Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ACROBA (AI-Driven Cognitive Robotic Platform for Agile Production environments)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-01-01 bis 2022-12-31
ACROBA aims to develop and demonstrate a novel concept of cognitive robotic platforms based on a modular approach able to be smoothly adapted to virtually any industrial scenario applying agile manufacturing principles. The novel industrial platform will be based on the concept of plug-and-produce, featuring a modular and scalable architecture allowing the connection of robotic systems with enhanced cognitive capabilities to deal with cyber physical systems in fast-changing production environments. The platform will take advantage of artificial intelligence and cognitive modules to meet personalisation requirements and enhance mass product customisation through advanced robotic systems capable of self-adapting to the different production needs. A novel ecosystem will be built as a result of this project, enabling the fast and economic deployment of advanced robotic solutions in agile manufacturing industrial lines, especially industrial SMEs.
The characteristics of the ACROBA platform will allow its cost-effective integration and smooth adoption by diverse industrial scenarios to realise their true industrialisation within agile production environments becoming a cost-effective solution for a wide range of Industrial sectors, both inside the consortium and additional industrial sectors that will be addressed in the future. The Project approach will be demonstrated in five industrial large-scale real pilots and tested through twelve dedicated Hackatons and two ACROBA On-Site Labs for technology transfer experiments.
ACROBA fulfils three out of seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contributing to the improvement of society; SDG 9.2. “Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product” and SDG 10.2. "By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status".
1) ACROBA aims to evolve the current software architectures for advanced robotic systems by adding different functionalities of vital importance in the development of robotic integrated systems, i) innovative definition of the semantic, ii) direct integration of the ACROBA platform with virtual simulation environments (Virtual Gyms) and iii) smooth transition from training environment to real environment
2) ACROBA will allow robots to be embedded neatly in the existing workflows of SMEs, improving robots autonomy (execution of sensor-based robotic skills), its programming (use of dummy tools & automatic generation of paths from CAD files) and its productivity and adaptability (new cognitive capabilities for the planning module)
3) ACROBA will ensure quick autonomous and collaborative cognitive robotic capabilities through the adoption and combination of complementary AI approaches, e.g. Deep Learning , Deep Reinformed Learning, Deep Imitation Learning and Evolutionary Computing.
During the first year, the framework to achieve this has been defined.
ACROBA expected impacts are as follows:
1) Demonstration of the potential for robotics to impact at scale in Agile production
2) Reduction of technical and commercial risk in the deployment of services based on robotic actors within Agile production
3) Greater understanding from the application stakeholders of the potential for deploying robotics
4) Demonstration of platforms operating over extended time periods in near realistic environments and promotion of their use
5) Develop the eco-system around the Agile Production to stimulate deployment
6) Contribution to the development of open, industry-led or de facto standards
During the first year the project has been focused on the development of the architecture and the framework for Acroba. During the next months of the project with the pilot cases running, the measures to maximize the impact will be reviewed and significant contribution is expected. Also, an improvement in communication and dissemination actions will be taken to increase the impact both to reach an even wider public and the stakeholders related to the ACROBA solution.