Pomiary Automatyka Robotyka, ISSN 1427-9126, R. 24, Nr 1/2020, 5–20, DOI: 10.

14313/PAR_235/5

Modern Industrial Robotics

Mariusz Olszewski
Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Mechatronics, Institute of Automatic Control and Robotics, ul. św. Andrzeja Boboli 8, 02-525 Warszawa

Abstract: In the past decade, robots have become the basic tools for the automatization and
robotization of industrial production, as they used to be in the 70s programmable controllers, in the
80s processor drive controllers, in the 90s of the twentieth century frequency controlled AC motors
and in the first years of the 21st century digitization, expressed in the significant advancement and
dissemination of computerization, telecommunications and internetization. This role is evidenced
by further, beyond conventional robotics, extension of its application and the emergence of new
hardware and software solutions oriented towards joint, by robots and human, undertaking of hitherto
not rationalized production tasks. This essay is devoted to these transformations in contemporary
robotics.

Keywords: robotics, constructions, kinematics, control, programming, industrial application, Industry 4.0

1. Introduction
The International Federation of Robotics
(IFR) reported that globally, in 2018,
the value of sales of robots increased to
USD 16.5 billion, which corresponds to
the use of 422,000 robots and an annual
increase of 6%. In just 5 years, from
2013, the number of machines instal-
led annually increased by as much as
135%. These values, despite the curren-
tly visible economic recession, are also to
remain in 2019 and then increase until Fig. 1. Global deliveries of industrial robots (in thousands of machines, *) forecast) – IFR, 2019
2022 even at double-digit rate. At the Rys. 1. Sprzedaż robotów przemysłowych w skali świata (w tysiącach maszyn, *) prognoza) – IFR, 2019
same time, it should be noted that in [33, 46]
2018 as much as 74% of new robot appli-
cations were made in the industries of only five countries: of production processes carried in enterprises and industries
China, Japan, South Korea, the USA and Germany. In this imposing the same product area, or even in regions and coun-
group, however, China’s industry is by far the largest recipient tries, expressed in the number of installed machines per 10,000
of robots – in 2018, 154,000 were installed in it new machines, employees. In this competition, from the five leading countries
it is also the largest user in the world – it has completed as in robotics investments, Singapore comes first with 831 machi-
much as 36% of all global robotization installations in pro- nes per 10,000 employees, ahead of South Korea, Germany and
duction processes. All this confirms the aforementioned thesis Japan – the United States came in 8th place, and China only
about the global importance of robotics and its place as cur- in 20th place. Relationship of this index with demographics
rently the main tool for rationalizing production processes on and population size obvious here [46]. Polish economy with 36
a global scale [33, 46, 54]. robots per 10,000 employees are unfortunately out of this com-
In the last few year the density of robotization has been petition – although companies’ problems related to the lack of
adopted as a modern indicator of just technical rationalization hands to work in a similar demographic situation as Poland
is today and thanks to intensive robotics investments came to
the fore of economically leading countries on a regional scale
Autor korespondujący:
and then, in terms of product quality, on a global scale [20].
Mariusz Olszewski, marindustry4.0@gmail.com Apart from the product and state of robotization division
and focusing on the modern state of industrial robotics, six
Artykuł recenzowany subclasses of robot class manipulation machines can be distin-
nadesłany 24.10.2019 r., przyjęty do druku 11.02.2020 r. guished [19]:
− conventional robots that perform standard programming,
Zezwala się na korzystanie z artykułu na warunkach control and use tasks in countless industrial applications
licencji Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa 3.0 since the late 1960s. It is worth recalling here that in 1968,

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 Modern Industrial Robotics

Fig. 2. Density of robot

applications in industrial
production worldwide (the
number of machines per 10,000
employees) – IFR – World
Robotics, 2019
Rys. 2. Intensywność robotyzacji
produkcji przemysłowej w skali
świata (liczba maszyn na 10.000
pracowników) – IFR – World
Robotics, 2019 [46]

the pioneering company for the development of robotics, telecommunications techniques, machine tools and tools, metal-
Unimation managed to use as much as 48 robots for the first lurgy, plastics and rubber processing, also packaging, beverage
time across the world, but by assigning this date a breakth- and food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and medical products,
rough, symbolic beginning of the robotization era, wood processing, chemical, paper and printing, construction,
− cooperating robots, cobots, performing tasks referred to as also construction of renewable energy equipment and machi-
MRK (Men-Robots-Collaboration), nery [1, 6, 12, 16, 22, 26].
− hybrid robots, for both conventional and collaborative robo- A characteristic structural solution of the mechanisms of
tics tasks, modern industrial robots is a series structure (also called
− service robots, including cobots, a chain) of kinematic members, performing mutually rotational
− multi-chain robots, with a twinarms or parallel kinematic movements, divided into two groups: three regional members
structure, including cobots, with the structure {CR, BR1, BR2}, ensuring that the effector
− mobile robots performing locomotion and manipulation tasks reaches the set position in the manipulative space machine
in the area of production and intralogistics of the Industry and one, two or three local members ensuring orientation of
4.0 character. the machine effector. This provides a total of four, five or
six degrees of mobility of the mechanism and an appropriate
number of degrees of freedom of the effector, so in the case of
2. Conventional Robotics a mechanism with six members virtually any free arrangement
of the effector in the working space of the machine mechanism.
Conventional industrial robots nowadays the most commonly Restrictions on the number of mechanisms’ mobility are a con-
used subclass of robots, which ensures robotization of machi- sequence of the machine’s application areas proposed by the
nes, workstations and production processes in industries – manufacturer and the desire to reduce its cost.
only reminding in turn about their application importance: In principle, only two kinematic solutions of the local group
automotive and working machines, mechatronic and electro- are used - in the case of three members they are structures:
mechanical, including household appliances, information and {AL1, BL, AL2} and {CL, BL, AL}, in the situation of limited

a) b)

Fig. 3. A typical mechanism of a modern industrial robot with six levels of mobility and kinematic structure {CR, BR1, BR2, AL1, BL, AL2}: a) sketch
of construction, b) ABB Automation GmbH robot mechanism on a stand demonstrating cooperation with the turntable mechanism, increasing
the degree mobility of a set of two handling machines
Rys. 3. Typowy mechanizm współczesnego robota przemysłowego o sześciu stopniach ruchliwości i strukturze kinematycznej {CR, BR1, BR2, AL1, BL, AL2}:
a) szkic budowy; b) mechanizm robota firmy ABB Automatic GmbH na stanowisku demonstrującym współpracę z mechanizmem obrotnicy powiększającym
liczbę ruchliwości zestawu dwóch maszyn manipulacyjnych [12, 35]

6 P O M I A R Y • A U T O M A T Y K A • R O B O T Y K A N R 1 / 20 20
 Mariusz Olszewski

Fig. 5. M-2000A / 2300L robot with a load

capacity of 2300 kg and an unladen weight of
11,000 kg of Fanuc Deutschland GmbH, based
on global linear motion guides (7. mobility
level) of the Swiss company Güdel Group AG
Rys. 5. Robot M-2000A/2300L o obciążalności
2300 kg i masie własnej 11 tys. kg firmy Fanuc
Deutschland GmbH, osadzony na prowadnicach
globalnego ruchu liniowego (7. stopień
ruchliwości) szwajcarskiej firmy Güdel Group AG
[42, 45]

mobility of the mechanism, the last element before the effec- direct-current (DC) servo drives were used in robotics for the
tor is the AL member rule, ensuring rotation of the effector first time in 1974 by the Swedish company ASEA, earlier exclu-
on the structural axis of this member and most often on the sively and still later, above 60 kg load capacity, electrohydrau-
structural axis also of the third, last before the local group, lic servo and motor servo drives were used. Their advantage
regional member, i.e. BR2. This makes it easier for the machine was very high, especially hydraulic motors, energy efficiency
operator to program the effector’s trajectory, more precisely in relation to the mass and volume of the engine, hence it was
the current location of the tool’s central point, i.e. TCP (Tool possible to attach to each component of the mechanism its own
Center Point) and the effector’s approach vector to the object drive. Despite the indisputable utility and energy advantages
of manipulation or machining. of AC servo motors, their lower energy efficiency and corre-
Since the end of the 1990s, the use of AC electric servo sponding higher mass and volume are forcing manufacturers
motors has been popularizing in the construction of industrial to a different way of driving local members. They are placed
robot mechanisms – thanks to the introduction of new neody- on the last regional member (BR2) in front of the local group,
mium magnetic materials – hence the absolute advantage of and the transfer of movement through the length of this mem-
rotational motion and given kinematic structures. Electric but ber and other local members, e.g. to the AL member, must be
provided by shaft and toothed belt gears [26, 34].
We should also mention the drive of the first member (CR)
of the described kinematic structure – in classic solutions it
was a drive located in the foundation of the machine mecha-
nism, and thus requiring the hollow of the ground or raising
the mechanism above the needs of its actions, which sometimes
caused problems with placing the mechanism e.g. on walls or
posts of the production hall. Therefore, some modern manu-
facturers suggest reversing this design: the drive is mounted
on this element, which facilitates applications, but by incre-
asing the load on the element, it forces the machine to use
more energy.
Linear motion drives have practically ceased to be used in
the construction of conventional industrial robot mechanisms –
a certain exception is the use of various types of global motion
drives along the lines of supported production machines. The
only regional mechanism, but used only for the tasks of ope-
rating machine tools as well as injection and foundry machi-
nes, is the SCARA (Selective Compliance Assembly Robot
Arm or Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm) robot
mechanism known since 1981 [18], with three or less often
four degrees of mobility and structures {CR1, CR2, ZL} or {CR1,
CR2, ZR, AL} or also {ZR, CR1, CR2, AL} – here a single, local
or regional linear movement along the Z axis is needed provi-
Fig. 4. Modern version of the SCARA robot mechanism, manufactured ding such just the effect of the effector serving these produc-
by Epson Europe B.V., used in the process of checking the tion machines.
implementation and selection of spring
Rys, 4. Współczesna wersja mechanizmu robota SCARA, produkcji firmy
A clear trend of recent years is the extension of the load
Epson Europe B.V., zastosowanego w procesie kontroli wykonania i selekcji capacity and geometric extent of industrial robot mech-
sprężyn [12, 41] anisms. While in classic solutions of the previous decades,

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 Modern Industrial Robotics

Fig. 6. Non-contact, but graphically

supported and based on
the operator’s hand movements,
programming and control of
the mechanism of a robot with
a parallel, open structure, IBG
Automation GmbH, equipped with
a gripper Co-act, holding Schunk
GmbH & Co. KG
Rys. 6. Bezdotykowe, ale wspomagane
graficznie i oparte na ruchach dłoni
operatorki, programowanie i sterowanie
mechanizmu robota o strukturze
równoległej, otwartej, firmy IBG
Automation GmbH, wyposażonego
w chwytak linii Co-act holdingu Schunk
GmbH & Co. KG [19, 50]

the permissible mass loads were – on average – in the area planned motion trajectory. This concept, given in 1968, was
from 6 kg to 60 kg, now the upper load capacity is already derived from the observation of two facts: manual perfor-
100 kg, and the largest load capacity, 2300 kg, has the mance of certain technological activities by an experien-
Fanuc-M-2000A/2300L robot Deutschland GmbH weighing ced employee who can successfully meet the technological
11 tons, 6 degrees of mobility, repeatability of the TCP point requirements of the robotized process and the possibility
position ±0.18 mm and a range of movement over 3.7 m. Even of using this experience to program the movement of the
greater range, over 4.6 m, with a slightly lower load capacity, robot mechanism by manual effector/embedded tool on the
1700 kg, has its neighbor in the Fanuc heavy machinery family: mechanism, by the same employee, directly by hand or using
the M-2000A/1700L robot [42]. a 3D joystick or control stick, allowing for remote forcing
Contrary to popular belief, this tendency favors the needs of the spatial movement of a TCP point and also a correspon-
a number of industries relevant to the economy. Examples of ding change in the shape of the robot mechanism along with
application fields are the automotive industry, including ser- the current storage of current values of mutual positions
vice and repair of cars without the need for hydraulic ducts (machine coordinates) of the mechanism members,
and lifts, metallurgy (foundries) and machinery (rail, ship, air − and the third mode – given at the end of the 1980s and
transport, machining machinery, service and coupling of the gradually spreading since the turn of the century, during
stamping press and forge) without the need for time-consuming a period of rapid digitization and computerization, i.e.
use of gantries, tire industry, mining industry (quarries), etc. − computer-aided programming (off-line programming) imple-
At the other end of the scale of permissible loads are minia- mented as:
ture robots with very low load capacity – it is assumed for this • graphic programming (called virtual reality-programming
class of machines as a limitation of 1 kg capacity. An exam- or VR-Programming), based on a computer simulation
ple of such a compact machine with a miniature mechanism image of a production station with embedded robot mecha-
is the MotoMINI robot from YASKAWA Europe GmbH [56] nism and a variant application of one of the above-mentio-
with a load capacity of 500 g, 6 degrees of mobility, repeata- ned programming methods,
bility of the TCP position ±0.03 mm and a range of motion • reverse or computer programming (computer aided design-
not exceeding 350 mm. The robot is equipped with the Moto- -programming or CAD-programming), using the well-
man YRC1000micro controller, developed especially for such -known CAD documentation for the produced object of
small machines. Just a few kilograms weight and the compact the robot tool trajectory path or its manipulation and com-
dimensions of MotoMINI make it easy to set up the robot in puter path calculating the values of machine coordinates
different, changing places in the production line. on this basis using the extent and geometric shape of the
Conventional industrial robots are programmed by teaching mechanism members and equations describing the depen-
the desired machine effector motions by the machine operator dence of machine coordinates on the location of the TCP
– two modes, used yet in the 1960s, are used [16, 18]: point in the common base system of the real and virtually
− point programming (multi-point teach-in programming, existing in the CAD space of the robot mechanism. It is
MP), also called simple programming. An indispensable a reversal of simple programming – in it manually setting
device for teaching a simple manipulation machine is a con- machine coordinate values of the real or virtual machine
troller or a programming or teaching panel (teach panel), mechanism in the manner described - calculation by the
which serves the machine operator to induce the desired computer program of these values, and thus a reversal of
movement of individual members by manually controlled simple programming, hence the good name in Polish.
servo drives of the mechanism and as a result of this change Manufacturers of modern industrial robots have adopted, as
of shape and location of the TCP point effector and then, a dominant principle, to provide the user with the use of two
in the memory of the robot controller, the machine coordi- programming modes: the basic is computer-aided programming,
nate values determining the mutual relations of the mecha- currently most often in reverse and complementary – as simple
nism members measured by rotary position transducers, e.g. programming. It mainly serves the robot operator during the
encoders, start-up phase of the robotic station or production machine,
− follow-up programming (play-back programming or on-line allowing for correction and supplementing of missing effector
programming), also called programming by predicting the transitions in computer implementation [1, 27, 28, 40, 54].

8 P O M I A R Y • A U T O M A T Y K A • R O B O T Y K A N R 1 / 20 20
 Mariusz Olszewski

Fig. 7. Cooperation between the cobot from

Fanuc Deutschland GmbH company and
employees at the control and demonstration
assembly stand
Rys. 7. Współpraca kobota firmy Fanuc
Fanuc Deutschland GmbH i pracownicy
na demonstracyjnym stanowisku kontrolnym
i montażowym [42]

3. Cooperating Robotics The essence of the construction of cobots is to bring the

structure, drives, sensors and control of the machine mecha-
Cobots – cooperative or collaborative robots (hence the nism closer to the limited movement possibilities of the arm/
word cluster), are constructed for direct cooperation with arms of the man and his specifically bionic sensoric and current
the human-operator and human-worker (hence the very good capabilities, both kinematic and kinetic. Unlike conventional
Polish name: „roboty współpracujące” → cooperating robots), robots, usually made of extruded or metallurgical profiles, with
supporting robotic stations, devices, machines and production measuring elements and drive assemblies mounted outside, the
lines [23, 31]. elements of the cobot mechanism are made of shell, plastic or
The first machines of this subclass of robots were created metallic fittings hiding all necessary elements and load-bearing
in 1996 at the University of Northwestern in Illnois for Intelli- assemblies (if there is a need to stiffen the outer shells) and
gent Assist Devices for moving heavy loads in spaces requiring executive motion, from sensors, through motors, gears, connec-
human presence and directing their movement. The essence of tion axis construction to power, signal and network cables. In
the application of cobots is the removal from the production this new, anthropomorphic or bionic way, the desired geometry,
space of both devices protecting against accidents caused by structure and rigidity of the cobot’s kinematic chain are pro-
human collisions with conventional handling machines, as well vided. At the same time, the smooth, round, often soft (thro-
as the removal of closed areas, intended only for the use of ugh the outer material or plastic lining) chain of the machine
these machines, completely separated from the presence of man. mechanism meets most of the desirable human requirements for
The increase in interest in cobots, seen in the last few years, contact of his body and arms with a “foreign” object. Hence the
is due to two reasons. The first is the conventional robotiza- almost indistinguishable similarities in the appearance of cobots
tion of industry that accelerates equally dynamically, in these in the catalogs of manufacturing companies.
years, and the investors’ willingness to reduce costs resulting
from unused space for production purposes and from the intro-
duction of additional safety devices unnecessary in production.
The second, even more important, proved to be proven in indu-
strial practice necessary presence of employees in most robo-
tized production processes and not only for the maintenance
(operational and service) of the handling machines themse-
lves, but primarily for technological reasons. Nowadays, there
is already the hypothetical possibility of robotizing any, even
low-series production process, but the cost of such investment
and the time of its amortization are incomparably large, sim-
ply unacceptable nowadays, in relation to the implementation
of the same process involving manual work. This may apply
only to some of the executive positions, but also in this case
the presence of cobots or conventional robots and with cobotic
behavior throughout the entire production process is desirable,
for reasons of work safety of people employed therein even at
other conventionally robotic positions.
The above-mentioned verbal interest in cobots does not yet
Fig. 8. Programming the trajectory of the cobot effector motion by
translate into equally clear use of these machines in practice. In teaching, consisting in forcing the movement (as the author does
2018, according to IFR, among 422,000 global machines instal- with your hand) of one of the mechanism members and through this
led, cobots are only 11,000 machines, i.e. in percentage terms movement changing the shape of the mechanism and the location of
3.2% of all installed handling machines [46, 54]. Nevertheless, the TCP point
Rys. 8. Programowanie trajektorii ruchu efektora kobota przez nauczanie,
a clear increase in the number of these machines is expected in polegające na wymuszeniu ruchu (jak czyni to autor dłonią) jednego
the near future, not only in industry, but in areas such as surgery z członów mechanizmu i przez ten ruch zmiany kształtu mechanizmu
and the service of people with this kind of care [24]. i położenia punktu TCP [19]

9
 Modern Industrial Robotics

In the area of motion and control parameters, cobots differ

significantly from conventional robots – the main differences
relate to the fulfillment of the mentioned requirements for safe,
ergonomically consistent cooperation with humans – of course,
and to the values of motion parameters, mechanism weight, its
lifting capacity and positioning repeatability, also for machine
prices. Averaging – this is expressed in the reception:
− limited linear motion speed of mechanism and effector mem-
bers, maximum values in non-collaborative mode do not
exceed 1 m/s, in collaborative mode they are several times
lower and depend on the speed of movement of the opera-
tor’s arm and hand,
− equally limited speed of the effector rotation, maximum val-
ues in non-collaborative mode do not exceed 135–400°/s,
in collaborative mode they depend – as above – only on
the operator,
− very small, compared to conventional machines, unit masses
and load capacity (kinematic chain load capacity) machines,
taking into account ergonomically acceptable loads for a per-
son, which depend on the applications adopted and the
type of work expended by a man – these are values or defi-
nitely less than 10 kg (e.g. 4 kg capacity), or with a slightly
increased range of 10–20 kg (e.g. 14 kg),
− allowing displacement by the operator of the entire, non-
funded mechanism in relation not only to a given position,
but also to several positions of the production line – hence
the mass of the mechanism must take into account the ergo-
nomics of the load imposed on the movement of people mov-
ing or moving this mechanism – this mass usually does not
exceed 30 kg,
− the effective range of the effector’s movement to the ergo-
nomically recommended spaces for human movement, sit-
ting or standing at the stand, i.e. from 400 mm to 800 mm,
− repeatability of positioning of movements programmed by
Fig. 9. BionicCobot of Festo AG & KG holding with pneumotronic vane
the movement of a human hand - this value can be even
servo motors: three control buttons (programming, stopping, starting
within ±0.15 mm, however, it is usually higher, even by an the program) and a virtual display of the behavior and programming of
order of magnitude, the cobot mechanism are visible
− programming the effector trajectory by teaching, consist- Rys. 9. BionicCobot holdingu Festo AG & KG z pneumotronicznymi
ing in manually guiding and setting selected members or serwosilnikami łopatkowymi: widoczne trzy przyciski sterowania
(programowania, zatrzymania, startu programu) oraz ekran wirtualnej
the effector and thus changing the shape of the mechanism prezentacji zachowań i programowania mechanizmu kobota [19, 43]
and the position of the TCP point with it – this is the most
cobotic way of programming these machines,
− prices of cobots, currently higher than conventional machines
with similar performance parameters, from 40,000 USD up − situation 4: reduction of strength and energy expenditure;
to 70,000 USD – weighs here extensive sensor and specifically given in the Technical Specification (TS) description of this
“soft” mechanism construction. It is assumed that when con- situation: the maximum values of forces (moments) or energy
sidering using the offer of cobots on the Polish market, you expended by the mechanism, after their initiation, are impas-
need to prepare for an expenditure of 100,000 PLN. sable values.
Requirements for safe human cooperation with the Men- A particularly interesting solution belonging to this group
-Robots-Collaboration machine are specified in the ISO/TS of robots is BionicCobot (Festo Vertrieb GmbH & Co. KG)
15066 standard (Robots and Robotic Devices – Collaborative [29, 30, 43]. A solution already known in 2017, but still awe-
Robots) – these are four permitted situations of mutual con- -inspiring with a huge number of problems that have been
tact, i.e. cooperation or collaboration [12, 34, 40, 54]: successfully solved. The robot mechanism and its geometri-
− situation 1: some detention; the cobot (or hybrid robot) cal expanses perfectly meet the ergonomic requirements of
mechanism stops when a person enters (even slipping the human figure, including its speed, acceleration and load
a hand) into the machine’s working space, parameters. It is possible to program its movements with all
− situation 2: handling with the hand; after activating the safe three of the aforementioned methods used in conventional, on-
operation switch (otherwise the mechanism is stopped), it is and off-line robotics, it is especially convenient to program by
possible to operate the mechanism with a human hand after teaching that meets the requirements of collaboration by ope-
determining the appropriate force (moment) measured with rating the mechanism by hand (Method 2). This was achieved
the sensor, affecting the mechanism, by the consistent application of a pneumotronic servo drive
− situation 3: speed and distance control, the machine’s wor- using vane rotary actuators. Thanks to this, the mechanism
king space is divided into several zones, detected overrun is “soft”, it is carried out smoothly by hand, position and tra-
(e.g. by a laser scanner), the first, outer zone reduces the jectory setting is very easy, when parked, it does not consume
speed of movement, exceeding subsequent zones – further energy, the forces implemented correspond to those known
reduction of its value, exceeding the proper working space of from drive pneumatics (supply pressure 6 bar). However, this is
the machine – complete stop of the movement of the mecha- definitely the most difficult, referring to the solutions of robots
nism, with electric drives, type of positioning drive (in the margins

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 Mariusz Olszewski

of the pneumotronics problem: it was solved for the Festo com- As the tab-windows of the UR cobot program were adop-
pany at the Institute of Automatic Control and Robotics of ted [52]:
the Warsaw University of Technology in the turn of the 20th − startup screen, split into two windows: the program allows
and 21st centuries [13]). you to select various functions and modes of programming
The perfect complement to the mechanisms of cobots is and dialog programming commands the position of the
proposed by the holding Schunk GmbH & Co. KG, Co-act TCP trajectory,
effectors family. It consists of four gripper effectors, the most − Move tab used to change the shape of the mechanism and
advanced Co-act JL1 has [50]: change the resulting location of its TCP point – three
− capacitive proximity sensors for collision situations, modes are implemented here:
− cown touch screen enabling communication of the effector • Move Tool – used to perform the basic task of the
with the employee-partner of the cobot, teaching the effector bookmark, i.e. setting the TCP in the machine work-
involves showing the effector the object being captured and space by moving selected members,
switching the effector modes of operation, • Move Joints – used to cause the movement of only one
− a video camera placed between the fingers of the gripper to member of the mechanism, taking into account its limi-
identify the object being captured, tations of geometric extent,
− two types of gripping: scissor and vise (parallel), • Freedrive – used for cobotic programming of the shape
− the ability to set the desired gripping force, of the mechanism using the hand/hand of the opera-
− tactile sensors distinguishing between the object being cap- tor or employee. This programming method is permit-
tured and the human-partner’s hand, ted for robots with a load capacity of 3 kg and 5 kg,
− optical notification of the “human” partner about the effecto- for a robot with a load capacity of 10 kg (UR10), this
r’s work status and identification of the object being captured. movement should be allowed by pressing the motion
The basic ways of programming cobots are basically identical enable button on the back of the programming panel
to the programming modes of conventional robots. As a good (analogous to conventional robot programming panels),
example, you can take the rules adopted by the undoubted − Graphics tab – visualizing the programmed trajectory of
leader in the market of cobotics, the Danish company Univer- the mechanism’s movement,
sal Robots A/S. Namely, the company has set the mechanisms − Structure tab – allowing you to modify the designed pro-
ease of use and programming of their movements. The software gram and add other functionalities to it by copying, cut-
uses the Linux system, simplifying programming and, above ting, pasting and disabling currently unnecessary parts
all, reducing the training time of operators and employees, of the program,
which works great in the case of point motion path design pro- − Installation tab – implementing program settings, inclu-
grams, worse in the case of cooperation with external devices ding input/output interfaces, security, and network pro-
and systems, based on data exchange. Understanding these tocols Profinet,
difficulties, the company established close cooperation with − The tab I/O – preview of inputs and outputs of the
manufacturers of external devices, i.e. effectors, sensors and robot controller.
actuators, as well as cooperation with software producers. The- In addition to the fourth collaborative situation appro-
refore, the UR+ platform has been built into the company’s ved by the manufacturer and compliant with the ISO/TS
system, allowing the integration of its own UR system with 15066 standard, the application of cobots from Univeral
third-party devices and software. Robots also meets the requirements of the TÜV (German,

Fig. 10. UR10 cobots company

Universal Robots A/S (mechanism
with six degrees of mobility,
load capacity of 10 kg, 30 kg
curb weight, range 1300 mm and
repeatability of TCP positions
±0.1 mm) at a demonstration stand
for box-assembly containing
ordered products in shape cavities
Rys. 10. Koboty UR10 firmy
Universal Robots A/S (mechanizm
o sześciu stopniach ruchliwości,
udźwigu 10 kg, masie własnej 30 kg,
zasięgu 1300 mm i powtarzalności
pozycji TCP ±0,1 mm) na
demonstracyjnym stanowisku
kompletacji pudełek-skrzynek
mieszczących uporządkowane
produkty w zagłębieniach
kształtowych [52]

11
 Modern Industrial Robotics

Technischer Überwachungsverein) certificate confirming the according to the 4th situation of MRK. The robot was equ-
compliance of generally understood safe work of man and ipped with sensory supervision of forces and moments in all
machine with the EN ISO 13849-1: 2008 standard, later six degrees of mobility of the mechanism. It is also possible
replaced by the EN ISO 13849-1: 2016-02 standard and its to use a cobotic gripper effector or a specialized tool effector
Polish equivalent (Machine Safety – Elements of the Safety with MRK properties.
Related Control System – Part 1: General Design Princi- MRK hybrid modification requirements may also apply to
ples) [54]. cobots - e.g. to use, in addition to a company-equipped cobot
with its specific sensory, processor and actuator accessories, in
addition to a safety scanner that allows the cobot to work at
4. Hybrid Robotics speeds greater than collaborative in a situation where it’s the
scanned environment does not contain any unexpected object
Already from the requirements set out in the previous point during programming. In practice, this should be understood
for the cobots it follows that from the point of view of the as the division of the work space of the cobot, resulting from
industrial robotics user there should be such a variety of its kinematic structure and geometrical extent of its mem-
robots or cobots that meets the double application require- bers, into two zones:
ments associated with the already mentioned problem of their − an operating zone in which a cobot can behave like
presence throughout the production line. Namely, the relati- a conventional robot and
vely high cost of cobots, reduced movement speeds, reduced − to the collaboration zone where the employee may be and
parameters of the working space and reduced load capacity, the cobot must meet the mentioned specific requirements
tend to make robotization applicants use non-robotized robots of the adopted, for example 4th collaboration situation.
with conventional properties, higher movement speeds and Therefore, when preparing a cobotic or hybrid application,
lower prices. This is how a variety of manipulative machines the following threats should be identified, in accordance with
called hybrid robots was created, combining (almost) conven- the requirements of ISO 10218-2: 2011 (Robots and Robotic
tional prices and performance with the requirements of MRK. Devices – Safety Requirements for Industrial Robots – Part
These properties are limited, however, usually only to one 2: Robot Systems and Integration) [40, 54]:
selected collaborative situation according to ISO/TS 15066. − threats related to the robotic mechanism:
A good example of such a hybrid robot is Motoman HC10 • functional parameters of the mechanism: kinematic struc-
from YASKAWA Europe GmbH with a motion distance of ture, geometrical mass and extensions, velocities and acce-
1.2 m and a load capacity of 10 kg (HC is of course Human lerations of motion of members and effector, generated
Collaborative) [56]. This robot is designed for both standard, by force drives and moments, affecting the emergence of
conventional and collaborative applications, which provides human hazards,
it with a slightly modified implementation of cobotic security • the possibility of quasi-static contact with the
human body,
• mutual arrangement of workplaces: man and robot,
− threats related to the equipment of the robot mechanism:
• effectors, non-ergonomic construction solutions of grippers
and tools, e.g. the possibility of dropping the transferred
element, sharp edges of this element, etc.,
• the possibility of pressing the human body during the pro-
gram,
• construction and location of programming and control
panels, e.g. the possibility of accidentally starting or stop-
ping the robot mechanism,
• construction and placement of other machines in the
immediate vicinity of the robotic human and robot work-
place,
− threats resulting from a given robot application:
• the surroundings of the human and robot workplace, e.g.
temperature, noise, dustiness,
• availability of special human protective equipment,
• non-ergonomically designed trajectory of the robot effec-
tor motion.
In addition, it is appropriate to determine the risk of
hazards caused by the presence of human-operator or
human-employee in the operational and collaborative zone
of the robot:
− the frequency and duration of human stay in the collabo-
rative zone,
− frequency and duration of direct contact between man
and robot,
− the nature of the transitions between the operational and
collaboration zone,
Fig. 11. Motoman HC10 hybrid robot from YASKAWA Europe GmbH with − the nature of resetting the robot’s work system: automa-
an application-adapted, specialized effector-tool, construction from
tic or manual,
Stöger Automation GmbH
Rys. 11. Robot hybrydowy Motoman HC10 firmy YASKAWA Europe GmbH − the necessary number of employees in the collaboration
z dostosowanym do aplikacji, specjalizowanym efektorem-narzędziem zone: one or more employees and in what capacity,
konstrukcji firmy Stöger Automation GmbH [56] − non-collaborative tasks forcing people to enter this zone.

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 Mariusz Olszewski

5. Service Robotics clearly assigned cobotic behaviors. These service works are
programmed cobotically by the employee servicing the service
Another large group of modern robots characterized not so station and in relation to a series of several or a dozen serviced
much by servicing and servicing machines, stations, lines, sys- car bodies moved and set manually by the employee servicing
tems and industrial processes, but above all by supporting and the employee in specific places around the car body, started –
servicing us, people in specific life situations, from servicing by performing already previously programmed tasks such as
the apartment and performing everyday activities, to servicing setting the customer’s choice wheels and tires, recognizing the
patients hospital departments, including surgical, rehabilita- location of their mounting bolts and checking their tightening
tion and laboratory rooms, to support chronically ill, crippled torque, checking the correct mounting of the side mirrors and
or infirm people as well as medical and nursing staff who look their operation, installing the correct license plates, cleaning
after these people in nursing homes, retirement homes, and and polishing the paint, etc.
retirement homes, especially in hospices. In the second, even more interesting to us, people, service
Service robots also in the mentioned industrial applications area, a very interesting solution in the group of service robots
have quite specific tasks of supporting employees performing is the Lio mobile cobot proposed by the Swiss company F&P
these tasks manually, without any machine support. A good Robotics AG to serve us as a partner, as the other person,
example are reports from the Korean holding company Doosan in all of the above-mentioned activities and tasks, in which
Robotics Inc. on the application of service robots at car prepa- we require direct contact with the other person: a doctor,
ration stations provided by the manufacturer to the developer a nurse, a physiotherapist, and thus serve as a personal
for further shipment or direct pickup by the customer [39]. In service robot or more properly personal, serviceable [44]. Lio
this case, of course, they must be hybrid service robots with is a mobile machine with the P-Rob cobot mechanism moun-

Fig. 12. Service works of the Korean

Doosan Robotics Inc. holding:
robotized car preparation stand
for pickup by the customer: wheel
replacement, number setting, paint
cleaning and polishing, windows,
headlights, mirrors and other body
parts
Rys. 12. Roboty serwisowe
koreańskiej holdingu Doosan Robotics
Inc.: zrobotyzowane stanowisko
przygotowania samochodu do odbioru
przez klienta: wymiana kół, założenie
numerów, czyszczenie i polerowanie
lakieru, szyb, reflektorów, lusterek i
innych elementów karoserii [19, 39]

Fig. 13. Service works on the cobotic

properties of the Swiss company
F&P Robotics AG:
a) Lio mobile personal cobot,
b) Industrial service robots P-Rob,
cobot in the foreground with
the gripper of
the Schunk GmbH & Co. KG
Rys. 13. Roboty serwisowe
o właściwościach kobotycznych
szwajcarskiej firmy F&P Robotics AG:
a) mobilny kobot osobisty Lio,
b) przemysłowe roboty serwisowe
P-Rob, kobot na pierwszym planie
z chwytakiem holdingu
Schunk GmbH & Co. KG [12, 44]

a) b)

13
 Modern Industrial Robotics

Fig. 14. The cobotic service robot LBR-iiwa of the KUKA AG holding used in the architectural design DIANA (Dynamic Interactive Robotic Assistant
for Novel Applications) for the assembly of irregularly positioned wooden architectural elements in the workspace
Rys. 14. Kobotyczny robot serwisowy LBR-iiwa holdingu KUKA AG wykorzystany w projekcie architektonicznym DIANA (Dynamic Interactive Robotic Assistant
for Novel Applications) do montażu nieregularnie ustawionych w przestrzeni roboczej drewnianych elementów architektronicznych [21, 49]

ted on a mobile platform. This integrated chassis and han- 6. Multi-chain Robotics
dling mechanism, protected by a soft lining, is designed to
encourage direct contact with it. It can be programmed by Apart from the attempts at industrial humanoid solutions,
teaching various, even complex activities necessary to per- multi-chain robotics in modern versions uses mechanisms with
form in our, how strongly changing environment. A two-arm parallel kinematic structures that can be divided into two gro-
version with two parallel open chains of P-Rob mechanisms, ups of solutions [9, 10, 32]:
already with clear humanoid features, is also being prepared − robots with mechanisms with two parallel, open kinematic
at F&P Robotics. chains, with clear anthropomorphic features, which is why
Another project of the F&P Robotics company is cobot Lio they are most often called two-armed or twinarms robots,
as a partner of nursing staff during blood sampling, performing − robots with mechanisms of two (dipods), three (tripods),
injections as Robot Assistant for Nurses [34, 44]. generally several, e.g. six (hexapods), closed so-called Stewart
And one more example, at the opposite end of the area of platform, kinematic chains, often referred to as paral-
service applications discussed so far. The DIANA project (Dyna- lel robots.
mic Interactive Robotic Assistant for Novel Applications) assu- Two-armed robots are still treated as innovative, effective,
med the use of a cobotic service robot for assembling irregularly but also effective due to the possibility of introducing and chec-
positioned wooden elements. The assumed geometry and this king the advanced control of the arm and/or hand movement
building material required the use of assembly technique ena- of the operator or employee, using augmented reality (AR)
bling dynamic detection and response of the tool to numerous and intelligent sensory gloves or smart work gloves. These solu-
deviations from the assumed dimension [21]. tions are already present in the commercial programs of several
In the process of project implementation, a KUKA produc- manufacturing companies, including those with selected cobotic
tion robot – LBR-iiwa, with seven levels of mobility of the kine- properties (MRK). The application of this subclass of handling
matic mechanism was used, which is distinguished by the fact machines is primarily assembly, usually involving both hands
that for each axis of movement during its operation, the torque of the employee, replaced by two parallel kinematic chains of
generated by it is measured. Torque sensors were introduced in identical construction. For this reason, the geometrical para-
order to enable safe cooperation of the robot with a human and meters of these robots are, as described in the cobots, ergono-
giving way to the robot mechanism in front of the encountered mically adapted to the figure, mutual position and extent of
obstacle after reaching the set, safe moment and programming human arms, as well as their kinematic parameters: speed and
the mechanism movement by teaching, using the manual method acceleration and load parameters.
of the robot effector by the employee. In the DIANA project, In the construction of two-armed robots and cobots, manufac-
these sensors were also used during assembly to detect inaccu- turers use their machines with one serial kinematic chain, dupli-
racies in the execution of the elements and the process of their cating this chain in two copies connected by a kind of platform,
joining so as to compensate for the large inaccuracies of archi- also known for the construction of manipulation machines with
tectural designs on construction sites [2, 3, 7]. parallel structures such as dipods and tripods, but with an inver-
The DIANA project has become an important step to imple- ted mounting position. This can vary in performance even within
ment the assumptions of Industrial Transformation 4.0 into products of one manufacturer, as well as proprietary designs but
the assembly processes of architectronical elements on con- combined with third-party effectors. Especially scientific and rese-
struction sites [3]. arch centers and institutions dealing with model performances

14 P O M I A R Y • A U T O M A T Y K A • R O B O T Y K A N R 1 / 20 20
 Mariusz Olszewski

related to new effector solutions usually use machines from other

companies, attaching their own studies to them.
A great example of such a solution, well made and already
having the first applications behind it, is the Yumi cobot from
ABB Automation GmbH [35]. The machine weighs 38 kg and
can handle an object weighing up to 500 g loading each of the
arms. It was used in a company producing furniture hinges. It
consists of two elements, which must be properly superimposed
and then put together, without changing their mutual position,
under two automatic screwdrivers. The assembly process ends
with quality control. Here, the two-armed Yumi cobot with
a video camera used in the gripper, analogously used as in the
case of the already described Co-act JL1 gripper from Schunk
[50], identifying the mutual position of the connected elements
and checking the correctness of their connection by comparing
the made hinge with the stored reference image of a well-made
element. The advantage of the Yumi cobot is the possibility of
using this two-arm robotization in other positions (low curb
weight) and intuitive programming, through teaching, which
Fig. 16. The use of augmented reality and at the same time
does not require long training of the employees of the depart- anthropomorphic, sensory glove (on the right hand) for intelligent
ment of the applying company. programming of a two-armed cobot with a ten-finger gripper, Deutsches
The construction of closed kinematic chains was initiated in Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)
1947 by E.V. Gough, initially building a research stand and Rys. 16. Zastosowanie rozszerzonej rzeczywistości i równocześnie
antropomorficznej, sensorycznej rękawicy (na prawej dłoni) do inteligentnego
carrying it out professionally in 1955. It was an extremely programowania dwuramiennego kobota z dziesięciopalcowym chwytakiem,
interesting period of time when technical solutions emerged, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR) [19, 38]

a)
which were crucial for the future development of the machine
industry. In 1948, Bill Moog builds the first electrohydraulic
servo valve, thanks to which the production of numerically
controlled (NC) machine tools could be started from 1954, and
in the same year the first, patented, programmable industrial
robot designed by G. Devol is created, and the aforementio-
ned year appears Gough hexapod design with electrohydraulic
servo drive [11, 26. 27].
However, interest in the idea of Gough’s parallel mechanism
is suppressed in the 1960s by the first successes of industrial
applications of serial robot mechanisms, already performed
by J. Engelberger. Interest in Gough’s idea sustains D. Ste-
wart’s analogous study, also hexapod, and also with hydraulic
drive, described in 1966. And again it shifts to the margin of
robotics by introducing electric drive and processor control in
industrial robots in 1974 by the Swedish group ASEA [18, 20].
It wasn’t until the late 1980s and the 1990s that the twentieth
century was ending that there was interest in parallel mecha-
b) nisms. This time in a dipod or more often tripod design, with
three kinematic chains articulated (class III connections) with
a connector, called Stewart’s platform in robotics slang. An
effector was mounted in series to this platform and two or more
kinematic members were mounted on it, increasing the total
mobility to four or five degrees of mobility.
Initially, pneumatic, piston rod and rodless cylinders servo-
-controlled were used as drives, since the first decade of the
21st century electric servo drives have been gradually becoming
more common. At this point it is worth mentioning and this
applies to all of the described robotics, about technological
changes, also affecting the area of machine and robot propul-
sion and causing in the last several years evolutionary, but
now a very clear departure from propulsion solutions related
to pneumatics [13].
The 50s, 60s and 70s of the last century, when pneumatics
Fig. 15. Two-armed robots of the ABB Automation GmbH company with
various structures and execution of platforms connecting kinematic became the basic, practically the only means of automating
chains of “arms”: production processes, were the period of uniquely intensive
a) with the cobotic effector of the Schunk GmbH & Co. KG, development of control and drive pneumatics. However, as
b) with ABB effector–gripper early as the 1980s and 1990s, pneumatic information acqu-
Rys. 15. Roboty dwuramienne firmy ABB Automation GmbH o różnej
strukturze i wykonaniu platform łączących łańcuchy kinematyczne „ramion”:
isition and processing devices, both continuous and discrete,
a) z efektorem kobotycznym holdingu Schunk GmbH & Co. KG, were replaced by electronic and processor devices. Pneumatic
b) z efektorem–chwytakiem ABB [12, 35, 50] applications have remained and remain the actuator drives of

15
 Modern Industrial Robotics

Fig. 17. Multi-chain closed

kinematic works with
electropneumatic actuator drive:
a) with a double-chain mechanism
(dipod), piston rod drive,
Bosch Rexroth AG,
b) with a three-chain mechanism
(tripod), rodless drive, Festo
Vertrieb GmbH und Co. KG
Rys. 17. Roboty
wielołańcuchowe o zamkniętej
strukturze kinematycznej
z elektropneumatycznym napędem
siłownikowym:
a) z mechanizmem
dwułańcuchowym (dipod), napęd
tłoczyskowy, Bosch Rexroth AG,
b) z mechanizmem trójłańcuchowym
(tripod), napęd beztłoczyskowy,
Festo Vertrieb GmbH und Co. KG
[37, 43]
a) b)

automated and robotic production processes, but the relative belief, now with full conviction that the choice of electrical
area of their applications is clearly accelerating reduction in solutions is right. The investment cost of the electric actuator
favor of electric drive, even after the design of throttled con- with all necessary components, in this example, was still in 2018
trolled pneumatic actuators has been transformed into servo- about 260% of the investment cost of the pneumatic actuator,
pneumatic and pneumotronic actuators [13–15]. including all necessary components for its use. However, this
Three factors influenced the development of new, competitive cost was depreciated after 5 months of using the actuator. Howe-
to drive pneumatics, solutions and applications of electric drives ver, at the moment (2019), the actuator manufacturers ensure
and servo drives in industrial robotics: that the investment costs of both solutions are equal! [19].
− the aforementioned introduction in the 1990s of new magne- The fact of carbon dioxide emissions is also not without signi-
tic materials, primarily neodymium, increasing the energy ficance. In the case of approx. 24,000 kWh of energy needed
efficiency of electric motors with their significantly reduced additionally to maintain the operation of the exemplary pneu-
mass and volume, matic cylinder in relation to the electric cylinder, it is also an
− indisputably easier direct supply of electricity to the actuators additional emission of approx. 12,000 kg of CO2 after adoption,
of machines and robots than it is the case with the supply e.g. for Germany, the equivalent of carbon dioxide emissions at
of pressure energy and compressed flow of air, by means of the level of approx. 500 g CO2/kWh called the “carbon foot-
this electricity, print” [19].
− the need to save energy, both due to the rising costs of obta- Returning to multi-chain robots – the advantages of the most
ining and using it, as well as the rapidly spreading awareness commonly developed electric drive tripods include:
of the negative environmental impact of obtaining energy from − a much more “rigid” mechanism construction compared to
conventional sources and materials. In the case of pneumatics, series mechanisms, which undoubtedly has a beneficial effect
it is particularly unfavorable to generate energy supplying the on improving the quality of the effector positioning (repeata-
actuator controls twice, drastically deteriorating the energy bility of the effector position in the range of hundredths of
efficiency of these devices. a millimeter), which in turn predisposes multi-chain robots
Examples showing definitely better effects and technical and for the production of devices built on a micro scale and nano-
energetic solutions of electrical compared to pneumatic ones technology,
have been given for several years now, initially with some dis- − to the disadvantages:

Fig. 18. Multi-chain robots with

a closed kinematic structure and
various drives:
a) with a three-chain mechanism
(tripod), with an electric motor
drive, with four levels of mobility,
b) with a six-chain mechanism
(hexapod), with six levels of
mobility, with an electrohydraulic
actuator, a Japanese company AKA
Rys. 18. Roboty wielołańcuchowe
o zamkniętej strukturze
kinematycznej i różnych napędach:
a) z mechanizmem trójłańcuchowym
(tripod), z elektrycznym napędem
silnikowym, o czterech stopniach
ruchliwości,
b) z mechanizmem sześciołańcucho-
wym (heksapod), o sześciu stopniach
ruchliwości, z elektrohydraulicznym
napędem siłownikowym, japońska
firmy AKA [19]
a) b)

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 Mariusz Olszewski

Fig. 19. Robotino, a mobile robot

from Festo AG & KG for research
and training in Industry 4.0:
a) a traveling platform with
a column and one of three
platforms supporting production
modules by its own effectors,
b) mechanism with 3 levels of
local mobility of the robot effector
Rys. 19. Robotino, robot mobilny
firmy Festo AG & KG dla prac
badawczych i szkoleniowych
w obszarze Przemysłu 4.0:
a) platforma jezdna wraz
z kolumną i jedną z trzech platform
obsługujących moduły produkcyjne
przez własne efektory,
b) mechanizm o trzech stopniach
ruchliwości lokalnej efektora robota
[19, 43]

a) b)

− definitely smaller workspace, which in production applica- provided by 12 V batteries with a controlled level of charge
tions carried out on a micro and nanotechnology scale is not and a power station.
of great importance, Computer control with COM Express specification, using an
− higher cost and price of these machines compared to conven- Intel Core i5, 2.4 GHz or Intel Atom, 1.8 GHz processor. The
tional design robots, operation of the operating and utility systems is protected by
− collaborative versions are more difficult than in the case of a 32 GB SSD drive or 64 GB optional. The work of four DC
cobots with serial mechanisms – hence, at least in the solu- motors of the mobile platform movement is directly control-
tions encountered, multi-chain mechanisms are protected in led by a 32 bit processor, generating PWM signals using the
closed application processes. FPGA interface and receiving signals from encoders coupled
with four motors driving the mobile platform.
The movement of the robot column and its local parts are
7. Mobile Robotics programmed by computer-assisted learning, implemented as
graphic programming, based on a computer simulation image
The first machines belonging to the subclass of industrial, of the production department with a robot embedded in it.
autonomous mobile robots (mobile robots, Automated Guided Teaching itself can be implemented by one of the previously
Vehicles – AGVs or Autonomous Intelligent Vehicles – AIVs) selected methods used in modern conventional robotics. Com-
appeared at the beginning of the last decade. Taking into puter – machine communication is provided via wireless LAN.
account only machines with a currently noticeable practical For system startup and simulation, the interface (API) sup-
significance, they can be divided into two clearly different gro- ports the use of various systems and languages, including
ups of solutions: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7/8/10, C/C ++, JAVA Net,
− mobile robots supporting modules and production depart- LabVIEW and MATLAB/Simulink, Robot Operating System
ments of Industry 4.0. These machines are still used in (ROS SmartSoft) and Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio.
the research, development and implementation phases of Robotino performance parameters [43]:
the manufacturing process transformations, ultimately in − traffic maps in the area of 20–5600 mm, traffic speed up to
line with the assumptions of Industrial Transformation 4.0 10 km/h,
[17, 25], − load capacity 30 kg, curb weight 20 kg,
− autonomous mobile robots designed for intralogistic-house − platform diameter 450 mm,
transport of products, materials and tools, i.e. automation − tactile contact zone of the platform sensory supported,
and robotization of the production area, also intralogistics, − HD 1080 px video camera with USB interface.
logistics, palletizing and storage [4, 5]. Moving to internal transport machines, their first solutions
An example of a mobile robot solution of the first group of appeared almost parallel to the first industrial robots, i.e. in
machines intended for the areas of Industry 4.0 is Robotino, the 1950s–60s. of the 20th century. These machines have gone,
a locomotion and handling machine, available in two versions: along with the development of industrial robotics, a long way
Basic Edition and Premium Edition. They differ in the inten- to introduce new, innovative solutions, associated primarily
sity of computer processing, the volume of internal memory with the implementation of autonomous traffic and in the
and the details of the platform and column, e.g. in the Pre- area of maximum speeds of several meters per second and safe
mium version, you can use three column platforms that sup- behavior for workers encountered on the roads of this move-
port different production modules [19, 43]. ment. The presence of these employees in typical applications
Robotino is equipped with three servo electrically driven of internal transport machines cannot be simply excluded in
modules, providing the possibility of moving the platform in industrial practice.
three directions of motion and omnidirectional regional rota- A good, proven example of such a solution is the VersaBot
tion at the stop, and identically driven three elements of local 500/700 mobile robot, a young company created in 2013, the
motion embedded on them effector – thus a total of seven Polish company VersaBox [5, 55]. The robot can navigate the
degrees of mobility of the final effector. The position of the colored line, use the laser mapping system of the traffic envi-
mechanism is controlled by nine infrared sensors, with the ronment, implementing in it autonomous, intelligent, safe beha-
additional option of retrofitting the machine with two optical viors, checking in the company of other dozen mobile robots
and one inductive motion tracking sensor. The power supply is and special versions, designed for so-called clean production

17
 Modern Industrial Robotics

a) b)
Fig. 20. Autonomous mobile robots (AGV) for intralogistic transport: a) VersaBot 500/700 by VersaBox Sp. z o.o., b) LD from Omron
Rys. 20. Autonomiczne roboty mobilne (AGV) transportu wewnętrznego: a) VersaBot 500/700 firmy VersaBox Sp. z o.o., b) LD firmy Omron [47, 55]

rooms, including in the food industry. It can work as a towing the international company Kuehne + Nagel [48], offering dedi-
vehicle, is equipped with a pallet jack, ensures assembly of cated solutions in the field of international and domestic air
roller feeders and adapters for the mounting of manipulative and sea forwarding, road, rail, as well as contract and integra-
mechanisms. The company cooperates with system integrators, ted logistics as well as integrator of station execution, Biuro
also supports leasing solutions. Inżynierskie Sp. z o.o. The project was implemented within
In recent years, interesting solutions have emerged for auto- 4 months, the cost – about 250 thousand PLN. The work was
mated and robotic mobile stations carrying out selected tasks honored in the ‘Young Innovative’ Competition, PIAP, in 2019
related to further technical rationalization of logistics and and the Siemens and Rector Award of the Warsaw University
intralogistics, especially palletization. This applies not only of Technology in 2019.
to manufacturing companies, but above all to logistics com- Important for the successful implementation of the project
panies that provide co-packing services, i.e. packaging and was the use of a Universal Robots A/S [52] cobot station in
repackaging of products or their sets within contract logistics. the construction of a robotic program for palletizing products
It encourages the development and application of these solu- and for coordinating the station’s overriding work – the Sie-
tions of modern universality, including the Internet of these mens Simatic S-7 1200 controller [51]. The most important
processes and their special time-consuming nature, especially station parameters [8]:
in confrontation with the lack of employees. − number of pallet places – 2,
An interesting implementation of this concept is the diploma, − supported pallets: 800 mm × 1200 mm – EUR1,
master’s project, carried out by Piotr Kwiatkowski in 2019 [8], − maximum palletizing height – 2000 mm,
conducted at the Institute of Automatic Control and Robotics − maximum number of cycles per minute – 8,
of the Warsaw University of Technology, in cooperation with − number of scanners for safe cobot operation – 3.

a) b)
Fig. 21. A robotized, mobile palletizing station with a cooperating robot: a) sketch of the project solution, b) made palletizing station
Rys. 21. Zrobotyzowana, mobilna stacja paletyzująca z robotem współpracującym: a) szkic rozwiązania projektu, b) wykonana stacja paletyzująca [8, 48]

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 Mariusz Olszewski

8. Conclusions tion station based on collaborative robot). Praca dyplomowa

magisterska (promoter M. Olszewski, work awarded in the
And ending the essay on modern intelligent robotics: the tasks Competition “Young Innovations”, PIAP, in 2019 and by
of cobotics, hybrid, service, autonomous mobile and multi- Siemens and the Rector of Warsaw University of Technology,
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Współczesna robotyka przemysłowa

Streszczenie: Roboty stały się w mijającym dziesięcioleciu podstawowymi narzędziami
automatyzacji i robotyzacji produkcji przemysłowej, tak jak kiedyś, w latach 70. sterowniki
programowalne, w latach 80. procesorowe regulatory napędów, w latach 90. XX wieku nastawniki
częstotliwościowe silników prądu przemiennego i w pierwszych latach XXI wieku cyfryzacja,
wyrażająca się istotnym zaawansowaniem i upowszechnieniem informatyzacji, telekomunikacji
i internetyzacji. Świadectwem tej roli jest dalsze, poza obszary konwencjonalnej robotyki, rozszerzanie
jej aplikacji i pojawienie się nowych rozwiązań sprzętowych i programowych ukierunkowanych
na wspólne, przez roboty i człowieka, podejmowanie dotychczas nie racjonalizowanych zadań
produkcyjnych. Tym właśnie przemianom we współczesnej robotyce poświęcony jest ten esej.
Słowa kluczowe: robotyka, konstrukcja, kinematyka, sterowanie, programowanie, aplikacja przemysłowa, Przemysł 4.0

Prof. Mariusz Olszewski, PhD, DSc

marindustry4.0@gmail.com
ORCID: 0000-0003-3516-2942

An employee of the Warsaw University

of Technology since 1965, a scholarship
holder of the Alexander v. Humboldt
Foundation in the 1970s, internships and
work in German universities and compa-
nies in the 1980s. In 1978 he organizes
the first scientific conference on indu-
strial robotics in Poland, in 1985 WNT
publishes the first Polish monograph
on industrial handling machines written
under his supervision, in the past decade
the REA publishing house has published
the first Polish mechatronics textbooks written under his supervision: “Mechatro-
nics” (2002), “Fundamentals of Mechatronics” (2006) and two-volume “Mecha-
tronic Devices and Systems” (2009). A specialist in the field of drive and control
of machines and industrial robots. Director of the Institute of Automatic Control
and Robotics at the Mechatronics Faculty of the Warsaw University of Techno-
logy in 1994–2012; member of the Scientific Council of the Industrial Institute of
Automation and Measurements (PIAP) in the years 2003–2017; vice-chairman of
the Technical-Education-Committee at the Polish-German AHK in Warsaw since
2010. The founder of the scientific and technical consulting company marIndu-
stry4.0 in the area of mechatronization, automation, robotization, computeri-
zation and internetization of industrial production – Industry 4.0, from 2016..

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