Precise answer

For many years strict accuracy specifications have meant that the aerospace industry has been unable to successfully automate drilling and riveting tasks with the speed and precision required.

That could be about to change thanks to a robotic platform, developed by UK metrology company

and robotics specialist

, that allows robots to drill and rivet with ±0.1mm tolerance.

The platform, using a standard KUKA robot and a high-speed photogrammetry system from Metris, has halved the time taken to drill and rivet aircraft wings at Airbus' Filton plant.

The system is the result of an Airbus-initiated research project that called on KUKA and Metris to design a robot that could meet an accuracy of ±0.2 mm, which is required in many of Airbus' application areas.

'We did a number of tests for years with out-of-the-box robots to see if they were capable of moving to a position with a tolerance of ±0.2mm, and the conclusion was that they couldn't,' said Metris business director Roger Holden. 'There wasn't a robot on the market that could do that.'