Context &
Concept
Current trends leaning towards mass customisation, where the demand of a high variety of products in small quantities has been constantly growing together with e-commerce services, do not facilitate a standard ad-hoc programming of manipulation tasks as they’d be impractical.
The project will address the necessity of manipulating multiple objects of different sizes, shapes and characteristics, facilitating the flexibility of manufacturing production lines, by introducing new and innovative gripper concepts and Artificial Intelligence learning techniques, able to continuously learn and adapt to the needs of the object and the task required.
HARTU will assist European manufacturing companies in moving towards Industry 5.0, also known as Collaborative Industry, by facilitating the interaction between humans, robotics, and AI systems in their production lines.
Context and Concept
Current trends leaning towards mass customisation, where the demand of a high variety of products in small quantities has been constantly growing together with e-commerce services, do not facilitate a standard ad-hoc programming of manipulation tasks as they would be impractical.
The project will address the necessity of manipulating multiple objects of different sizes, shapes and characteristics, facilitating the flexibility of manufacturing production lines, by introducing new and innovative gripper concepts and Artificial Intelligence learning techniques, able to continuously learn and adapt to the needs of the object and the task required.
HARTU will assist European manufacturing companies in moving towards Industry 5.0, also known as Collaborative Industry, by facilitating the interaction between humans, robotics, and AI systems in their production lines.
Use cases
Drag the slider to see the impacts of HARTU’s technologies in our case studies.
The project will focus on five use cases, three of which are base in the EU, one in Turkey and one in Taiwan. The use cases comprehend different industrial realities: automotive, consumer goods, hand tools, food and logistics.
Kitting, assembly and part delivery in the automotive sector
Company: TOFAS
In TOFAS, two case studies are being investigated:
Regarding the kitting and assembly process, currently TOFAS operates with 120 kitting areas where skilled workers prepare kits of products and assemble them.
At the assembly workstations, the kits consist of products with varying geometries, materials, and dimensions. The workers manually proceed to assemble the parts, primarily utilizing insertion and screwing techniques.
Regarding the part delivery operations, TOFAS handles the preparation of spare part deliveries for their dealers. Operators receive a list of parts that need to be retrieved from the warehouse to fulfill multiple orders for different dealers, pick the required elements and places them inside a large box. Then, in the preparation area, other operators are in charge of sorting those products by picking them up, identifying them and placing them in the corresponding box.
With HARTU’s technologies, kitting, assembly and part delivery processes could improve in productivity, reduce errors, and meet the high standards expected by the automotive industry.
Handling capabilities as enabler of mass customization in the consumer goods sector
Company: PHILIPS
The Philips factory operates assembly lines consisting of several robotic cells, each with one or several dedicated functions, that collectively shape the assembly process.
The fully automated shaver assembly lines at Philips in Drachten are state of the art from an automation perspective, run fast and have high efficiencies. Although the assembly line consists of flexible robots in modular assembly line concept, all solutions to overcome process stability challenges drastically reduce the flexibility of the line. For instance, the sequence of production steps cannot vary and the geometrical differences between the parts assembled can only be minor. As a result, the current production lines are developed to produce 1 to 3 different but very similar variants of the same type of product.
The initially proposed use cases are the pop-up trimmer and the drive train. Both products present a wide variation in part geometry and assembly sequence. Some parts are easier to handle while others are both complex to grasp and require complex handling for placement.
HARTU’s technologies could help going towards the current trends of mass customisation, where the standard ad-hoc programming of manipulation tasks it is impractical.
Packaging operations in food sector
Company: TECNOALIMENTI
The pilot will be organized in Italy in the context of fresh vegetables packing process.
Currently, all the products arrive directly to the processing area from the field in different size boxes and bins where it has just been harvested. The aim of the process is to sort the product coming from the fields (for dimension, quality, defects) and box it homogenously to meet market needs. The selection and manipulation of product is done by people operating on an industrial line (different for type of product).
This is a repetitive work where the products are handled and transferred piece by piece from the line into the packing boxes. This is costly and can lead to unhealthy working conditions and, above all, possible hygienic problems.
HARTU’s technologies will have to be able to recognise the different types of vegetables, understand whether they meet quality standards in terms of size and shape, and pick and place them without damaging them. Studies on coexistence with humans will be included.
Fixtureless assembly in hand tool manufacturing sector
Company: INFAR
INFAR, a hand tool manufacturer located in Taiwan, produces almost 25M wrenches, ratchet handles, and various types of accessories per year.
During manufacturing process, the most critical procedure is part assembly for completing an entire hand tool no matter a wrench or a ratchet handle.
At the moment, most assembly tasks are performed manually by human workers. They prepare components required for assembling a hand tool, apply glue on the inner perimeter of the ratchet by hand, start assembling components inside the ratchet and, finally, complete the assembly process in order to have the finished product.
HARTU technologies will facilitate automation, which is a big challenge due to the need for hand tool specific fixtures, dexterity and accurate motion planning.
Order preparation in logistics
Company: ULMA
ULMA is a technology provider of logistics solutions. In logistics, the manipulation of individual items for order preparation is still a challenge, and it is addressed by manual operations due to multiple reasons.
One of the primary reasons is the vast number of different references that need to be handled, making it infeasible to program each individual part. Additionally, the absence of ‘universal’ grasping tools capable of handling such a wide range of products further complicates the automation of this process.
Another factor is the relatively small number of items per order, making it less efficient to invest in complex automation solutions. Moreover, the variability in product characteristics, including sizes, geometries, materials, and flexibility, poses additional challenges for automation.
Despite these obstacles, the demand for high efficiency in logistics operations remains significant. Therefore, ULMA strives to find innovative solutions such as HARTU to address these challenges and optimize the order preparation process.
Kitting, assembly and part delivery in the automotive sector
Company: TOFAS
In TOFAS, two case studies are being investigated:
Regarding the kitting and assembly process, currently TOFAS operates with 120 kitting areas where skilled workers prepare kits of products and assemble them.
At the assembly workstations, the kits consist of products with varying geometries, materials, and dimensions. The workers manually proceed to assemble the parts, primarily utilizing insertion and screwing techniques.
Regarding the part delivery operations, TOFAS handles the preparation of spare part deliveries for their dealers. Operators receive a list of parts that need to be retrieved from the warehouse to fulfill multiple orders for different dealers, pick the required elements and places them inside a large box. Then, in the preparation area, other operators are in charge of sorting those products by picking them up, identifying them and placing them in the corresponding box.
With HARTU’s technologies, kitting, assembly and part delivery processes could improve in productivity, reduce errors, and meet the high standards expected by the automotive industry.
Company: PHILIPS
The Philips factory operates assembly lines consisting of several robotic cells, each with one or several dedicated functions, that collectively shape the assembly process.
The fully automated shaver assembly lines at Philips in Drachten are state of the art from an automation perspective, run fast and have high efficiencies. Although the assembly line consists of flexible robots in modular assembly line concept, all solutions to overcome process stability challenges drastically reduce the flexibility of the line. For instance, the sequence of production steps cannot vary and the geometrical differences between the parts assembled can only be minor. As a result, the current production lines are developed to produce 1 to 3 different but very similar variants of the same type of product.
The initially proposed use cases are the pop-up trimmer and the drive train. Both products present a wide variation in part geometry and assembly sequence. Some parts are easier to handle while others are both complex to grasp and require complex handling for placement.
HARTU’s technologies could help going towards the current trends of mass customisation, where the standard ad-hoc programming of manipulation tasks it is impractical.
Packaging operations in food sector
Company: TECNOALIMENTI
The pilot will be organized in Italy in the context of fresh vegetables packing process.
Currently, all the products arrive directly to the processing area from the field in different size boxes and bins where it has just been harvested. The aim of the process is to sort the product coming from the fields (for dimension, quality, defects) and box it homogenously to meet market needs. The selection and manipulation of product is done by people operating on an industrial line (different for type of product).
This is a repetitive work where the products are handled and transferred piece by piece from the line into the packing boxes. This is costly and can lead to unhealthy working conditions and, above all, possible hygienic problems.
HARTU’s technologies will have to be able to recognise the different types of vegetables, understand whether they meet quality standards in terms of size and shape, and pick and place them without damaging them. Studies on coexistence with humans will be included.
Fixtureless assembly in hand tool manufacturing sector
Company: INFAR
INFAR, a hand tool manufacturer located in Taiwan, produces almost 25M wrenches, ratchet handles, and various types of accessories per year.
During manufacturing process, the most critical procedure is part assembly for completing an entire hand tool no matter a wrench or a ratchet handle.
At the moment, most assembly tasks are performed manually by human workers. They prepare components required for assembling a hand tool, apply glue on the inner perimeter of the ratchet by hand, start assembling components inside the ratchet and, finally, complete the assembly process in order to have the finished product.
HARTU technologies will facilitate automation, which is a big challenge due to the need for hand tool specific fixtures, dexterity and accurate motion planning.
Order preparation in logistics
Company: ULMA
ULMA is a technology provider of logistics solutions. In logistics, the manipulation of individual items for order preparation is still a challenge, and it is addressed by manual operations due to multiple reasons.
One of the primary reasons is the vast number of different references that need to be handled, making it infeasible to program each individual part. Additionally, the absence of ‘universal’ grasping tools capable of handling such a wide range of products further complicates the automation of this process.
Another factor is the relatively small number of items per order, making it less efficient to invest in complex automation solutions. Moreover, the variability in product characteristics, including sizes, geometries, materials, and flexibility, poses additional challenges for automation.
Despite these obstacles, the demand for high efficiency in logistics operations remains significant. Therefore, ULMA strives to find innovative solutions such as HARTU to address these challenges and optimize the order preparation process.
Timeline
Expected results
Develop production lines that are highly flexible, resilient, reconfigurable, agile and able to handle different products and materials with high precision. This will accelerate the twin green and digital transition of the manufacturing and construction sectors.
HARTU contributes to the digital transition by delivering an open architecture and the corresponding components for an easy integration at factory level by means of standard interoperation mechanisms. The system works with other machines and computer systems that are already in place, making it easier for small and large companies to adopt the system.
The innovative technologies developed within HARTU will empower manufacturers to optimize their operations and production lines, thanks to robotic assembly systems, electroactive fingertips prototypes, grasping control strategies and assembly datasets and a framework that allows robots to learn and perform tasks by observing human demonstrations of contact interactions.
Deploy easy-to-program control systems that are capable to make intelligent handling of complex products with different shape, size, material and stiffness. This will lead to sustainable, responsive and resilient factories and value chains, enabled by digitization, AI, data sharing, advanced robotics and modularity.
In this open architecture, the HARTU components will be part of advanced robotics solutions that take benefit of AI for better perception, self-supervised grasping and release planners, and easy programming of difficult tasks (assembly). They will include a tool that generates a dataset of labelled virtual scenes, enabling the study of work pieces in different settings, different datasets facilitate the accurate identification and isolation of objects within complex scenes, grasp planners and execution pipelines, ensuring efficient and precise grasping actions, and meta-learning and frugal-AI employed to provide fast and accurate recognition capabilities.
Companies will have at their disposal components to create manufacturing lines to produce goods more efficiently (less tooling, less human errors, faster internal delivery) and higher flexibility (products variants, mass customization). The consequence will be the creation of a new green, flexible and digital way to build and produce goods.
Make production faster and more efficient by ensuring work pieces move quickly and accurately through the production line, in order to guarantee timely deliveries and make the jobs of the people working in the manufacturing and logistic sectors more attractive and safer, pointing the way to opportunities for upskilling.
Apart from reducing uncomfortable and repetitive actions, HARTU will focus on how humans interact with AI-robotics. This includes how humans percept robots, how much they trust them,
and any ethical or legal issues that arise.The result of these activities will be a model of human-AI teaming interaction and a human centric design guidance, new skills, and transformation map.
Sister projects
Manual and automated production lines must evolve to “produce more and diverse with less”, while addressing important shortcomings such as product variabilities, lack of high-level autonomous reasoning and accurate adaptable control and holistic efficient planning systems.
SMARTHANDLE will research technologies to address these needs and support European industry.
EU manufacturers in the sector of Conveyor System and especially robot for automated material handling play an important role in growing global world market. Many objects handled by those robots are soft or deformable and they are not yet efficient and effective in handling these objects.
In this context, AGILEHAND aims at developing advanced technologies for grading, handling and packaging autonomously soft and deformable products, as a strategic instrument to improve flexibility, agility and reconfigurability of production and logistic systems of the European manufacturing companies.
To address the challenges due to custumization, MASTERLY aims to develop flexible robotic solutions that can overcome these limitations. This will involve the use of modular grippers combined with cutting-edge robotic technologies such as mobile, high and low payload industrial and collaborative robots, and smart cranes.
These solutions will be enhanced with AI-driven advanced control and perception capabilities that will enable them to operate autonomously, handling a wide range of parts varying in size, shape, and material, and being acceptable to workers of all genders.
