Potential users

The potential users can be any company small or large that has the need to deploy mobile robots. It is especially useful for companies that are engaged in assembly operations and requires material transfer from warehouse to assembly stations.

Benefits for the users

Mobile manipulators collaborating in such use cases will allow the deployment of robotics in manufacturing operations with unlimited reach. The onboard and external sensing systems with the ability of mobile manipulation enable the realization of autonomous and agile manufacturing that can cope with variability in the manufacturing processes and provide extensive flexibility in assembly operations.

Innovation

This demonstration will showcase the capabilities of mobile manipulators in work places shared by humans. The mobile manipulator will be able to assist in logistics of different tasks being performed in the work cell by navigating to the pick points of different parts, picking and kitting, and dropping the parts to the designated drop points. Accurate localization of the robot in an indoor working environment is fundamental for precise navigation and manipulation. The platform which will be used for the demonstration is KUKA KMR mobile robot equipped with KUKA LBR iiwa collaborative manipulator. KMR robot localizes itself by fusing sensory information from the wheel encoders and laser scanners alongside sensor fusion of UWB tags and beacons. Mobile manipulator movements are planned with obstacle avoidance by solving a numeric optimization problem which takes into account of a continuously updated digital representation of the environment.

Risks and limitations

A thorough functional safety analysis is required before deployment. The demonstrator is made on KUKA KMR iiwa.

Technology readiness level

5

Sectors of application

Manufacturing, .

Potential sectors of application

medical sector, service sector and food sector can also deploy this technology with necessary constraints

Hardware / Software

Hardware:

KUKA iiwa KMP200 omnimove

Robotiq 3 Finger Gripper

External PC

Software:

KUKA sunrise

ROS/ROS2