An ABB concept robot for industrial dual-arm assembly applications
To meet the agile production scenarios frequently found in the consumer electronics industry and increasingly in other market sectors, the proposed concept includes a flexible gripper, camera-based part location plus all the features that are well known from ABB's state-of-the-art robot controller, the IRC5. In addition, the robot is compact and intended to fit into spaces ergonomically designed for human workers. This allows the robot to be easily interchanged with a human coworker when the production order is changed or a new layout is required.
The robot prototypes come as portable dual-arm units with a controller that is integrated into the torso. They can be carried around easily and mounted into work stations with minimum installation requirements. Due to the intrinsic safety of the proposed robot solution, the requirements for performing a safety assessment of the installation are minimized. Normally, no safeguarding or enclosing of any kind is required, which allows for very fast installation, commissioning and relocation. Key technology features:
- Harmless robotic coworker for industrial assembly
- Human-like arms and body with integrated IRC5 controller
- Complements human labor with scalable automation
- Padded dual arms ensure safe productivity and flexibility
- Lightweight and easy to mount for fast deployment
- Agile motion based on industry-leading ABB robot technology
Today, the development is at a stage where several prototypes have left the research lab and are being tested in pilot applications, with more work required to reach a fully agile assembly scenario. Substantial parts of the remaining research work are being done in the FP7 project ROSETTA.