Augmented & Virtual Reality Maintenance van WWA

In any system, no matter how advanced, a malfunction can occur. This also applies to robots. Every problem must be rectified as quickly as possible. A system that automatically locates and remedies malfunctions would be a godsend, especially if it can predict when a problem will occur. WWA is working on this innovation.

WWA of Oosterhout has specialised in automating production processes using industrial robots since 2000. WWA develops customer-specific installations based on innovative projects and out-of-the-box applications. Products are supplied, installed and maintained. Faults are also rectified.

For this final part, WWA is looking for an automated method. The company wants to build a technical assistant that can detect and resolve a fault. The human brain has been taken as the starting point for this. In the brain, neurons connect with each other to recognise and solve problems. The goal is to recreate that method in an application.

A fault must first be localised before it can be resolved. If it's possible to automatically detect where the fault is located, then a solution can also be automatically devised for it, which can be carried out by the technical department. The ideal scenario is if the robot itself indicates when faults are about to occur. Then the problems can be rectified before they arise and the systems shut down. An additional challenge is to find a method that works on almost all robot systems.

October 2020 update

Over the past six months, significant work has been done on the ability to detect faults. For this purpose, a test setup has been built, consisting of a robot equipped with a double gripper: a vacuum gripper and a two-fingered version. Five faults have been simulated in the robot. These problems have been successfully detected. The faults must then be localised and the entire process digitised. The ultimate goal is to be able to predict maintenance.