CoMRAde · A Collaborative Mobile Robot Arm that can Learn Impedance Critical Tasks from Humans

A Collaborative Mobile Robot Arm that can Learn Impedance Critical Tasks from Humans

This project CoMRAde aimed to initiate a change in the current view of robotic automation, which is dominated by industrial robot arms that are incapable of working side-by-side with humans. To change this view, the project mainly focused on the impedance-critical tasks that cannot be easily accomplished by the conventional robot arms. Our industrial partner Arcelik A.S., Turkey’s largest white goods company, donated a mobile manipulator system to us and specifically asked us to focus on the polishing task. The main problem in a polishing task is to adjust the applied force from the polisher. Unlike classical position control-based tasks, e.g., pick and place, this task enforces the finely tuned adjustments of both force and position constraints. Furthermore, there is no explicit definition of force constraints, i.e., there is no systematic way to generate force trajectories. Therefore, automating this task would be a game-changer implementation in increasing the efficiency of the manufacturing lines. The importance for society lies on the fact that the project includes active involvement of human interaction. Rather than taking up humans’ job, it keeps them in the loop and elevates their position within the factory hierarchy. In a possible scenario, a human may train multiple robots on different workpieces and once trained, he can manage the multiple robot-aided manufacturing tasks. This is in line with the Industry 4.0 criteria, therefore, it definitely helps to keep manufacturing jobs in the EU with no particular need to increase manpower. With the accumulation of similar projects, the EU may be the focal point in smart factories that effectively play a crucial role in mass customization driven manufacturing market. This also should have positive economic implications on society as well. The main research goal in CoMRAde project is to devise necessary technologies to accelerate the robot-centered automation processes of industrial manufacturing in Europe, in accordance with the Industry 4.0 criteria. The objectives are as follows: * A force sensor-based haptic interface with proven stability is built to allow the physical interaction between human workers and the robot. This haptic interface should exert approximately zero impedance when a human is interacting. * A human-to-robot skill transfer framework is constructed to acquire task-specific force and position constraints to achieve the trained tasks. Per our industry partner Arcelik' s request, the metal sheet polishing task is determined as the primary focus. * Upon successful laboratory experiments, the whole system is integrated into the real manufacturing task in Arcelik’ s factories. The robot is expected to work adaptively in the human working environment with no robot-specific arrangements and is reconfigurable for distinct settings.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз