Riistvarapaindlik ROSi tarkvarapakett tööstuslike robotite mööndlikuks juhtimiseks

Industrial robotics today is moving towards using lightweight collaborative robots to make it possible for small and medium sized enterprises to integrate robots in their manufacturing environment. However, there is still very few collaborative robots seen in the industry and the main reason is that programming of the robot is still too expensive and time-consuming, since there are too few ready solutions available today for controlling co-robots. The solution would be more available open source, maintainable, extendable and usable high-quality code for controlling co-robots. This thesis concentrates on developing such complete software bundle on ROS for compliant control for industrial collaborative manipulators

Methodology for the definition of the optimal assembly cycle and calculation of the optimized assembly cycle time in human-robot collaborative assembly

AbstractIndustrial collaborative robotics is an enabling technology and one of the main drivers of Industry 4.0 in industrial assembly. It allows a safe physical and human-machine interaction with the aim of improving flexibility, operator's work conditions, and process performance at the same time. In this regard, collaborative assembly is one of the most interesting and useful applications of human-robot collaboration. Most of these systems arise from the re-design of existing manual assembly workstations. As a consequence, manufacturing companies need support for an efficient implementation of these systems. This work presents a systematical methodology for the design of human-centered and collaborative assembly systems starting from manual assembly workstations. In particular, it proposes a method for task scheduling identifying the optimal assembly cycle by considering the product and process main features as well as a given task allocation between the human and the robot. The use of the proposed methodology has been tested and validated in an industrial case study related to the assembly of a touch-screen cash register. Results show how the new assembly cycle allows a remarkable time reduction with respect to the manual cycle and a promising value in terms of payback period

The development of a human-robot interface for industrial collaborative system

Industrial robots have been identified as one of the most effective solutions for optimising output and quality within many industries. However, there are a number of manufacturing applications involving complex tasks and inconstant components which prohibit the use of fully automated solutions in the foreseeable future. A breakthrough in robotic technologies and changes in safety legislations have supported the creation of robots that coexist and assist humans in industrial applications. It has been broadly recognised that human-robot collaborative systems would be a realistic solution as an advanced production system with wide range of applications and high economic impact. This type of system can utilise the best of both worlds, where the robot can perform simple tasks that require high repeatability while the human performs tasks that require judgement and dexterity of the human hands. Robots in such system will operate as “intelligent assistants”. In a collaborative working environment, robot and human share the same working area, and interact with each other. This level of interface will require effective ways of communication and collaboration to avoid unwanted conflicts. This project aims to create a user interface for industrial collaborative robot system through integration of current robotic technologies. The robotic system is designed for seamless collaboration with a human in close proximity. The system is capable to communicate with the human via the exchange of gestures, as well as visual signal which operators can observe and comprehend at a glance. The main objective of this PhD is to develop a Human-Robot Interface (HRI) for communication with an industrial collaborative robot during collaboration in proximity. The system is developed in conjunction with a small scale collaborative robot system which has been integrated using off-the-shelf components. The system should be capable of receiving input from the human user via an intuitive method as well as indicating its status to the user ii effectively. The HRI will be developed using a combination of hardware integrations and software developments. The software and the control framework were developed in a way that is applicable to other industrial robots in the future. The developed gesture command system is demonstrated on a heavy duty industrial robot

Hammer: an Android based application for end-user industrial robot programming

This paper presents a novel tablet based end-user interface for industrial robot programming (called Hammer). This application makes easier to program tasks for industrial robots like polishing, milling or grinding. It is based on the Scratch programming language, but specifically design and created for Android OS. It is a visual programming concept that allows non-skilled programmer operators to create programs. The application also allows to monitor the tasks while it is being executed by overlapping real time information through augmented reality. The application includes a teach pendant screen that can be customized according to the operator needs at every moment

Safety analysis on human-robot collaboration in heavy assembly task

Manufacturing assembly industry has traditionally utilized human labor to perform assembly tasks manually. With the introduction of industrial robots, fully automated solutions have provided an opportunity to perform complex and repetitive tasks and assist in the assembly of heavy components. In recent years, improvement in robot technologies and changes in safety legislation have enabled new human-robot collaboration (HRC) concepts which have drawn attention of manufacturers. HRC uses characteristics of dexterity and flexibility of human and repeatability and precision of robots to increase the flexibility of the system, decrease the cost of labor in production and improve ergonomics in the design of shared workspace. The operator safety is one of the challenges inside the HRC environment. The safety concerns could be altered with different levels of physical interactions between robot and human. This thesis aimed to develop solution for analyzing the safety functions on different human-robot interaction (HRI) levels. The approach was started with the classification of tasks between human and robot. In this thesis, assembly sequences were designed to fulfill the requirements of each interaction levels of HRI. These experiments were providing evaluation tables for analyzing the safety functions in HRI levels. The primary objective of this thesis is to design the HRC system with suitable safety functions. The safety of the workstation was developed using a combination of hardware and software. Laser scanners employed to detect the presence of a human in hazard areas and ABB SafeMove add-on were configured to exploit safety signals to the robot controller for adopting safety functions such as safety-rated monitored stop, and speed and separation monitoring. In this thesis, time work study analysis was demonstrated that the implementation of HRC decreases the fatigue and the injury risks of the operator and enhances the ergonomics for the operators. The study of safety functions through different HRI levels proved that with an increase of physical interactions it was necessary to employ multiple safety functions to prohibit collisions between robot and human

The Use of Virtual Twins in the Robotic Yoghurt Mixing Process

This paper presents the results of computer simulations related to the selection and optimisation of parameters for a robotic yoghurt mixing process. The authors proposed a station configuration using the RobotStudio environment for off-line robot programming and virtual controller technology and determined the performance of the robotised production line. The main component of the study was a computer simulation of the station based on the Picking PowerPac package and Pick Master 3 program. As a result of the simulations, numerical values were obtained informing about the number of handled and rejected products, filled containers and the times of production cycles of the station