WIRE COBOTS is funded by the ESMERA –European SMEs for Robotic Applications project (H2020-ICT 780265), which aims to boost robotic innovation in the European small and medium-sized enterprises.
The WIRE COBOTS project is a coordinated partnership of the Italian SME Caretta Srl and the Smart Mini Factory Laboratory of the Free University of Bozen.
It aims at developing a human-centered assembling system for wire harness assembly in which a collaborative robot assists the worker during the heaviest and stressful operations to increase ergonomics and efficiency.
In the first project phase a solution has been outlined to reach such a goal. The manual assembly workstation has been re-designed by introducing: a collaborative robot supporting the worker in the tapings (the heaviest task in terms of the biomechanical overload); and an adjustable workstation that fits the operator’s needs.
The identification of the manual activities that have the potential to be performed in collaboration with a robot is made by means of the algorithm developed by Unibz team.
It provides a preliminary analysis of the feasibility of converting a manual workstation into a collaborative one based on considerations related to operator’s safety and ergonomics, product and/or process quality and production efficiency.
The aim of the phase 2 of the WIRE COBOTS project is the development and industrialization of collaborative system to be used not only for wire taping, but also screwing, small assemblies, light pick & place, polishing, gluing.
The result will be an innovative modular and compact workstation with an on-board cobot, that can be easily and quickly reprogrammed. It is particularly suitable for high-variability tasks, as the ones related to the manufacturing sector.
The new prototype offers new potential in terms of process automation by including the following benefits:
Quick and easy-to-program system even for users with no programming experience, which let to quickly save and recall different tasks.