Innovative KUKA applications at IROS research fair

In cooperation with the University of Alberta, the Augsburg automation specialist will be showcasing a robot system that creates freehand inscriptions on nearly any object imaginable. The system – a KUKA flexFellow, on which the sensitive lightweight robot LBR iiwa is mounted – is able to transfer user-defined templates onto various surfaces.
Visitors to the booth create their own template, such as a drawing or signature. This is then transferred to their object of choice, for example a mug or ball. For this, optical sensors first capture the necessary information about the surface.

Next, a pen held by the robot traces the template exactly, transferring it to the surface. The sensitive capabilities of the LBR iiwa help to compensate for any inaccuracies that result from the surface measurements, and they also help to move the pen across the surface with the appropriate amount of force.

Another innovative exhibit is an autograph machine. Here, visitors insert an “autograph card” into the cell and a robot signs it with the accurate signature of a famous person.

While waiting for their signature, the visitor watches a film showing the VIP signing their autograph with a pen held by the robot. In order to ensure as accurate a signature as possible, KUKA has made significant improvements to the robot’s force control, implemented here on a KUKA KR3 AGILUS robot with a force/torque sensor.