Challenge details:

Industrial robots used for welding operations in a vehicle assembly line weld line experience a recurring issue where the dress-pack dislodges from the robot"s ball joints during movement. This occationaly causes cable damage, resulting in significant downtime for reprogramming due to mastering loss. 

Currently, there is no mechanism to detect early signs of dress-pack dislodgement, and operators become aware of the problem only after component damage or robot malfunction, leading to line stoppages and rework.

The challenge is to develop a predictive detection mechanism that can:

• Identify dress-pack dislodgement in real time and alert operators.
• Interlock with robot operations to stop the robot upon detection to prevent further damage and minimize downtime.