Disassembly: An Exercise in Manipulation in an Unstructured Environments.

This memo examines the process by which a robotic system might automatically disassemble a multi-part object, and describes a working system that performs disassembly in a restricted environment. More generally, this work is investigating the problem of intelligent manipulation on an unstructured environment, where direct knowledge of the objects is limited. A system capable of disassembly has direct application for automated manipulation and repair of structures, particularly in inaccessible or hostile environments such as space and undersea. The process also involves problems with direct applicability to advanced automated assembly, such as the study of stability and fragility of substructures. The work described here directly addresses planning and stability issues, in addition to problems associated with multi-robot cooperation and construction of a complex robotic system.