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The insertion of a peg in a hole is the final phase in the assembly of a peg and a block with a hole. This paper briefly analyses the physical interaction between these two components during insertion, describes a simple fine‐motion device which utilizes this interaction to insert pegs into closely‐fitting holes, and discusses possible variations to the construction of the device.

The realisation of a practical generally versatile variable product assembly machine is still far from reality. However, in the same way that a generation 1 Industrial Robot can achieve high levels of versatility within certain restricted activities e. g. paint spraying ‐ spot welding etc., then by the correct choice of product and product design high levels of versatility can be achieved with assembly machines.

Almost everyone is familiar with the word “robot” in our civilized society. A man‐made man first appeared as Talos, a bronze giant of Creta in the remote past of greek mythology. Since ancient times, the robot has been an object of human imagination. Unexpectedly, the word “robot” was used for the first time relatively recently. It was a drama title “Rossum's Universal Robots (RUR)” which Karel Capek, a Czechoslovakian dramatist produced in 1920. “Robot” was a new word which was coined from “robota” which means to work or a serf in Czechoslovakia. Hence, the robot is a man‐made man who works for and serves a human being. In the meantime, the pedigree of automata which started with Heron in about 100 B.C. uninterruptedly continues until today. An outstanding example of all those in existence is the three automata which still please people in a historical museum by the lake of Neuchatel, Switzerland. The automata, which were made in the middle of the 18th century, play the organ, write sentences and draw pictures as if they were alive. (Photo 1).

A Tactile Controlled Robot, ‘HI‐T‐HAND’ Expert 1 with a flexible wrist and delicate feeling that inserts pistons in cylinders with a clearance of about 20 microns faster and more deftly than human hands has been developed.

A compliance device combining passive and active compliance has been tested and developed for an anthropomorphic robot for use during assembly operations. The device has the ability to correct for angular and lateral misalignments between mating parts, resulting in no equipment or part damage. The method of control, the design features of the device and the modifications made to enable the device to be used by an anthropomorphic robot are described and future modifications which will enable the device to operate more effectively are discussed.

A central problem of industrial robotics today is the development of systems for real‐world automatic assembly operations. Research groups in the US, UK, and Japan are currently taking a systems approach to computer‐controlled manipulation and are emphasizing hand/sensor/assembly‐task interactions. This paper surveys memory + sensory control prototypes and eye‐hand coordination prototypes at IBM, University of Nottingham, Hitachi, and Mitsubishi.

Successful use of automatic assembly in industry will require not only a complete re‐thinking, re‐assessment and evolutionary interaction but it will also demand that everything peripheral to the machine be considered as well.

The development of a generic flexible assembly system involves the design, selection and integration of a number of different mechanical systems in order to develop an assembly system, which is capable of assembling a wide variety of products having an unknown specification. A specific system configuration being dependent on a variety of factors such as, product size, weight, component insertion direction, and manipulator geometry. This paper examines each of the factors that should be considered when designing a generic flexible assembly system and presents a novel generic flexible assembly system design.