The planning and validation of robotic paths and sequencing is an important but tedious process. This developer hopes to change that.
The Boston-based robot-simulation developer real-time Robotics has started Resolver, a new cloud-based solution that drastically accelerates the design and provision of robotic care cells.
Robot scout planning is a complex, whereby most work cells use several robots that need tedious work to create interference zones and locking signals that ensure that there are no collisions during production.
The manual validation of the mechanical design, the planning of robotic paths, the determination of sequencing to achieve optimal cycle time targets, and the define of these locks can need a team for a single project of more than 100,000 hours. This complexity often leads to errors in achieving the cycle time goals and leads to significant reworking.
Resolver works by selecting and testing potential solutions and ten to thousands of times faster than a human programmer. The aim is to quickly create optimal, collision -free movement paths and locking signals. This can accelerate the working base design from months to days.
The company says that resolver is essentially infinitely scalable robot simulation performance, with which the time required for many tasks can be shortened, including:
- Create precise suggestions
- Design optimal tools and devices
- Creating optimal robot programs
- Adaptation to AS-built deviations during commissioning
- Evaluation and minimizing the effects of changes in product design
“However, it is generally known that the future of the production industry is in robotics and automation. However, the future is slowly materialized due to the outdated, time-consuming and inefficient processes in the industry,” said Peter Howard, CEO of real-time robotics. “Only a few manufacturers have the time or the resources that are necessary to create real changes. We have developed resolver to help manufacturers improve their technology, programming and production processes- and achieve a higher value from their current and future investments in robot.”
How it works
The Realtime Robotics resolver supports the path planning with any number of robots in any phase of the workflow and generates results in minutes. The solution requires minimal onboarding and currently enables users to work directly within Siemens process. The support of other leading simulation platforms is introduced later in the year, so that teams can work directly within their preferred simulation tool.
“Resolver has the computing power to generate better movement paths as a human programmer in both simple and complex work cells,” added Howard. “This is because Resolver searches the possibilities that are open to robotic arms, while people tend to stay in the possibilities of the human arm.”
Users upload the WorkCell information, configure their sequencing and conditions and carry out a run. Resolver creates movement paths in minutes – including locks. The longer resolver runs, the more options it offers the cycle time until the desired result is achieved. The paths and locks can then easily be imported into the simulation software for validation and operation.
Apart from the determination of optimal movement plans and locks, resolver can help design the fixture, the accessibility validation, target sequencing and the robot assignment assignment. It can also be used to design the paths and locks for an entire production line from the start.