Methods and systems for designing a volumetric model of a construct at a user interface through use of a 3-D design, fabrication and assembly system comprising a modeling component, a robotic assembly workstation component, and a workflow configuration module to generate, through the workflow configuration module, a 3-D print bill of materials for a rendered volumetric model; generate a workflow configuration model based on the 3-D print bill of materials, the model including an automated robot control scheme of a series of assembly order instructions to direct a multi-axis robot of the robotic assembly workstation component to print and/or assemble a construct; transmit the workflow configuration model to the robotic assembly workstation component with a print and/or assembly command in accordance with the automated robot control scheme; and print and/or assemble the construct with the multi-axis robot in accordance with the print and/or assembly command.

A modular robot system is capable of being configured to allow a plurality of cube-shaped unit robots to be coupled to one another. The modular robot system has N cube-shaped unit robots (where N is an integer greater than 2), each cube-shaped unit robot including: a cube-shaped housing; a step motor located inside the housing; and a controller located inside the housing to control the step motor, wherein the housing has a mounting groove formed on one surface thereof to mount a rotary body rotating by a rotary shaft of the step motor thereon and connection grooves with the same shape as each other formed on the five surfaces thereof, so that through connectors mounted on the connection grooves, one cube-shaped unit robot is connectable to another cube-shaped unit robot.

A mobile assembly apparatus and a method of assembling a retail product utilizing a retail assembly are discussed. The mobile assembly apparatus may include a cabinet structure, an expandable work surface, a frame, wheels, an articulated arm, outrigger supports, a power supply, sensors, a hardware dispenser, and a computing device. The mobile assembly apparatus scans a machine readable identifier and retrieves assembly instructions for an item associated with the identifier. The computing device controls the outrigger supports and extendable surface based on the instructions. The computing device monitors the progress of the assembly of the time and validates the assembly based on assembly data from the sensors.

Methods and systems for designing a volumetric model of a construct at a user interface through use of a 3-D design, fabrication and assembly system comprising a modeling component, a robotic assembly workstation component, and a workflow configuration module to generate, through the workflow configuration module, a 3-D print bill of materials for a rendered volumetric model; generate a workflow configuration model based on the 3-D print bill of materials, the model including an automated robot control scheme of a series of assembly order instructions to direct a multi-axis robot of the robotic assembly workstation component to print and/or assemble a construct; transmit the workflow configuration model to the robotic assembly workstation component with a print and/or assembly command in accordance with the automated robot control scheme; and print and/or assemble the construct with the multi-axis robot in accordance with the print and/or assembly command.

Systems, techniques, and computer-program products are provided for tracking and traceability of parts of a finished product. In some embodiments, the tracking and traceability generates streams of semantic data obtained from an imaging sensor system that records the execution of a manufacturing process in industrial equipment. The execution of the manufacturing process yields a finished product from initial materials and/or parts. The tracking and traceability also implements artificial reasoning about the execution of the manufacturing process to generate assertions that characterize the execution of the manufacturing process. Semantic data and assertions can be aggregated into a digital trace record that tracks a defined component of the finished product throughout the execution of the manufacturing process and permit tracing the component to a defined event within the manufacturing process.

Methods and apparatuses for performing automated operations using a high-density robotic cell. An apparatus comprises a first plurality of robotic devices; a second plurality of robotic devices; and a control system. Each of the second plurality of robotic devices is coupled to a single function end effector. The control system controls the second plurality of robotic devices to concurrently perform tasks at a plurality of locations on an assembly, while the first plurality of robotic devices independently maintain a clamp-up at each of the plurality of locations.

Methods and apparatuses for performing automated operations, such as installing fasteners at a plurality of locations along a joint, using a high-density robotic cell. A plurality of different tasks for a fastener installation operation is performed concurrently at selected locations of the plurality of locations using a plurality of single function end effectors positioned relative to the selected locations in a high-density setup.

A manufacturing system (20) comprises: one or more stores (84; 80A-80C; 92) for raw materials, work-in-progress (WIP), and finished goods; a plurality of manufacturing cells (40A 40F), each cell includes: one or more machines (42A-42C) for manufacturing an assembly; and a programmable logic controller (PLC) (44) for controlling the machines; one or more devices (60, 70) for moving raw material, WIP, and finished goods; and one or more servers (32) for communicating with the PLCs and the devices. The one or more servers further have programming for: instructing (642) the plurality of manufacturing cells to assemble finished goods from the raw materials; instructing (628, 632) the one or more devices to move said raw materials and finished goods; and just in sequence (JIS) skipped assembly recovery steps (730) for the manufacturing cells and devices.

A production facility is provided with: an AGV for transporting a plurality of fuselage panels of multiple types having different shapes in a mixed state on a previously determined transport path; a plurality of A/Rs for riveting the fuselage panels; work areas set so as to correspond to the respective A/Rs in which the A/Rs move to rivet the fuselage panels; and a buffer area, set beforehand in the transport path adjacent to the work area, to which the A/R corresponding to the adjacent work area moves so as to rivet the fuselage panel. When there is no fuselage panel to be riveted in the work area adjacent to the buffer area and the fuselage panel to be riveted is present in the buffer area, a control device moves the A/R corresponding to the work area adjacent to the buffer area to the buffer area to rivet the fuselage panel.

Systems, techniques, and computer-program products are provided for tracking and traceability of parts of a finished product. In some embodiments, the tracking and traceability generates streams of semantic data obtained from an imaging sensor system that records the execution of a manufacturing process in industrial equipment. The execution of the manufacturing process yields a finished product from initial materials and/or parts. The tracking and traceability also implements artificial reasoning about the execution of the manufacturing process to generate assertions that characterize the execution of the manufacturing process. Semantic data and assertions can be aggregated into a digital trace record that tracks a defined component of the finished product throughout the execution of the manufacturing process and permit tracing the component to a defined event within the manufacturing process.