Wrench distribution of a cooperative robotic system using a modified scaling factor method

Recently, industrial robots are being more and more widely used in a variety of machining applications, such as drilling, milling and grinding because of their flexibility in performing tasks in a relatively small space, and furthermore, at a lower cost. In many cases, the wrench capability of industrial robots is lower than the required, causing in some tasks the saturation of the actuators. The possibility of using two or more robots to perform a given task increases the wrench capability, allowing us to work out in applications which are impossible to solve using only one manipulator. A Cooperative Robotic System (CRS) increases the flexibility in the performance of tasks allowing a more homogeneous distribution of the forces generated during the interaction between the end-effector and the environment. In some cases, the CRS can be composed by robots with different capabilities, and a strategy for wrench distribution must be used. Recent works presented the force capability analysis using a scaling factor method for single serial robots. This paper proposes the use of this scaling factor method in CRS, seeking to obtain a balance of forces between the robots. The proposed method is discussed and graphical results are presented.