Method and apparatus for drilling a workpiece

A drilling system for drilling a workpiece, the drilling system comprising:

• a drilling platform;
• a pattern end effector configured to be held by the drilling platform, the pattern end effector configured to apply a pattern on a workpiece surface of the workpiece at a reference location relative to a target drilling location;
• and
• a drilling end effector configured to be held by the drilling platform, the drilling end effector comprising:
• a chuck configured to hold a drilling tool;
• a nosepiece configured to at least partially surround the drilling tool when the drilling tool is held by the chuck, the nosepiece comprising an end portion that is configured to be held on the workpiece surface of the workpiece, wherein the pattern has a circular shape of a size that is complementary with a circular shape and a size of the end portion of the;
• and
• a camera configured to acquire an image of an area of the workpiece surface that includes the pattern, wherein the image acquired by the camera indicates whether the end portion of the nosepiece is aligned with the pattern on the workpiece surface.

A method for drilling a workpiece, the method comprising:

• applying a pattern on a workpiece surface of the workpiece at a reference location relative to a target drilling location;
• holding an end portion of a nosepiece of a drilling end effector on the workpiece surface of the workpiece;
• acquiring an image of an area of the workpiece surface;
• and
• analyzing a relative position between the pattern and the end portion of the nosepiece in the acquired image to determine whether the end portion of the nosepiece is aligned with the pattern on the workpiece surface, wherein the pattern has a circular shape of a size that is complementary with a circular shape and a size of the end portion of the nosepiece.