Technology Evaluation of Autonomous Robotic Systems for Industrial Floor Grinding Applications

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Antex Western, a 100 percent Canadian owned company, is a leader in commercial building products, renovations and construction, including soft flooring (carpet, underlays and other soft surfaces), hard surfaces (stone, tile, terrazzo, reazzo, polished concrete and concrete remediation) and other construction specialties. Antex serves clients and owners across several industries such as educational institutions, sports complexes, museums, airports, hospitals and other office complexes. The company is currently building a specialized polished concrete floor structure, with embedded decorative aggregates such as specific stones and glasses. The process of installing the polished floor includes casting of the formulated concrete-aggregate mixture and step-by-step grinding and polishing operations to achieve desired details and finishing. ****Installation of the polished concrete floor requires using portable hand-held grinders in grinding and polishing the perimeter of the cast floor (all floor edges/corners), which is a laborious, expensive and excessively operator-dependent activity. The edge/corner grinding is one of the most critical activities in that it determines the levelness of the floor and provides the starting point for the grinding of the entire floor structure. Although, large and semi-automated equipment are available for grinding the bulk of the concrete floor system, grinding of the floor edges/corners remain a manual and labor-intensive activity. At present, Antex has not found an off-the-shelf or an existing custom floor grinding solution for addressing these challenges. Therefore, Antex is partnering with the Technology Access Centre for Aerospace and Manufacturing (TACAM) at Red River College (RRC), to design, integrate and implement a robotic floor edge/corner grinding solution.****A prototype autonomous robotic system for industrial floor grinding applications will be developed in this project. Collaborative robots, sensors, vision systems, surface profiling systems and end-effectors will be integrated with the current industrial floor grinding/polishing processes, specifically for the edge/corner grinding application. Autonomy of the prototype system will be achieved by integrating the collaborative robot with an existing autonomous factory vehicle, with machine navigation systems and object detection capabilities. The integrated system will be equipped with specific sensors and real-time inspection of the quality of the floor. The device will be powered by an in-built rechargeable battery and will incorporate safety features on the design to prevent safety hazards. Improvement on the tool precision and accuracy, product quality, safety and productivity will be achieved with automation. This project is anticipated to have a huge economic and industrial benefit to Antex Western and Canada by reducing human exposure to noise and dust, enhancing repeatability and improving product quality, increasing productivity, and pushing the limits of robotic technologies. The developed autonomous robotic floor grinding solution will be unique to the construction industry, with the capability to scale and adapt to other similar applications.****RRC will capitalize on the College's existing assets and capabilities in robotics and automation, and expertise in robotic programing (including Robot Operating System - ROS) and components fabrication to deliver this project. In addition, RRC and Antex will work with third party mechanical systems designers and equipment manufacturers to design and develop appropriate tools and instruments. **