New software allows industrial robots to achieve touch sensitivity

Eureka Robotics, a tech spin-off from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), has developed a technology, called Dynamis, that makes industrial robots nimbler and almost as sensitive as human hands, able to manipulate tiny glass lenses, electronics components, or engine gears that are just millimetres in size without damaging them. To get more news about GRS, you can visit glprobotics.com official website.

This proprietary force feedback technology developed by NTU scientists was previously demonstrated by the “Ikea Bot” which assembled an Ikea chair in just 20 minutes. The breakthrough was first published in the top scientific journal Science in 2018 and went viral on the internet when it could match the dexterity of human hands in assembling furniture.

NTU Associate Professor Pham Quang Cuong, Co-founder of Eureka Robotics, said they have since upgraded the software technology, which will be made available for a large number of industrial robots worldwide by Denso Wave, a market leader in industrial robots, which is part of the Toyota Group.

Clients purchasing the latest robots sold by Denso Wave will have an option to include this new technology as part of the force controller, which reads the force detected by a force sensor on the robot’s wrist and applies force accordingly: apply too little force and the items may not be assembled correctly while applying too much force could damage the items.

Mastering “touch sensitivity” and dexterity like human hands has always been the holy grail for roboticists, says Assoc Prof Pham, as the programming of the force controller is extremely complicated, requiring long hours to perfect the grip just for a specific task.

“Today, Dynamis has made it easy for anyone to programme touch-sensitive tasks that are usually done by humans, such as assembly, fine manipulation, polishing or sanding,” explains Assoc Prof Pham, who is also the Deputy Director of the Robotics Research Centre at NTU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

“These tasks all share a common characteristic: the ability to maintain consistent contact with a surface. If our human hands are deprived of our touch sensitivity, such as when wearing a thick glove, we would find it very hard to put tiny Lego blocks together, much less assemble the tiny components of a car engine or of a camera used in our mobile phones.”

Hiroyasu Baba, FA/Robotics Business Unit Product Planning Department, Manager of Denso Wave, said: "Due to its high basic performance and openness, DENSO robots are the preferred choice by companies and universities with advanced initiatives in the field of robotics. NTU Singapore and Eureka Robotics have also been using DENSO robots for this reason.

“Because of this relationship, joint development began naturally, and we were able to launch this product smoothly. The technology, which will be installed in DENSO robots, is a technology for force feedback, which is becoming more and more important in the practical use of robotics. Thanks to the development capabilities of Eureka Robotics, the system is advanced, yet easy to use and light enough to be integrated into our standard robot controllers."