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INTERBOT

Development of an HMI interface for robot programming using verbal commands and machine vision.

Field
Regional
Date
01/07/2021 - 31/07/2022
Industry
  • Manufactura
Budget
215000
Funded by

IVACE

PROJECT INFORMATION

DESCRIPTION

The trend towards the manufacture of a wide variety of products in ever smaller batch sizes (product customization) implies the need to very frequently readjust the means of production to each type of product. Although robots are very flexible equipment, their efficiency decreases if they need to be continuously reprogrammed to adapt to the specifications of each new product.Generally speaking, robot programming has become much simpler in recent years. Manufacturers have developed graphical tools and gestural methods that facilitate the generation of programs on any type of robot. Obviously, each program is valid in a specific environment and for a specific task, so reprogramming is required if either circumstance changes. The development of interfaces that allow the rapid reprogramming of a robot, and as far as possible in an almost intuitive way by non-specialized personnel, is an option that is being approached from various perspectives. This type of interface is especially important in environments where human presence is important, such as manufacturing industries.
Therefore, the objective of the project is to develop a collaborative robot programming interface, based on the recognition and execution of verbal commands by the robot in an industrial environment, from which a programming sequence of movements can be generated and recorded in the controller. This process will be supported by an artificial vision system that will facilitate the fine tuning of movements and the identification of targets (parts/elements). The developed system will integrate sufficient safety elements so that there is no risk of undue collisions or unexpected accidents. As a use case it would be applied to a process of searching, selecting and boxing parts of different size and geometry, randomly arranged on a moving conveyor belt. This use case is significant in several industries in different industrial sectors, including the Wood-Furniture and Metalworking sectors.

The trend towards the manufacture of a wide variety of products in ever smaller batch sizes (product customization) implies the need to very frequently readjust the production means to each type of product. Although robots are very flexible equipment, their efficiency decreases if they need to be continuously reprogrammed to adapt to the specifications of each new product.Generally speaking, robot programming has become much simpler in recent years. Manufacturers have developed graphical tools and gestural methods that facilitate the generation of programs on any type of robot. Obviously, each program is valid in a specific environment and for a specific task, so reprogramming is required if either circumstance changes. The development of interfaces that allow the rapid reprogramming of a robot, and as far as possible in an almost intuitive way by non-specialized personnel, is an option that is being approached from various perspectives. This type of interface is especially important in environments where human presence is important, such as manufacturing industries.
Therefore, the objective of the project is to develop a collaborative robot programming interface, based on the recognition and execution of verbal commands by the robot in an industrial environment, from which a programming sequence of movements can be generated and recorded in the controller. This process will be supported by an artificial vision system that will facilitate the fine tuning of movements and the identification of targets (parts/elements). The developed system will integrate sufficient safety elements so that there is no risk of undue collisions or unexpected accidents. As a use case it would be applied to a process of searching, selecting and boxing parts of different size and geometry, randomly arranged on a moving conveyor belt. This use case is significant in several industries in different industrial sectors, including the Wood-Furniture and Metalworking sectors.

Impact

The results of the project are:
- A voice recognition system (words and phrases), which can interact with the control of a robot even in industrial environments.
- A process of programming and repeating movements in the robot controller from verbal commands.
- A robust safety system, integrated into the programming process, that prevents damage to both equipment and people.
- An intuitive interface that integrates previous developments and facilitates programming tasks.

Contact information

José Luis Sánchez Asins
Industrial Development Manager

AIDIMME

Technological capabilities

Robotics
Task automation