Developing one software solution for different robotic hands

Client

Our client is the leading global manufacturer and supplier of linear motion solutions, which incorporate state-of-the-art designs, components and digital technology. The company has more than 1250 employees and 6 manufacturing units in Europe, Asia, and North America. Our client produces Linear motion and Actuation solutions used in industrial automation, medical applications, and mobile machinery. They design, manufacture, and customize linear motion components - linear actuators, guides, ball, and roller screws that meet a variety of industrial applications, with a focus on medical, automotive manufacturing, and mobile machinery.  

We have previously worked with them on a Universal Integration Platform project where we have built one application for all robotic hands and their motion actuators. This application allows their clients to manage lift kits and slide kits for any kind of robotic hand, regardless of the robot's manufacturer.

Challenge

Since the Universal Integration Platform is based on TCP/IP protocol, any robotic hand can be attached to the lift kit or a slide kit which are controlled via the application. To use the Universal Integration Platform, their client has two options. They can:

• Internally develop integration module for communication with our client’s solution (through build-in commands)  
• Ask our client to do that for them  

The reason we started the cooperation was to help our client help their clients.  

Our client’s client FANUC, wanted to use Universal Integration Platform with the FANUC platform, so our client contacted us to make the changes on the FANUC platform. The goal was to expand the FANUC platform with integration module which can manage slide kit and lift kit with a set of commands.  

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FANUC  

FANUC is a Japanese group of companies that provide automation products and services such as robotics and computer numerical control wireless systems. FANUC started the development of NCs (Numerical Controls) in 1955, and ever since, has devoted itself to focusing on factory automation.

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Solution

Our developers had to get acquainted with their system and learn its functionalities. It took them one month to explore their environment and learn everything needed to start developing the requested graphic environment.

FANUC robots use the CAREL program. First, they had to understand how this program works, lean onto it, and use JavaScript to make a plug-in or a graphic client.  

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Process

After the initial phase during which our developers had to understand how FANUC graphic environment works, they started working on basic communication through Universal Integration Platform.  

Basic communication means that they could connect and communicate to the program, and issue basic simple commands, such as checking position of the lift kit and slide kit and move it.  

After confirming that basic commands and steps could be performed, they moved on to complex commands. They had to make sure that the program was able to respond to multiple commands, one after the other, without errors.  

These complex commands required our developers to make sure that the communication with the Universal Integration Platform is stable and design the logic for the program. This logic would serve in cases when the command is issued to the program, and it fails to answer. In such cases, our developers had to give instructions to the program on how to respond, which message to display to the user, and which steps to take next.

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On-Site Testing

After fulfilling the initial requests given by our client, our developers tested the program, both virtually, and in real life, on-site.  

After the onsite testing, they have sent the detailed report to our client containing:

1. List of functionalities that work
2. Opportunities for improvements
3. Proposal of functionalities that are not covered with the program but could be useful to their end clients

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The core benefit for our client is that they received the complete solution, meaning that anyone with a FANUC robot can use a Universal Integration Platform with FANUC graphic interface. This interface is tailor made for the client, so they can easily use the FANUC robot without setup complications.

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