Robot finishing tasks controlled remotely with digital twin and extended reality
Location-Independent Robot-Assisted Finishing Using Digital Twins and Extended Reality
Human-Computer Interaction
Summary
Metal parts made by 3D printing often need smooth finishing, which is tricky to program and supervise. The authors created a system that lets operators control and train a finishing robot from anywhere using a virtual copy of the robot and its work area. This digital twin shows real robot movements and surface details, helping operators decide if more work is needed. Their testing showed precise control and acceptable delay, suitable for remote oversight and occasional direct control.
What this means in practice
- •For industrial automation teams: Supervise and program finishing robots remotely to improve flexibility and reduce the need for onsite presence in metal part post-processing.
- •For remote training coordinators: Train operators on finishing robot tasks using immersive digital twins without requiring physical access to the robot.
Authors
Jose Outeiro, Jia Holt, Tero Kaarlela, Khalil Chakal
Abstract
This paper presents a cyber-physical system (CPS) for location-independent programming, supervision, training, and teleoperation of a Robot-Assisted Finishing (RAF) system used to post-process metal additive-manufactured (AM) components. A digital twin (DT) built in Unity is delivered to the operator as a WebGL application that supports both desktop and immersive modes through WebXR-compatible devices. Moreover, it exchanges robot state and pose commands with a collaborative robot through a Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) broker. The DT enforces kinematic and collision constraints before a pose is released to the physical robot, and augments the virtual component with a color map of the surface topography that supports operator decisions on part repositioning or process termination. The architecture was validated on a specially designed physical RAF system. A steady-state joint synchronization error of 0.12 deg and a mean round-trip latency of 563 ms were measured, which is adequate for supervisory programming and intermittent teleoperation.