Detection of Contact Point of Parts Using a Force Sensor for Remote-Controlled Assembly Using a 1DOF Haptic Device

This paper describes the calculation of the point of contact between assembled parts for remotecontrolled assembly using a haptic device with a single degree of freedom (DOF). To achieve such remote-controlled assembly, it is necessary to judge the constraint state and change the movement direction of the part. It is difficult to detect the points of contact between parts around which the rotational movement should be performed. In this paper, we report a method developed for the purpose of determining the contact point using a six-axis force sensor without knowing the geometry of the parts. The proposed method is applicable to cases in which the theoretical contact point cannot be calculated because of errors and fluctuations in the sensory data. The effectiveness and precision of the method are evaluated through experiments and simulations.