INESC TEC participated in the Science and Technology Week of 2019, promoted at a national level by Ciência Viva, offering a visit to the Industry and Innovation Laboratory (iiLab) on 29 November. The event, which was targeted towards the general public and that was conducted by researchers Cláudia Rocha and Narciso Sobral, was attended by children and adults who showed enthusiasm and curiosity for the robotics area.
The activities developed at iiLab seek primarily to automate repetitive and non-ergonomic tasks for the user, ensuring their safety and efficiency through technologies focused on industrial robotics.
During the visit, several systems were presented that are focused on the transport and cargo handling. Therefore, the technologies exhibited included autonomous tug vessels that mobilise cargo with the help of a transportation trolley, special mobile robots with different configurations in the way the material is transported, roller conveyors integrated with a mobile robot. Similarly, several integrated systems with collaborative and adaptable manipulators with different grippers were presented, among which a human-machine cooperative system for teaching and coordinating assembly tasks using augmented reality. Mobile robots and robotic manipulators operate in different applications such as internal logistics, storage, material transport between different points in production lines.
Among other matters, different areas of intervention of the laboratory were also addressed – agriculture and freight transport for outdoor –, the safety systems based on SICK laser sensors, the types of traction – differential, tricycle and omnidirectional – and their differentiating characteristics, the programming languages used in the front-end and back-end and the type of operation of mobile robots.
Simulation was also one of the topics highlighted during the visit to iiLab. It is a technique that uses a computer to copy the operation of a process or complete system, and can be seen as a virtualisation of a real system. It is usually used in the analysis of stochastic systems that operate continuously and in the prediction of the occurrence of certain events, with common applications in the design and operation of queuing and manufacturing systems, and in the management of inventory systems. A supply chain and a production line of plastic components were also presented in video format. First, an optimisation-simulation model was demonstrated, which tests the use of 3D printers in the production of maintenance parts. Later on, an example of a simulation model for an automobile plastic component manufacturer was shown. Both models allow the use of stochastic variables in order to increase their degree of realism of these and the performance indicators obtained.
The researchers mentioned in this news piece are associated with INESC TEC.
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