspection task. The implemented concepts are evaluated in simulation and applied in a real-use case including the tip of a rotor blade form.

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Metadaten
Author:Heiko Engemann, Patrick Cönen, Harshal Dawar, Shengzhi Du, Stephan Kallweit
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/app11199271
DOI:https://doi.org/10.21269/9860
ISSN:2076-3417
Parent Title (English):Applied Sciences
Publisher:MDPI
Place of publication:Basel
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of Completion:2021
Publishing Institution:Fachhochschule Aachen
Tag:autonomous navigation; large-scale inspection; mobile manipulation; surface-orthogonal path planning; wind turbine production
Volume:11
Issue:19
First Page:1
Last Page:22
Note:
Belongs to the Special Issue "Advances in Industrial Robotics and Intelligent Systems"
Link:https://doi.org/10.3390/app11199271
Zugriffsart:weltweit
Institutes:FH Aachen / Fachbereich Maschinenbau und Mechatronik
FH Aachen / MASKOR Institut für Mobile Autonome Systeme und Kognitive Robotik
open_access (DINI-Set):open_access
collections:Verlag / MDPI
Open Access / Gold
Licence (German): Creative Commons - Namensnennung