03-06/06/2014 - SMErobotics at AUTOMATICA 2014: Robotic colleague that learns and thinks for itself (Germany)

Intelligent, cost-effective robot systems for small and medium-sized productions are designed to be intuitive and easy to operate, to learn interactively from humans and to adapt to variable production processes which are typical for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is the vision behind the European research project SMErobotics, which is coordinated by Fraunhofer IPA. The goal is to develop technologies for adaptive robots that are easy to use, especially by small and medium-sized businesses and their agile productions. At a joint stand at the AUTOMATICA 2014 trade fair, SMErobotics will present initial prototypes from the project in various live demonstrations.

“Optimize your production”: This year’s motto for the AUTOMATICA international trade fair for automation and mechatronics applies especially to small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, which, if they are to remain competitive, above all require adaptable, cost-effective automation solutions for small production runs and variable product cycles. SMErobotics creates the technological basis for intelligent, economic robotics solutions that are quick to install and easy to use. A follow-up to the successful predecessor project SMErobot, the European research initiative develops new modular, adaptive and interactive user concepts and control systems for the efficient deployment of robots. The initiative brings together leading European robot manufacturers and research institutes.

Intelligent robot systems

The goal behind SMErobotics is to augment state-of-the-art industrial robots with cognitive capabilities. The focus, therefore, is to develop novel software functions to allow robot programs to be generated from existing production data. If any data are missing or incomplete, the aim is for the robot to obtain them from the worker. “An intelligent robot system doesn’t simply follow a once-given instruction. Instead, it learns intuitively and efficiently from its human operator - continuously improving its performance in collaboration with the worker,” says SMErobotics coordinator Martin Hägele from Fraunhofer IPA. Various exhibits will be presented in live demonstrations at AUTOMATICA 2014.

Further information:
https://cordis.europa.eu