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Automation and Industrial Robotics Inspiration and current developments Mikael Hedelind [email protected]
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●Why automation?
● Types of automation
● Industrial robotics and how to use them
● Current developments in robotics
Outline
AutomationDefinition
Ancient Greek: “Self dictated”
the application of machines to tasks once performed by human beings or, increasingly, to tasks that would otherwise be impossible.1
The term Automation was coined by an engineer at Ford Motor Co. in around 1946.
In general usage, automation can be defined as a technologyconcerned with performing a process by means of programmed commands combined with automatic feedback control to ensure proper execution of the instructions.
1 Encyclopedia Britannica
AutomationHistorical note
10-70 - Hero (or Heron) of Alexandria – ”aeolipile” – first documented steam engine and also a wind-powered organ
1738 - Jacques de Vaucanson, created a mechanical duck that was able to eat grain, flap its wings, and excrete.
1764 – Spinning Jenny1811 – Ned Ludd, Luddites1812 - Frame Breaking Act is passed
Jaquet Droz “The Writer” Automata, 1774Early example
RoboticsThe beginning
1921 - Karel Čapek - Rossum's Universal Robots
1942 – Isaac Asimov - Runaround, first to use the word robotics1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human
being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders
would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not
conflict with the First or Second Law. Zeroth Law: "A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm;"
RobotCharacteristics
A robot is a mechanical or virtual, artificial agent.
Characteristics of a robot:● Is not 'natural' - it has been artificially created● Can sense its environment● Has some degree of intelligence, or ability to make choices based on the environment, or
automatic control / pre-programmed sequence● Is re-programmable● Can manipulate things in its environment● Appears to have intent or agency
A robot is simply a machine that seems to exhibit "intelligent behaviour" by performing an action cued by an external stimulus or cued by an internally programmed instruction.1
1http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/educators/resources/robot_type/background_info.asp
Types of robotsSample of what is out there
Industrial robots
Field robots
Space robots
Health robots
Toy robots
Domestic robots
Virtual robots
Humanoid robots
…
Industrial RobotsHistorical notes
1954 - George Charles Devol Jr. – Unimate"You know, there aren't many people who get a chance to start a whole new
industry"
1960 – Joseph F. Engelberger - Unimation sells the first robot to General Motors used for lifting hot metal sheets after die-casting
1973 – ASEA – The first microprocessor controlled electrical robot
1979 – Robert Williams – First human to die by a robot, Ford Motor CO. The robot was supplied by Unit Handling Systems, a division of Litton Industries, had a weight of 1 ton and had no safety systems.
Industrial RobotsDevelopment has mainly been driven by the
needs of the automotive industry
First robots were made for machine tending, but the driving application has been welding
General industries and consumer industries becomes more important
The robot systems get more and more sophisticated
Increasing amount of software involved
Why industrial automation?
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Texttext
MotivationWhy use robots?
1. Reduce operating costs
2. Improve product quality and consistency
3. Improve quality of work environment for employees
4. Increase production output rates
5. Increase product manufacturing flexibility
6. Reduce material waste and increase yield
7. Comply with safety rules and improve workplace health and safety
8. Reduce employee turnover and improve recruitment
9. Reduce capital costs (inventory, work in progress)
10. Save space in high value manufacturing areasBased on research carried out by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR)
Arc welding
Material handling &Machine tending
Painting
Other processes and assembly
Spot welding
Where, Geographically, are Robots Used?
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Annual supply new installations in top markets
● Estimated world wide supply ofindustrial robots on the 15 largestmarkets 2016● 5 markets account for 75% of total
supply
0 20 40 60 80 100
ChinaRepublic of Korea
JapanUnited States
GermanyTaiwan
ItalyMexicoFrance
SpainThailand
IndiaSingapore
CanadaCzech Republic
Annual Supply
Source: IFR World Robotics 2017
’000 of units
Industrial RobotsIndustry characteristics
● Fairly mature, somewhat large, still automotive focused industry
●Robot performance characteristics have converged
● Competition between suppliers is mainly on price, sometimes on product range
●More and more industry standards are created each year
●Robots are considered a commodity in several industries
● Services, and issues not related to product technology, play a big role
Robot PropertiesWhat defines a robot?
●Number of axes / joints●Degrees of freedom●Kinematics●Working envelope ● Payload / Carrying
capacity● Speed● Acceleration● Accuracy●Repeatability
http://www.ifr.org/industrial-robots/products/
Robot programmingOnline vs. Offline
Online programming: programming using the actual robot, using e.g. the teach pendant.+ What you see is what you get- Requires access to the robot
Offline programming: programming using simulation software or programming code manually.+ No physical access to the robot required+ Faster to create robot paths+ Can try out a lot of things- Need to deploy to “real world”
Robot Simulation
Offline programming tool
Used for designing the cell
Behaves as a real robot
Tryout different configurations
Generate robot programs
Robot SystemWhat is included?
Control and power
Feedback
Teach pendantUser interface
Controller
Manipulator
Robot System
Robot SystemExtended view
Control and power
Feedback
Teach pendantUser interface
Sensors
Rotary units / Workpiece positioner
End-effector / Tool / Gripper
Cell-PC
Communication with external IT-systems
Controller
Manipulator
PLC
A complex system;- Difficult to get an
overview- Lots of engineering
involved
How to buy a robot?
● Most robots are sold through a tier business model● Robot manufacturer● System integrator● End user
● System integrator● Buys the robot from the manufacturer● Builds a system that contains the robot● Installs the robot system at the end user
“Naked robot”
Engineering of tools and peripheral equipment
Programming (Robot/PLC)
Productive operation
Maintenance & Service
System integration and test (FAT/SAT)
●Decreased cost enabled by● Improved motion control● Improved simulation technology● Improved design criteria●Higher volume●New concepts
●Drive-train is dominating cost● 40-80% of direct material cost●Cost effective drive-train technology is key● Standardize/modularize to get higher volumes
0
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1 2 3Nor
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Generation
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5
10
1 2 3
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Three generations of “same” manipulator
BackgroundPrice pressure effects and robustness
Trends for the future• Control system: Faster, more functionality, higher
adaptivity, “Plug and produce”
• Manipulator: Higher number of variants, more “gentle” robots, light-weight, more joints
• Sensors: 2D vision as a “standard” component, 3D scanners, force control, tactile sensing
• System: More adaptive, AI techniques, connectivity, modularization, more flexibility
• Simulation and software: Integration of online and offline tools, pre-generated programs, absolute accuracy, higher performance
Conventional industrial robots Collaborative industrial robots
absolute separation of robot and human workspaces
complete union of robot and human
workspaces
Discrete safety No HRC
Safety controllers Limited HRC
Harmless manipulators Full HRC
Evolution of safety conceptsNew types of safety systems
Human strengths• Cognition• Reaction• Adaptation• Improvisation
Robot strengths• Force• Repeatability• Quality
Current trends within robot developmentHuman robot collaboration
SafetyRegulations
PurposeThe directive, which is about product safety, means that safety must be integrated in the product in all phases, from design to usage.
In short the following three step principle should be applied:
1, Design to ensure safety2, Protect the user from all dangerous parts/components3, Warn the user of all remaining risks
One way of ensuring safety in a product is to map all possible (foreseeable) risks, their root-cause, effects, and the measures taken to avoid the risks.
“European machine directive”Maskindirektivet is included in Swedish law through AFS 1994:48
SafetyInner and outer safety
Outer Safety- Safety relays / sensors- Light beams / light curtains- Physical fences/walls
Inner safety- Three position “hold-to-run” device- Reduced speed- Training!!!
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Collaborate Robot Market Predictions
The collaborative robotics market is expected to exceed US$3.1 billion by 2020**
** https://robotenomics.com/2016/01/11/the-facts-about-co-bot-robot-sales/
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
700000
800000
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
Forecast cobot yearly sales and average price ($)*
Average Price Annual Sales
These numbers represent potential “fenceless” installations of robots. How many are actually “Collaborative”?
* Data from Barclays Equity Research
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ABB YuMi
●Human-like reach● A very compact solution● Fits in spaces designed for
manual assembly
● 7 axes per arm enable re-orientation in tight spaces● Elbow can move independent from wrist● Components can be stored on different levels for high cell
density● Can work below and above shelves
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New Challenges
Robot automation Manual assemblyYuMi target
New challengesOpen world Perception and adopting to changesNew users Ease of useShort product life-cycle High flexibility requirementsDifficult application New ways to teach the robot the task
FP7 ROSETTAROSETTA develops “human-centric” technology for industrial robots that will not only appear
more human-like, but also cooperate with workers in ways that are safe and perceived as natural. Such robots will be programmed in an intuitive and efficient manner, making it easier to adapt them to new tasks when a production line is changed to manufacture a new product.
Project consortiumABB AB (Sweden, Coordinator)ABB Corporate Research (Germany)DYNAmore GmbH (Germany)Fraunhofer IPA (Germany)K.U. Leuven (Belgium)Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (Germany)Lund University (Sweden)Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
FP7 ROSETTA
Intuitive ways of instructing the robot• Task-level instruction• Skill and knowledge representation
Robot control• Sensor integration• Dual-arm assembly
Learning• Skill-based architectures• Semantic acquisition and interpretation
Safety• Physical human-robot interaction• Workspace supervision
H2020 SARAFunThe SARAFun project has been formed to enable a non-expert user to integrate a new bi-manual assembly task on a robot in less than a day. This will be accomplished by augmenting the robot with cutting edge sensory and cognitive abilities as well as reasoning abilities required to plan and execute an assembly task.
ABB Sweden
Royal Institute of technology
Lund University
Centre for Research and Technology Hellas
Bielefeld University
TECNALIA
H2020 SARAFun
Video from: Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas
Approach• Physical setup• Learning from
observation• Reasoning and virtual
environment• Learning by doing• Production
Research Areas• Observe human
assembly• 3D Vision• Tactile sensors in hand• Physical human robot
interaction• Shared knowledge
repository• Intelligent grasp and
manipulation control
Traditional Domains are Blurred
Industrial robots (4 – 7 axes)
Mobile domestic & security robots
(2 - 4 axes)
Advanced service robots (4+ axes)and humanoids
New players, e. g. Honda, Toyota, Sony
Adapt to factory. Share methods.
New playerse.g. Microsoft
Adapt toreal world
Share components, software & methods
Discussion● Ethical / Moral aspects of robotics/automation● “Job killers”
● The robot is a tool, use it as such● Safety is key in all automation investments – consider this early!● Do all the groundwork before the investment; measure, map,
consider different options; , remember automated/digitized cr*p is still cr*p
● Make sure to streamline the bottleneck of a line or sequence of operations
● Investigate several solutions and pursue the one that seems less complicated – Black box solutions always get more costly and discourage people from using the technology
● The cost of the robot is typically just 1/3 of the total cost of an installation
Conclusions
●Exciting times in Robotics!
●New robots exhibit the notion of an “intelligent robot”
● There is a lot of research ongoing within academia and results are promising, however, results need to be verified and adapted for industrial use (performance, generalization, platform dependencies, hard coded parts, reliability, etc.)
●Next step will be to incorporate intelligence in the robot and the interaction modes between human and robot
● This new type of robot can be a way forward for European manufacturing industries to invest in flexible robot automation
