Human-Robot Collaboration Framework for Industrial Assembly Tasks

In recent years, industries have been looking for ways to make production more flexible without losing efficiency. One promising approach is human-robot collaboration (HRC), where robots and people share the same workspace. Robots are well-suited for precise, repetitive actions, whereas humans are better at adapting to small variations and making quick decisions. Assembly is a natural test case: many operations still need human judgment, but robots can reduce strain by handling lifting and positioning. However, to work well together, the system must provide an easy way to assign tasks and ensure safe, compliant motion during contact. This thesis project addresses human–robot collaboration for industrial assembly. A framework is developed that integrates operator-driven task planning, grasp optimization, motion planning, trajectory generation and joint impedance control. Hardware experiments on the 'L'-shape assembly, with the robot holding a horizontal aluminium profile, show consistent behavior. The experimental results achieved contact-rich profile assembly with smooth execution, stable accuracy and consistent effort across the starting poses tested.