In Gasket Assembly, a deformable gasket must be aligned and pressed into a narrow channel. This task is common for sealing surfaces in the manufacturing of automobiles, appliances, electronics, and other products. Gasket Assembly is a long-horizon, high-precision task and the gasket must align with the channel and be fully pressed in to achieve a secure fit. To compare approaches, we present 4 methods for Gasket Assembly: one policy from deep imitation learning and three procedural algorithms. We evaluate these methods with 100 physical trials. Results suggest that the Binary+ algorithm succeeds in 10/10 on the straight channel whereas the learned policy based on 250 human teleoperated demonstrations succeeds in 8/10 trials and is significantly slower. Code, CAD models, videos, and data can be found at https://berkeleyautomation.github.io/robot-gasket/

Robots are ubiquitous in small-to-large-scale manufacturers. While collaborative robots (cobots) have significant potential in these settings due to their flexibility and ease of use, proper integration is critical to realize their full potential. Specifically, cobots need to be integrated in ways that utilize their strengths, improve manufacturing performance, and facilitate use in concert with human workers. Effective integration requires careful consideration and the knowledge of roboticists, manufacturing engineers, and business administrators. We propose an approach involving the stages of planning, analysis, development, and presentation, to inform manufacturers about cobot integration within their facilities prior to the integration process. We contextualize our approach in a case study with an SME collaborator and discuss insights learned.

Over the next decade, mobile, the Internet of Things, machine learning, robotics, and blockchain technologies will change a great deal about how the oil and gas industry works. Five technologies will change the oil and gas industry: mobile will speed oilfield transactions, increase efficiency, and improve safety by removing people from harm's way; the Internet of Things (IoT) will reduce the cost of repairs; machine learning will provide ever more optimal solutions to field challenges; robotics will upend the question of who does the work, and blockchain will make contracting faster and smoother than ever before. Adopting these technologies will be a challenge for many in our industry, requiring a change in mind-set. Engineers tend to focus less on investing for the future than on fixing what's broken now, as do companies trying to maximize their return on investment. But investments in these transformative technologies now will mean less to fix in the future, and more time to innovate, operate, and develop resources as fully as possible--which is what we're all trying to do, correct?

Over the next decade, mobile, the Internet of Things, machine learning, robotics, and blockchain technologies will change a great deal about how the oil and gas industry works. Five technologies will change the oil and gas industry: mobile will speed oilfield transactions, increase efficiency, and improve safety by removing people from harm's way; the Internet of Things (IoT) will reduce the cost of repairs; machine learning will provide ever more optimal solutions to field challenges; robotics will upend the question of who does the work, and blockchain will make contracting faster and smoother than ever before. Adopting these technologies will be a challenge for many in our industry, requiring a change in mind-set. Engineers tend to focus less on investing for the future than on fixing what's broken now, as do companies trying to maximize their return on investment. But investments in these transformative technologies now will mean less to fix in the future, and more time to innovate, operate, and develop resources as fully as possible--which is what we're all trying to do, correct?

Over the next decade, mobile, the Internet of Things, machine learning, robotics, and blockchain technologies will change a great deal about how the oil and gas industry works. Five technologies will change the oil and gas industry: mobile will speed oilfield transactions, increase efficiency, and improve safety by removing people from harm's way; the Internet of Things (IoT) will reduce the cost of repairs; machine learning will provide ever more optimal solutions to field challenges; robotics will upend the question of who does the work, and blockchain will make contracting faster and smoother than ever before. Adopting these technologies will be a challenge for many in our industry, requiring a change in mind-set. Engineers tend to focus less on investing for the future than on fixing what's broken now, as do companies trying to maximize their return on investment. But investments in these transformative technologies now will mean less to fix in the future, and more time to innovate, operate, and develop resources as fully as possible--which is what we're all trying to do, correct?