Digital twin and extended reality for teleoperation of the electric vehicle battery disassembly

TL;DR

This paper introduces a hybrid teleoperation and digital twin system for safe, adaptable, and efficient disassembly and sorting of electric vehicle batteries, aiming to improve safety and productivity in battery recycling.

Contribution

It presents a novel hybrid approach combining teleoperation, digital twins, and automation for EV battery disassembly, enhancing safety and efficiency.

Findings

User-friendly system demonstrated in pilot study

Potential to reduce labor dependency in battery recycling

Improved safety and throughput in EVB disassembly

Abstract

Disassembling and sorting Electric Vehicle Batteries (EVBs) supports a sustainable transition to electric vehicles by enabling a closed-loop supply chain. Currently, the manual disassembly process exposes workers to hazards, including electrocution and toxic chemicals. We propose a teleoperated system for the safe disassembly and sorting of EVBs. A human-in-the-loop can create and save disassembly sequences for unknown EVB types, enabling future automation. An RGB camera aligns the physical and digital twins of the EVB, and the digital twin of the robot is based on the Robot Operating System (ROS) middleware. This hybrid approach combines teleoperation and automation to improve safety, adaptability, and efficiency in EVB disassembly and sorting. The economic contribution is realized by reducing labor dependency and increasing throughput in battery recycling. An online pilot study was set up to evaluate the usability of the presented approach, and the results demonstrate the potential as a user-friendly solution.