Industrial robots are increasingly permeating the shopfloor across industries, from automotive to pharmaceutical to packaging. Robots today see a wide range of applications such as pick n’ place, machine tending, dispensing etc. even though unresolved barriers exist for large scale adoption of flexible automation solutions. User Experience has remained a significant barrier despite technology progressing by leaps and bounds. Innovative ways of putting the user at the center of the experience and reducing the learning curve, will make it easier to use robots.
Teaching the robot
A fundamental step in using a robot is to “teach the robot”. This process invariably involves an operator using an interface to program the robot to specific points in the operation needed. Hence programming knowledge is often a pre-requisite for anyone trying to maneuver a robot. In addition to this, the time taken to train the personnel is long and laborious. It is not really intended for the average shopfloor worker. And when you consider that programming itself in most cases involves complex interfaces, unfriendly gadgets and dated technologies, the shopfloor operator deals with a steep learning curve and an inadequate user experience.
Simplifying the User Experience
At Systemantics, we took a step back and asked ourselves what we could do to address this problem. The result? The use of a standard tablet and android app with the functionality of programming the robot through a graphical user interface. No more specialized coding skills required to program the robot, no more tethering of a pendant to every robot, no more wires and no more clutter. Not just that, we decoupled operator start/stop/emergency stop buttons to make the robot interface far cleaner. What’s more, the technology is far more affordable compared to a proprietary pendant. What’s more, the training time to teach personnel becomes far more affordable and easier since the interface is designed for the average shopfloor worker.
The tablet is connected to the robot via bluetooth. The dashboard has been designed with ease of use as top priority from the user’s perspective. Imagine controlling and teaching the robot with simple arrows and commands to do tasks, it’s as easy as that! Come to think of it, It’s actually like playing a game. The dashboard gives a frame of reference to the user regarding points being taught. This helps in overall monitoring and quality of teaching.
Apart from teaching, the tablet can be used to test, configure and supervise the robot.
In Conclusion
Never before has programming a robot become easier! It’s a game changer! Systemantics is changing the paradigm of robotics, both our products, the Asystr 400 (4 axis robot) and the flagship Asystr 600 (6 axis robot) are programmed using a simple android tab. Get in touch with us to know more.
