SBIR Phase I: Development of an Overhead-Rail Cobot for Intelligent Material Handling

SBIR 第一阶段：开发用于智能物料搬运的高架铁路协作机器人

• 批准号: 9760906
• 负责人: David Meer
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: Cobotics, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1998
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1998-01-01 至 1998-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9760906&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Development; Overhead; Rail

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project submitted by Collaborative Motion Control, Inc. will result in an innovative prototype intelligent materials handling system. The prototype will incorporate a conventional overhead rail system, to which a cobot (`collaborative robot`) component has been added. Cobots do not enhance human strength or replace a human operator, but rather provide virtual `guiding` surfaces to help a human operator maneuver a payload. The human part of the team supplies all motive power, while the cobot interfaces to a computer. The cobot's physically passive design confers a degree of intrinsic safety. The ease of manipulations that cobots provide translates into fewer injuries and reduced worker's compensation costs, issues of tremendous concern in the material handling industry. In addition to ergonomics, cobots benefit productivity (speed) and quality (avoiding collisions). Research objectives include design of a sufficiently robust continuously variable transmission (CVT) joint, which is the core mechanical element of a cobot. A riser interface for the specification of smooth virtual constraint surfaces will be developed. Control software that was developed for a laboratory environment will be pointed to an industrial microcontroller. Commercial applications include automobile assembly, textile mills, and other industries in which human workers are essential, yet mechanical assist devices are needed.

该小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目由协作运动控制公司提交。将导致一个创新的原型智能材料处理系统。 该原型将包括一个传统的高架轨道系统，其中增加了一个合作机器人（“协作机器人”）组件。 协作机器人不会增强人类的力量或取代人类操作员，而是提供虚拟的“引导”表面来帮助人类操作员操纵有效载荷。 团队中的人类部分提供所有动力，而协作机器人则与计算机连接。 协作机器人的物理被动设计赋予了一定程度的内在安全性。 协作机器人提供的操作简便性转化为更少的伤害和更低的工人赔偿成本，这是物料搬运行业非常关注的问题。 除了人体工程学，协作机器人还有利于生产力（速度）和质量（避免碰撞）。 研究目标包括设计一个足够强大的无级变速器（CVT）关节，这是一个合作机器人的核心机械元件。 将开发一个用于规范光滑虚拟约束表面的立管接口。 为实验室环境开发的控制软件将指向工业微控制器。 商业应用包括汽车装配、纺织米尔斯厂和其他工业，其中工人是必不可少的，但需要机械辅助装置。