SInbot is a sub-project of the SmartBot initiative dedicated to exploring the use of intelligent industrial robots in production.
Industrial robos have been a feature of mass production in the light industrial and manufacturing sectors for some time now. Multiple-sensor robots introduces an autonomous function that makes their use more practical and cost effective for smaller production runs.
The goal of the SInBot project is to equip industrial robots with multiple sensors and let both robots and sensor networks communicate enabling autonomous operation while performing complex tasks which will improve the efficiency of these robots.
These robots should be able to collaborate with eachother and other type of industrial robots to organize and distribute production tasks. The framework should become compatible with hardware from different suppliers to enable adding extentions.
Project SInBot was proposed, in part, due to an ongoing problem in the transportation sector.
An example of this is Luinstra, a transportation and logistics solution company based in Nieuwleusen, Netherlands, which was planning to manufacture fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) lightweight tippers (dump truck beds). The manufacturing of these tippers is costly if done by hand and mass production is therefore not economically feasible.
This resulted in Luinstra looking for ways to improve the efficiency of industrial robots working on large composite products.
As a partial result from the Luinstra case, the main SInBot objective is to develop industrial robots that are flexible, can work autonomously and are accurate without having to rely on the extended learning cycle associated with industrial robot work preparation.
Development partners in the SInBot project come from both the industry and academic sectors.
The academic partners focus on the algorithms and software structure needed to realize cooperation between the robots and the data in order to perform complex tasks. The industrial partners contribute their extensive knowledge of industrial production systems and environments.
Lead partners for SInBot on the industrial side include the multi-disciplinary engineering and consultancy company Irmato; developer and global supplier of 3D motion tracking products, Xsens, and the above-mentioned Luinstra Bronbemaling (Nieuwleusen).
Lead partners on the institutional side include Assen-based INCAS; the STODT practice centre for advanced technology; the University of Groningen, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and University of Twente Faculty of Engineering Technology, among others.
SInbot is just one component of SmartBot, an innovative cross-border project involving twenty-four partners collaborating in Germany and the Netherlands. Together they are creating a global knowledge hot spot in the field of robotic sensing. At this time, SmartBot comprises two areas of research and development in addition to SInbot:
Supported by the European Union’s INTERREG IVA Structural Funds program and a number of regional governmental funds, SmartBot is being acclaimed as a new way for key sectors to share individual expertise and knowledge bases in an effort to build new capacities and possibilities in an era of economic instability.
Source: Jan Reinder Fransens, System Architect at Irmato and Maarten Essers, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Twente
Imotec
DFKI Bremen
University of Twente
