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In Focus - Archives Mai 2011
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26.05.2011 -
Insiders are convinced that golden times lie ahead for service robotics. Around the world companies and institutes have recognized the potential of robots as helpers for humans, and are working on everyday solutions. All different kinds of businesses are interested in service robotics, from large companies, to innovative startups, and also conventional manufacturers of industrial robots, electronic and automation components. Henrik A. Schunk, Managing Partner of SCHUNK GmbH & Co. KG, is confident that the serfice robotic market will triple over the next ten years, and has devoted time and money for robotics development at SCHUNK.
Service robotics will push various worldwide industries forward. The range reaches from the minesweeper to the milking robot, the fully automatic pool cleaner, entertainment machines, and to service nursing. In Asia, the leisure industry will play an important role in these developments, whereas Americans are showing great interest in the armaments industry, agriculture, and consumer industry. In Europe, the focus of research is mainly on lifestyle, logistics, and laboratory automation.
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The fully automatic laboratory automation system POLAB Shuttle of Polysius AG
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An ever increasing number of companies are discovering service robotics for themselves
Service robotics are no longer exclusively for university research. Polysius AG is marketing a fully automatic laboratory automation system for quality control during the cement production process. Audi AG intensively researches on service robots for picking of parts in the automotive industry, Harris Corp. uses service robots for bomb disposal, and Infineon Technologies AG controls the air quality in cleanrooms with service robots.
Even though service robot technologies are fully developed in many areas, the market development for service robotics is still in its infancy. Professor Dr. Henrik I. Christensen, holder of the "KUKA Chair of Robotics" at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, said that the public market has ignored many developments because real-world applications are far too expensive for the average consumer.
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Gripper hand SDH-2 from SCHUNK
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The University Bologna has developed an anthropomorphic gripper hand.
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The market demands payable solutions
Christensen urged for a change from technologically driven researches to market- and price-orientated developments. If costs keep within the budget, said Christensen, service robots can open up their markets. Paying $200 to $300 for a household robot is realistic. In the healthcare industry, the price limit is about $10,000. User- or consumer-orientated interfaces are equally important because robots can be used by the average consumer as well. Moreover he recommended to design service robots for special applications. In the healthcare field, for example, the focus must be more on the manipulation and navigation, in the logistics however cycle times must be lower than 6 seconds, and the grippers have to be robust and flexible.
Current application examples show that standardized platforms and components can contribute to economic and highly developed solutions. This applies for light-weight arms or flexibly applicable grippers, as well as mobile platforms or control units. SCHUNK the compentence leader for clamping technology and gripping systems is offering a unique modular system for various applications in service robotics. From the industry-proven gripper hand to the modular light-weight arm, the modular system of the innovative family-owned company offers various components, from which subtle manipulators can be quickly designed. Whereas MetraLabs GmbH from Ilmenau, Germany has specialized in mobile platforms, which can navigate freely and without collision within plants. They are suitable for the intralogistics and for measuring contaminations in cleanrooms.
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Powerball Lightweight Arm LWA 4.6 from SCHUNK
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User-friedly programming
And even in the field of control systems there are many changes: KEBA AG from Linz, Austria has developped a user-friendly control unit for light-weight arms, which reduces the programming effort for light-weight arms from several weeks to half a day. "Even though the control units cannot be operated by armatures, the company is close to reaching this goal, said Michael Garstenauer of KEBA. The company is currently working on an intuitive control system called "Direct Move".The handling of this control unit is similar to the one for the popular Wii paddle. Instead of keys and coordinate system the operator just indicates the direction and orientation of the arm motion with a kind of remote control unit. The Fraunhofer institute, IPA, is intensively working on user-friedly software solutions, too. The institute has developped an open hardware driver for the hardware platform Care-O-bot 3 in an actively maintained open source repository for the SCHUNK Dextrous Lightweight Arm LWA 4.10. The driver replaces the time-consuming modeling of a collision-free arm movement. Moreover, a simulation allows the visualization of the motion sequences, developments, and tests without needing a real hardware.
In the future, all manufacturers of service robotics will have a national standard they have to meet, which should facilitate the market entry for service robots. The safety standard DIN ISO EN 10218-1 (Industrial robots - safety requirements) for robots was the first on which the standards for a human robot cooperation in the field of industry were defined. This also includes how fast the assembly groups are moving, and how they have to be secured against unintentional movements.
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Humans and service robots interact in a domestic environment.
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And humans adapt, too
According to current research from Great Britain, it is a fact that service robots have to adapt to the human, but the human also has to change its behavior if service robots are used. Prof. Kerstin Dautenhahn of the Herdforshire University is examining in a "robot house," how robots can be used in a domestic environment. It has been shown that humans eventually adapt to the robot’s peculiarities and possibilities. Prof. Paolo Dario of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa reported of similar events. In field tests service robots are already used in Peccioli, a small town in Italy, where autonomous robots are used for waste disposal, and for street cleaning. Here again, humans change their behavior depending on the possibilities service robots offer.
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In the Italian town Peccioli, service robots have already been tested in public spaces.
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DustCart from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa
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DustCart
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New fields of activity for system integrators and support centers
Experts assume that together with a boom in service robotics, new fields of activity will develop. According to Prof. Alois Knoll of the Technical University in Munich, system integrators are required in the field of service robots, which are specialized for individual fields of application. In the future, this should close the gap between manufacturer and consumer. In his opinion, system integration is a significant factor for the value of the robots.
Dr. Amos Albert from Robert Bosch GmbH identified another field of activity. He sees a considerable potential in semi-autonomous service robots. If you do not have your own solution strategy, you can be assisted by a central support. The so-called "Click-Worker" may be organized like a call center. If needed, they can connect to the robot, solve the problem, and release the robot into its autonomy again. A concept from Dr. Markus Waibel from the Federal Technical University in Zurich went a step further. He searched for a central knowledge store, where data, models, applications and programs are stored, which can be independently called off by the robot itself. The idea is amazingly easy: All the connected robots, developers and system integrators can use a common pool of knowledge, with successful solution strategies, and put self-developed strategies into the system.
Facebook Groups
As a pioneer for modular robotics, SCHUNK has promoted the development of service robots from the very beginning. In addition to the annually held SCHUNK Expert Days on Service Robotics, SCHUNK wants to intensify the networking within the service robot community and a facebook
group was set up at www.expertdays.schunk.com/facebook. It is open to all interested companies and research institutions.
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12.2011
Clamping solutions for automated mass production
Efficient manufacturing means automated manufacturing. This particularly applies if large series are machined. This is when the clamping vises, which are the direct interface to the workpiece, playing an important role. In only a few seconds, they have to mount the components, safely and precisely align them, clamp them with-out deformation, and after machining they have to be reliably released. In view of the several million clamping cycles, which have to be carried out by many clamping vises being exposed to chips and coolant, process reliability is one of the decisive factors of success.
 Pour en savoir plus…
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11.2011
Modularity the factor of success
When designing gripping systems for handling and assembly applications, standardized modular systems will play an increasingly important role in the future. They reduce the necessary time for project planning and commissioning, and lower the investment costs. Due to the standardization, they offer optimum preconditions for stable processes. Since modular designed units can be flexibly modified and enlarged, they can be re-configurated for any changes that come up in the future.
Pour en savoir plus…
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10.2011
Producing more efficient
For a number of years, everybody was talking about the energy efficiency issue. Increasing energy costs, a growing environmental awareness, and the political guidance were all triggers for many companies to highlight the energy consumption of machines and components in their communication with the public. Efficiency is much more than simple energy efficiency now, especially when considering the
time- and cost aspects in regards to efficiency. When all these factors have been considered in a holistic way, the full potentials for modern machining and production become visible. The modern clamping devices and gripping systems make it clear how complex the possibilities are.
Pour en savoir plus…
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09.2011
Welding demanding materials crack- and pore-free
Laser welding technology is second-to-none, regardless of whether you are dealing with gears and injection molds or delicate and challenging welding works. When conventional cw lasers and many Nd:YAG-lasers reach their limits, modern process strategies can help to machine demanding welding metallurgies, different types of materials, or micro components process reliably and efficiently. Laser welding is particularly used if components have to be joined at a high welding speed, because slim welding seams, and a low thermal distortion are required. Compared with other welding techniques, the energy during laser welding fully penetrates into the material.
Pour en savoir plus…
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08.2011
More than a "Stopgap":
Intermediate sleeves ensure safe clamping and precision
They appear to be unimposing - but they are located at a decisive interface in the chain of the metal cutting process. Between toolholder and workpiece, the intermediate sleeves influence reliability and precision of the clamping operation. The thin-walled, mostly slotted precision sleeves cover the difference between the clamping diameter of the toolholder, and the workpiece which has to be clamped. Functioning like reduction inserts, they multiply the fields of application of the toolholders or arbors, compensate tolerances, and ensure safe and gentle clamping of gear wheels. The newest sleeve design can do even more. Intermediate sleeves with nozzle effect extend the tool service life and increase the volume machining.
Pour en savoir plus…
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07.2011
Changing, machining, compensating -
current trends in robot accessories
In dealing with industrial robot efficiency cycle rate and process reliabilty largely depend on their front ends, the grippers and other tools, but also from the effectors’ interfaces to the robot arm. Robot accessories have a great influence on the robot’s performance, flexibility and fields of application. Latest developments of quick-change systems, driven tools, compensation units, and power sensors show that the potentials of modern accessory components are enormous. Experts assume that their importance for handling, assembly and manufacturing will continuously increase.
Pour en savoir plus…
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06.2011
Deformation-free clamping:
From the plastic chuck jaw to the hybrid chuck
In case of rings, housings and other workpieces which are highly deformable dur-ing processing, conventional 3-jaw chucks quickly reach their limits. If the clamping forces are too low, there is no secure hold. If they are increased, workpieces de-form, and precision is reduced. A comparison shows the alternatives, the differ-ence between them, and how users can achieve an optimum result.
Pour en savoir plus…
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05.2011
Service robotics is the future key market
Insiders are convinced that golden times lie ahead for service robotics. Around the world companies and institutes have recognized the potential of robots as helpers for humans, and are working on everyday solutions. All different kinds of businesses are interested in service robotics, from large companies, to innovative startups, and also conventional manufacturers of industrial robots, electronic and automation components.
Pour en savoir plus…
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04.2011
Having set-up times under control
You cannot earn money with a turned off machine. However, in many companies the workpieces are still set-up in a complicated and time-consuming way on a grooved table while the plant is turned off. But solutions exist, which optimize the machine tool load. Modern quick-change pallet systems demonstrably accelerate the machining process, and at the same time, ramp up the precision and process reliability score. This leads to a reduction of set-up costs of up to 90%.
Pour en savoir plus…
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03.2011
Toolholders for micro cutting
Clamping tools used for micro cutting have their own rules. The subtle tools, the high spindle speeds, and the extreme precision requirements are a challenge for every tool manufacturer and user. Those who want to achieve continuously precise results, need mountings with a high run-out accuracy and balancing grade. Moreover, they should be as slim as possible and resistant to dirt. Furthermore, they have to assure that even small tools can be precisely adjusted and exchanged.
Pour en savoir plus…
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02.2011
Leight-weight design increases efficiency of Gripping Systems
Light-weight modules are now playing an increasing role in the area of gripping systems. Integrated into the system, they are saving energy at the same efficiency, or achieve a considerably higher efficiency at the indentical energy consumption. In both cases, the efficiency of the whole system is increasing. This is why the lightweights are so interesting for plant manufacturers, system integrators, and users. Since light-weight solutions had the reputation of being overly expensive in the past, recent developments now show that efficiency and cost control can go hand-in-hand. Modern designs, materials and techniques are paving the way to lighter solutions, which are rigid and robust, too. This also offer many more advantages.
Pour en savoir plus…
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In Focus - 2013
In Focus - Archives 2012
In Focus - Archives 2011
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