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Sensitive lightweight-construction robot enables even simpler operation

Ways in which man can cooperate with pneumatic lightweight-construction robot have already been shown by Festo, with the Bionic Cobot, during last year. This year, the engineers are presenting the Bionic Learning Network – along with other future concepts – as a working environment pointing to the future of collaboration between man and machine. The aim is to expand the abilities of the Bionic Cobot: by simple operation, position feedback and voice control, and in combination with machine learning and artificial intelligence, it should be possible for man and robot to work together intuitively and efficiently.

It is in monotonous or dangerous activities in particular that robots can be put to use as assistance systems and take the load off persons. The strict separation between the working areas of man and robot is increasingly dissolving; a collaborative working space is developing. The Bionic Cobot from Festo, because of its natural movement pattern and the yielding pneumatics used, is said to be nothing less than predestined for zero-risk man/robot collaboration.

Artificial intelligence for efficient collaboration

The Bionic Cobot is an important element in the future-oriented working environment presented by Festo this year. The robot is connected to IT systems from the artificial intelligence field. These are apparently capable of understanding and interpreting questions spoken by humans, so the worker can cooperate intuitively with the robot. According to Festo, this learning system can also process and interconnect images from the connected camera systems as well as positional data and other information from other equipment. This all makes up a so-called semantic map, which grows continuously by machine learning. Next, the system allocates the tasks sensibly to the robots and to the other tools so as to provide optimum support for the human during his work.

In its movement patterns, the Bionic Cobot takes his principles from the human arm, from the shoulder, the upper arm, elbow, ulna and radius, and on to the hand. Here it makes use of the natural mechanical effect of the biceps and triceps muscles, that is, the efficient interplay of flexors and extensors, and similarly in all its joints. It can therefore, like its biological model, carry out very sensitive movements.

Pneumatic lightweight-construction robot with human motion sequences

Depending on requirements, the controlled movements of the Bionic Cobot can be powerful and dynamic, but also sensitive and yielding, so that the system does not endanger the human, even in the event of a collision. This is enabled by the pneumatic automation platform “Festo Motion Terminal”, which combines, in the smallest of spaces, highly precise mechanics and sensor technology as well as complex control and measurement technology.

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Depending on the task, various grippers can be fitted to the Bionic Cobot. It is operated intuitively via a specially developed graphical user interface: with a tablet, the user can very easily teach and parameterise the actions to be carried out. The defined working steps can then be placed, in any desired order, on the time-bar using drag-and-drop. At the same time, the entire motion sequence is visualised virtually and simulated. The interface between the tablet and the Festo Motion Terminal is the open source platform ROS (Robot Operating System), where the path planning for the kinematics is worked out. Festo is exhibiting at Automatica in Hall A5, Booths 111 and 310.

It was Festo who brought the Bionic Learning Network into life more than ten years ago, an event closely meshing with the innovation processes in the firm. In cooperation with students, noted universities, institutes and development firms, Festo uses a network to support projects, experimenters and standard-bearers in technology. The aim, with the help of bionics, is to identify new technologies and to realise them in industrial automation.

This article was first published in Maschinenmarkt International.

* Further information: Messe München GmbH, Ivanka Stefanova-Achter, PR Manager, Tel. (0 89) 94 92 14 88, Ivanka.Stefanova-Achter@messe-muenchen.de

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