Robot-human interactivity success crucial for automation

The operation of an automated machine or system must be as simple and convenient as possible due to a number of productivity reasons. The interfaces of a system must quickly and clearly show how efficiently work can be performed. This is true both of mechanical interfaces and the communication systems between the operator and machine. The industry trend here is towards an intuitive man-machine interaction.

In the last four years alone, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and industrial companies have invested over AU$250 million in 'Key projects on man-machine interaction'. This figure does not include research and development expenditure by companies for their own related development projects.

On top of that, worldwide robot manufacturers have made the change in path programming. In addition to the known software tools, new tools featuring increased functions in control units are being developed on a regular basis. One of the typical features of simplified man-machine interaction is that only individual path points of a required robot path need be entered in principle. The control unit then generates this path automatically.

Joachim Rohwedder, Chairman of the Robotics and Automation Association in the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), on the trend towards automatic production assistants: "Advances in control engineering, robot safety and man-machine interfaces will shortly lead to robots which move around with the worker and perform different tasks."

Technically speaking, ease of operation is far more than just a clear presentation or a comprehensible arrangement of operating controls. Since highly qualified personnel cannot always be used to operate a machine due to cost or even safety reasons, input masks of control units or user interfaces must be intuitively controllable and, if possible, 'error resistant'. For example, clear pictograms or icon-based menus help in the selection of the most important commands. Plausibility checks are also carried out during the ever-increasing use of dialogue input of 'intelligent' control units. User interfaces in which all relevant information is displayed on a screen proves helpful in this respect. Manufacturers are increasingly developing tools that can be used to generate separate masks and user interfaces. The idea here is to design all user interfaces as uniformly as possible in order to increase recognition and, thus, the level of acceptance. This is also regarded as being user friendly.

Close attention is now being paid to systems worker safety ('safe production') in which workers and robots work together in a cell. If the hitherto strict separation between man and machine can be eliminated, it will be possible to tap an entirely new rationalisation potential in production, according to the German-based Fraunhofer Institute for Production Engineering and Automation (IPA).

Cell concepts are without doubt of great benefit to users, as they give a high degree of flexibility thanks to the standardisation of subassemblies. Short product life cycles, rapidly changing requirements and smaller and smaller batch sizes are making it essential to have production and assembly cells that are designed with integration in mind right from the start. Robot manufacturers, their system integrators and above all systems constructors of assembly and handling technology, are now offering differentiated, standardised cells.

Automation is and will remain a key strategic factor in manufacturing success. The constant change in markets and production technology is making it virtually essential for automated systems to be reaction-capable, ie, highly flexible. How flexible production and assembly cells are in practice is initially a question of concept. It is important therefore that the user defines his task as precisely as possible, and that the systems constructor can then deliver the solutions to match.

Leading manufacturers in this field are now designing software that is so flexible that it enables the integration into a single system of as wide a spectrum of hardware as possible.

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