Mo.Di.Bot, industrial measurement testing becomes mobile

Milan, 06/11/2012 (informazione.it - comunicati stampa - industria) The Loccioni Group, world leader in quality automation and control has integrated its measurement competences with those ones linked to robotics, designing inspection and control innovative systems able to combine freedom of movement and test accuracy in industrial production.
At Robotica 2012 Loccioni presents, for the first time in Italy, Mo.Di.Bot (Mobile Diagnostic Robot), the robotic system developed by Research for Innovation Loccioni, to introduce mobility in advanced industrial diagnostics taking ductility, precision, contemporaneity and test duration to impossible levels for a tradition control. One of the first examples of mobile service robotics at industrial level, Mo.Di.Bot is equipped with antropomorphic arm, multiple measurement sensors and moves freely in the production environment interacting with products, adapting inspections to test needs. Flexibility, autonomy and adaptability to productive processes changes are today an innovation Loccioni young researchers have made possible and feasible.

research.loccioni.com

Test systems are widely diffused in industrial environments where to carefully monitor variables and the result of the production process. Such systems are usually installed in prearranged positions of the product development and test laboratories production line . As measurement sensors and the actuators used in the test systems are very expensive and very often the same system needs to be repeated in order to cover all the productive process in the space, it would be a great advantage for the manufacturer to have the possibility to move the system and carry out the measurement when and where needed. Beyond autonomously moving in the appropriate space according to the needs, the test system should also be able to configure and autonomously adapt according to the products and types of products. All this is Mo.Di.Bot, a mobile robot conceived for testing and diagnostics within the industrial field. Mo.Di.Bot aims at combining the functionalities and performances of testing systems with the flexibility guaranteed by the use of mobile robots. Mo.Di.Bot is able to autonomously and safely move in the surrounding spaces and is equipped with rich measurement instruments to be modified and widened according to the specific application:
• 2-D vision systems to check the presence and the correct electric and mechanic components assembly and the LEDs and displays status;
• 3-D vision systems to build a model of the surrounding environment calculating the position of the objects and avoiding the collision with them;
• Laser vibrometers and microphones to measure and analyse the mechanical characteristics of the objects viewed;
• Thermochambers for measuring and monitoring the objects temperature within the surrounding environment.


The data acquired by the environment and the products are processed, analysed and saved inside Mo.Di.Bot, which then according to the analysis result can behave in different ways: if anomalies are found it can operate a new measurement (more detailed) or signal the event to an operator or to another check system, while in case nothing strange is detected it may continue its control and inspection mission. In case it is necessary to interact with the environment and with Mo.Di.Bot products it can use a robotic arm to carry out operations such as pushing a button, rotating a knob, opening and closing a door. During such operations touch, force and torque sensors are used by Mo.Di.Bot to check at the same time the correct execution of the operation and the correct object functionality.
By integrating in a unique mobile platform measurement sensors and robotic actuators, Mo.Di.Bot is a solution that can be used in a versatile and efficient way in different industrial fields where it is necessary to monitor the environment and the products. For example some possible applications are:
• Life test laboratories: Mo.Di.Bot can autonomously carry out the boring and repetitive task of starting the products (washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, etc.) and acquiring data from them (images, acoustic and vibrational data, etc…) in a more accurate and objective way;
• Inspection for railway switches: a particular version of Mo.Di.Bot is able to autonomously move on railways and carry out the important task of inspecting the wear status of switches to guarantee travellers safety. Mo.Di.Bot reconstructs the 3D model of the platform. Extracting dimensional parameters to identify anomalous situations.
But the challenge is always to find new fields of industrial application, from white chambers to petrochemical plants.