Interactive AR-assisted product disassembly sequence planning (ARDIS)

This paper presents a proof-of-concept novel near real-time interactive AR-assisted product disassembly sequence planning system (ARDIS) based on product information, such as interference matrix and 3D models. The system is developed using Unity and consists of three modules, including an intelligent disassembly sequence planning module, an automatic content authoring module and an intuitive augmented reality (AR) user interface (UI) with various features, such as a virtual panel for customisation and an option panel for sequence regeneration. Given the retrieval targets specified by a user, optimised disassembly sequences are computed using an evolutionary computing algorithm. For the sequences computed, the respective AR disassembly instruction sequences, such as 2D text instructions and animated 3D models, are generated dynamically based on a taxonomy that links each disassembly step in a sequence with the corresponding Unity templates that have been created beforehand. Hence, the need for manual authoring to provide AR disassembly guidance is reduced. If necessary, the user can request for alternative disassembly sequences which can be re-computed in near real-time. Several case studies have been carried out to demonstrate and evaluate the performance of the system within the laboratory environment.