Electricity and Control November 2020

SENSORS + SWITCHES

Controlling cobots on the production line

The ongoing development of small, powerful and flexibly positionable robots that can collaborate with people is progressing fast. SICK Automation reports on the use of sensors as a key component in these developments.

S ensor intelligence plays an important role in orienting and positioning mobile collaborative robots (cobots), and in reliably monitoring their surroundings. Light- weight cobots that are transported to their working position on automated guided vehicles and then autonomously po- sition themselves are the newest development in this area. These cobots are making ‘fence-free’ and flexible work in- creasingly a standard feature in robotics and provide a new foundation for functional automation. Smaller and more flexible systems now make industrial robots suitable for a wider range of applications. In particu- lar, mobile cobots mounted on automated guided vehicles and weighing no more than about 15 kg are attracting inter- est. SICK Automation’s range of sensor solutions for robots and mobile platforms are being used in this area – enabling robot vision, safe robotics, end-of-arm tooling, position feedback, environment perception, and safety. Cobots and mobile platforms unite The advantages of collaborative robots are clear. They are especially suitable for flexible applications and can be in- stalled on mobile platforms, temporarily positioned in pro-

duction lines, or permanently integrated into the production process. On mobile platforms, cobots offer an additional boost to productivity because this mobility reduces the time required to set them up at their workstations. Sensor solutions from SICK are used to move a cobot to its workstation and to position it reliably. The cobot is com- bined with an automated guided vehicle system to create a mobile unit that can autonomously find its safe position and independently carry out any necessary base corrections with the aid of a robot guidance system. Robot guidance systems such as the PLR, or other robot vision systems from SICK, are especially suitable for this task. As they move into position, and sometimes need to travel through narrow passageways in production, the mobile platforms with cobots must pose no risk to people or machines. Sensor and system solutions from SICK help to protect people, plant and equipment from collisions, and at the same time collect all the data needed for the dependable and flexible navigation for the automated guided vehicles. These vehicles can manage high speeds even when going around curves due to the switching of protective fields.

Mobile cobots mounted on automated guided vehicle systems are attracting interest in industry.

20 Electricity + Control NOVEMBER 2020