TeamBotS - A tool-supported methodology for developing software for dynamic teams of robots

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Wolfgang Reif; Professor Dr.-Ing. Heinz Voggenreiter
• Subject Area: Automation, Mechatronics, Control Systems, Intelligent Technical Systems, Robotics ; Software Engineering and Programming Languages
• Term: from 2017 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 387652208

• Final Report Year: 2024

Final Report Abstract

In times of a changeable factory in the sense of Industry 4.0, flexible robot teams are becoming increasingly important. Their ability to adapt quickly to changing requirements makes them a key factor in optimizing production processes. Through modular programming and collaboration, they can efficiently perform various tasks and optimize production processes, which reduces costs and increases competitiveness. The TEAMBOTS project focused on the development of automation software for multifunctional robot teams in industrial manufacturing processes. A unique feature is the consideration of teams consisting of different robots with different end effectors and special sensor technology. By appropriately linking and combining production resources, different production teams can be dynamically formed and disbanded as needed. The TEAMBOTS project was carried out in cooperation between the Institute for Software and Systems Engineering (ISSE) at the University of Augsburg and the Center for Lightweight Production Technology (ZLP) at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). While the ZLP contributed its expertise in robot technology for robot-based CFRP production (continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastics production), the ISSE dealt in particular with the planning and description of robotic team tasks. The common goal was to develop control concepts that enable efficient and precise cooperation between robot teams. By describing and modeling the robot system, its capabilities and tools as well as the process and products, executable actions for robot teams can be derived. These can then be implemented in a simulated or real robot system. Additional knowledge about existing tools and their capabilities makes it possible to determine which robots can perform which action. Parallel and cooperative actions are also possible, taking into account constraints such as geometric relationships. In two case studies, the construction of complex LEGO structures and the placement of blanks for CFRP production, it was successfully demonstrated that robot programs could be generated, simulated and then executed on the basis of the models. In both cases, a simulation taking into account even the properties of the involved materials enables to identify errors in advance and hence to reduce the planning time signficantly.

Publications

• Automatic Planning of Manufacturing Processes using Spatial Construction Plan Analysis and Extensible Heuristic Search. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics, 586-593. SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications.
  Nägele, Ludwig; Schierl, Andreas; Hoffmann, Alwin & Reif, Wolfgang
  
• Towards a Tool-based Methodology for Developing Software for Dynamic Robot Teams. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics, 615-622. SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications.
  Glück, Roland; Hoffmann, Alwin; Nägele, Ludwig; Schierl, Andreas; Reif, Wolfgang & Voggenreiter, Heinz
  
• Automated Planning and Optimization of a Draping Processes Within the CATIA Environment Using a Python Software Tool. Procedia Manufacturing, 38(2019), 808-815.
  Körber, M. & Frommel, C.
  
• Modular and Domain-guided Multi-robot Planning for Assembly Processes. Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics, 595-604. SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications.
  Nägele, Ludwig; Schierl, Andreas; Hoffmann, Alwin & Reif, Wolfgang
  
• How to find assembly plans (fast): Hierarchical state space partitioning for efficient multi-robot assembly. 2020 Fourth IEEE International Conference on Robotic Computing (IRC), 172-177. IEEE.
  Hoffmann, Alwin; Nagele, Ludwig & Reif, Wolfgang
  
• LegoBot: Automated Planning for Coordinated Multi-Robot Assembly of LEGO structures. 2020 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 9088-9095. IEEE.
  Nagele, Ludwig; Hoffmann, Alwin; Schierl, Andreas & Reif, Wolfgang
  
• Multi-robot Cooperation for Assembly: Automated Planning and Optimization. Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, 169-192. Springer International Publishing.
  Nägele, Ludwig; Schierl, Andreas; Hoffmann, Alwin & Reif, Wolfgang
  
• RealCaPP: Real-time capable Plug & Produce communication platform with OPC UA over TSN for distributed industrial robot control. 2021 IEEE 17th International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), 585-590. IEEE.
  Eymuller, Christian; Hanke, Julian; Hoffmann, Alwin; Reif, Wolfgang; Kugelmann, Markus & Gratz, Florian
  
• RealCaPP: Real-Time Capable Plug & Produce Service Architecture for Distributed Robot Control. 2023 Seventh IEEE International Conference on Robotic Computing (IRC), 352-355. IEEE.
  Eymuller, Christian; Hanke, Julian; Poeppel, Alexander; Wanninger, Constantin & Reif, Wolfgang
  
• A Toolchain for Automated Control and Simulation of Robot Teams in Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Polymers Production. Applied Sciences, 14(6), 2475.
  Körber, Marian & Glück, Roland