How Cobots make my day-to-day work easier

The challenge you are facing

Exhausting, monotone and repetitive work can decrease the motivation in everyday life. These kinds of works can be done easily by a so-called collaborative robot or “Cobot”. The evnvironment, dirty, loud or else doesn´t bother the cobot. It is working together with a corresponding employee.  The human prepares certain work steps for the colleague robot, which then carries out the pre-programmed work assigned to it. This reduces the workload of the corresponding employee, giving him or her more time for more complex as well as artistic activities.

Here we show our demonstrator using a Cobot form the danish company „Universal Robots“ to show exemplary the quality control of a production line.

The Cobot needs a short training period, is simply operated and there is no programming knowledge required. The appropriate training is carried out by means of a touch panel or touch pen.

Another advantage is its compact size. Unlike industrial robots, the cobot does not require a closed-off area in the form of a cage to prevent human injury. Not only does the cobot have a rounded and edge-free appearance, but it is also equipped with various sensors that enable it to detect and react to resistance within its range of motion; up to and including an emergency stop so that any trapped limbs are not damaged.

In addition, the cobot is also much less expensive than a standard industrial robot. A variety of different types of cobots, which can lift different maximum weights, as well as a wide range of gripping tools, round off the functionality of the cobot.

Technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Cobot, robot

Where can you access this demonstrator?
The demonstrator can be tested directly at the company and be easily integrated into the existing infrastructure. This way, companies see directly the benefits of digitization in a low-threshold way and train their employees on modern technologies.

Assembly by means of human-machine interaction

The challenge you are facing  
Assembly in companies and production facilities is essential. Especially where there is a frequent change in production, the assembly instructions should be as simple and understandable as possible, not least for the new employees, for example, to make training easier.

Solution 
The special feature of this technology is the combination of visual assistance and the possibility of going through the various inspection and assembly steps by means of voice control. This leaves the user's hands free and he can concentrate fully on the production steps. Furthermore, appropriate communication with the user is also possible. Queries or requests for repetition of the instructions are therefore very easy to manage.

In addition, the error rate is minimized, since only certain commands can be named. This also speeds up the production process. It also facilitates the training of new employees or new tasks.

Technologies: Artificial  Intelligence,  human-machine  interaction,  voice  recognition, LASER projection 

How does it work?  
The demonstrator shown in the roadshow shows the assembly of the devil's knot with the help of KIM. KIM is an acronym for the german sentence "AI in Medium-sized businesses" and offers the possibility to easily perform the assembly of the devil's knot by means of voice control and a LASER projection. By the voice control the hands are free and one can devote oneself completely to the assembly, in addition, to the examination of the individual parts. 

Furthermore, through the voice control, which can only perform certain commands, the error rate is kept low and productivity has thus also been optimized.

Where can you access this demonstrator?
The demonstrator can be tested directly at the company and be easily integrated into the existing infrastructure. This way, companies see directly the benefits of digitization in a low-threshold way and train their employees on modern technologies.

Digital help for everyone

Hololens and augmented reality can be used to simplify the assembly of various products; virtual worlds are superimposed on the real ones to make a wide range of information available. By using augmented reality applications (AR application), additional information can be accessed from predefined objects with the help of a tablet and its camera.

The ability to combine the virtual world with the real world makes much more information available in a clear way, while leaving the hands free for manual work.    

Furthermore, when using an AR application implemented with a tablet, some non-obvious information from the real world is supplemented by means of camera. Additionally, the tablet's camera can call up more detailed information of a production product or step. 

Technologies: Artificial intelligence, augmented reality / virtual reality 

Where can you access this demonstrator?
The demonstrator can be tested directly at the company and be easily integrated into the existing infrastructure. This way, companies see directly the benefits of digitization in a low-threshold way and train their employees on modern technologies.

Robotic automation for custom LASER engraving and cutting

Individually created products are becoming increasingly popular, which raises the question for production companies of how to process a large number of orders quickly and easily. This can be accomplished with the help of a robot-based software solution. The hardware is prepared once for each production part, therefore the production worker only has to carry out a few steps for an individual product part in order to manufacture it. That way, production time optimization can be achieved. The Roadwhow uses the example of an individually engraved piece of wood to show how such optimization is achieved. With the help of a Poka-Yoke board, the orientation and position of the individual parts is predefined in order to reduce the error rate. The working process is now started with minimal information effort by means of QR code or database cross-linking, as there is a smart pre-programming. In addition, within this predefined information of the engraving area, the personalized text or the individual logo can be quickly and easily exchanged by software without any problems. The LASER engraving or LASER cut are extremely precise and fast techniques of opto-mechanics.

Technologies: Software robotics, database, LASER cutting, LASER engraving 

Where can you access this demonstrator?
The demonstrator can be tested directly at the company and be easily integrated into the existing infrastructure. This way, companies see directly the benefits of digitization in a low-threshold way and train their employees on modern technologies.

Traceability of products and control of the functioning and maintenance information of a device

The challenge: The roadshow includes a product identifier that detects various failures during production. For example, a drop in pressure can cause malfunctions in pneumatically controlled elements. In addition to pneumatic data, energy values and data are also displayed, enabling an analysis of the machine's state. Preventive measures based on this data can reduce failures or maintenance intervals. RFID tags are attached to small parts to provide job and material condition information. The shadow board also enables visual pre-picking and helps identify missing individual parts. 
The advantages and possibilities of this technology are its flexibility. Additional readout of energy data and values can be easily retrofitted to conventional machines and help with maintenance. This data provides information for energy savings so that ISO 50001 can be addressed. The traceability of small parts, essential for allocation in the production order, is realized with the help of RFID technology.  

Where can you access this demonstrator?
The demonstrator can be tested directly at the company and be easily integrated into the existing infrastructure. This way, companies see directly the benefits of digitization in a low-threshold way and train their employees on modern technologies.

Computer aided manufacturing technology

A CNC milling machine can perform complex tasks in the shortest possible time. With its help, metal and wood workpieces can be manufactured economically, precisely, quickly and always with the same quality. Especially in metal and wood processing, these features are of great demand to enable the manufacturing and completion of products. 

Due to the four-axis technology of a CNC milling machine, time-consuming and accurate adjustment and reclamping work is no longer necessary. The workpiece only needs to be calibrated once per workpiece, and predefined and programmed steps enable fast production changes. Different milling and drilling heads can be changed automatically and the machine can also mill, engrave, cut and drill. 

Thanks to the automatic tool change, different milling and drilling heads can be used quickly and precisely in one production step. This multitool is primarily used in woodworking and metalworking companies to quickly and precisely manufacture various products. 

Where can you access this demonstrator?
Hub Cottbus. At the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg
BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg; Siemens-Halske-Ring 14; 03046 Cottbus

Hub Wildau. At the University of Applied Sciences Wildau
Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau; Hochschulring 1; 15745 Wildau

Use of a worker assistance system to provide information

A worker assistance system supports workers to complete tasks correctly and tap into the potential of digitization. At the heart of such digital assistance systems is a software solution that displays all the required information of the work steps while documenting the entire process.  

Therefor, preparation time can be reduced and digitally recorded, documentation effort is reduced and training is simplified. These systems provide the basis for process optimization, quality management, employee support for infrequent or flexible tasks or for routine tasks, e.g. recording relevant data, reporting and recording errors, training new employees - the ideal basis for standardized work instructions from batch size 1 to complex task areas. This gives it a clear advantage over hardware-bound pick-by-light systems (or pick-by-voice, pick-by-scan or pick-by-vision). The purely software-operated system can be used more flexibly and independently of the workstation, especially in modern, variant-rich production, but can be connected to the desired hardware via appropriate interfaces. 

The worker assistance system only requires a commercially available PC with web connection and corresponding smart devices for the employees. 

Where can you access this demonstrator?
Hub Wildau. At the University of Applied Sciences Wildau
Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau; Hochschulring 1; 15745 Wildau

Automated, intelligent networking of machines in modern production systems

Modern production systems are characterized by automated, intelligent networking of machines and processes through the use of information and communication technologies. 

Manufacturing Execution Systems (SME) are also used to map the value stream of a company in real time. This feature is not possible in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). The requirement for process capability, now a verification obligation, results in the need for the manufacturer to align all value-adding processes with the process result and with the customer. MES process control systems are defined by a direct link to the distribution system of the process, enabling control of production in real time. The potential gain from the implementation of MES matches to the need for immediate, up-to-date online information. This allows users of the MES computer system to make the best possible decisions about the use of inventory, operating resources and the workforce. 

Other benefits include: Reduction in manufacturing cycle time, data entry time, work-in-process inventory, lead time and paper use. In addition, customer service is improved and it becomes possible to react better to upredictable events.  
SME systems hold especially for large companies a great advantage. In advance, the potential savings should be compared to the acquisition costs.  

Where can you access this demonstrator?
The demonstrator can be tested directly at the company and be easily integrated into the existing infrastructure. This way, companies see directly the benefits of digitization in a low-threshold way and train their employees on modern technologies.