Technical Literature Review of Telerobotics for Arc Welding
TWI Industrial Member Report 1161-2022 [pdf / 465KB]
Industrial Need
Robotic welding systems are well established, but are limited in terms of adaptability based on existing control systems. The ability to directly translate operator movements to a (potentially hostile) welding environment would allow an increased adaptability.
Key Findings
- There are direct, vision-based and mechanical methods of capturing a welder’s movement, for potential subsequent use in telerobotic/remote robotic welding operations.
- Direct control methods have been demonstrated for welding, e.g. in a “joystick” approach and are at a significantly high enough technology readiness level (TRL) for application to welding.
- Complex vision and mechanical systems are both at relatively low TRL for welding, with them generally being restricted to research projects, and have significant knowhow and cost/complexity requirements associated with them.