Smooth Robot Movements Reduce Energy Consumption by Up to 40%
August 24, 2015 | CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGYEstimated reading time: 1 minute
By minimizing the acceleration of industrial robots, energy consumption can be reduced by up to 40 percent -- while retaining the given production time. This is the result of a new optimization algorithm that was developed by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology.
Optimization of the robot's movements reduces acceleration and deceleration, as well as the time the robot is at a standstill since being at a standstill also consumes energy.
"We simply let the robot move slower instead of waiting for other robots and machines to catch up before carrying out the next sequence. The optimization also determines the order in which the various operations are carried out to minimize energy consumption -- without reducing the total execution time," says Professor Bengt Lennartson who initiated the research together with, among others, General Motors.
The optimization never changes the robot's operation path, only the speed and sequence.
"Thus, we can go into an existing robot cell and perform a quick optimization without impacting production or the current cycle," says Bengt Lennartson.
To achieve safe optimization, several robots moving in the same area need to be coordinated. The optimization tool will therefore initially identify where robots may collide, and the entry and exit positions for each collision zone, and for each robot path.
"The first test results have shown a significant improvement, such as a 15 to 40 percent energy reduction, but the results are still preliminary. In order to estimate the actual energy savings, further testing in industry is required," says Kristofer Bengtsson, who is responsible for the implementation of the new optimization strategy.
In robot-intensive manufacturing industries, such as bodywork factories in the automotive industry, robots consume about half of the total energy used for production.
The optimization program starts by logging the movements of each robot during an operations cycle, as well as any collision zones. This information is processed by the optimizer, which generates new control instructions that can be directly executed by the robots.
"The goal is to make this kind of optimization standard, and included in robots from the start. At each adjustment of the operating sequences, a new optimization is conducted by default. But as we all know, it takes time to bring a development product into a robust production process, with several years of engineering work," says Kristofer Bengtsson.
Suggested Items
Micross, Sital Announce Global Manufacturing & Distribution Partnership
05/07/2024 | Micross Components, Inc.Micross Components, Inc., a leading global provider of mission-critical microelectronic components and services for high-reliability aerospace, defense, space and industrial applications, is pleased to announce our exclusive partnership with Sital Technology (sitaltech.com), the leader in MIL-STD-1553 IP cores, specializing in integrated FPGA solutions.
Worldwide Silicon Wafer Shipments Dip 5% in Q1 2024
05/07/2024 | SEMIWorldwide silicon wafer shipments decreased 5.4% quarter-over-quarter to 2,834 million square inches in the first quarter of 2024, a 13.2% drop from the 3,265 million square inches recorded during the same quarter last year, the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) reported in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.
Nolan’s Notes: Coming to Terms With AI
05/07/2024 | Nolan Johnson -- Column: Nolan's NotesHow fast do things move in the world of data analytics? Here’s an example. We’ve been planning this issue on artificial intelligence for the past few months, and, in fact, I had already written this column about a month ago. Then I went to IPC APEX EXPO and upended it all. I originally had compared AI to drag racing in that (CPU) horsepower and new (data) vehicles have steadily delivered higher performance competition. That seemed pretty accurate given how generative AI models dominated the popular media with amazing results—and sometimes spectacular crashes.
May Issue of SMT007 Magazine: Coming to Terms With AI
05/06/2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamIn the May 2024 issue of SMT007 Magazine, we examine the profound effect artificial intelligence and machine learning are having on manufacturing and business processes. We follow technology, innovation, and money as automation becomes the new key indicator of growth in our industry.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
05/03/2024 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007This week’s most important news is strategic—and telling. When one puts together the IPC industry reports, we simply have to include the recent conversation with Shawn DuBravac and Tom Kastner. On the design side, check out the latest “On The Line With…” podcast featuring Brad Griffin from Cadence Design Systems, discussing SI and PI in the realm of intelligent system design.