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A SMART robot in any shop floor

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31.03.2008

New devices for robots for use in small and medium-sized enterprises:

- flexible 3D localization of workpieces
- autonomous grasp planning
- processing without programming
- collision avoidance by automatic reduction of speed and change of movement

The EU project SMErobot presents new features for using robots in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These robots must live in a dynamic environment: the tasks can change very frequently, the devices involved in each task can be different, and the working area can be shared with human beings.

The following innovations will be demonstrated at AUTOMATICA 2008 by a grasp and transfer application which is typical for a multitude of manufacturing tasks such as machine tending or workpiece handling.

Grasp planning and bin picking

The robot for SMEs is capable of 3D localization of workpieces that are randomly positioned and oriented inside a bin and of planning how to grasp them.

Plug and Produce

Thanks to a new integrated system, the user is able to pick out the required process, enter the specific process data and start the process. No programming is required.

Intelligent collision avoidance and run-time robot trajectory modification
Based on an integrated "Time Of Light" vision system, the robot for SMEs is able to reduce its speed if the risk of collision is low, to modify the current trajectory if the risk level increases, or definitively to stop its motion if a human being is too close to the robot.

* Responsible contact person:
Luca Lachello / COMAU Robotics
Phone: +39 011 0045541
Fax: +39 011 0045580
E-mail: luca.lachello@comau.com

* Substitute contact person:
Gian Paolo Gerio / COMAU Robotics
Phone: +39 011 0045460
Fax: +39 011 0045580
E-mail: gerio@comau.com

Hubert Grosser | Source: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
Further information: www.smerobot.org

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