Margus Müür

One of the challenges that this demonstration project sought to solve was the robotic production of acoustic panels to reduce the time needed to manufacture these. The demonstration project tested the robotic screwing process for acoustic panels of different configurations, taking into account the different dimensions of the panels, the number of screws to be installed and their installation. This demonstration project linked robotics (UR10 collaborative robot), automation (screw feeder, automatic screwdriver, intelligent jig), AI tools (digital twin workstation, machine vision tools, simulation of robot work trajectory). The solution took into account the company's specific production processes and the requirements for acoustic panel parameters, as well as the possibilities for implementing fully automated production in the company or for deployment in other companies in the sector. Results of the demonstration project: realization of the product assembly operation, development of the assembly cell concept, selection of a suitable robot for the assembly operation, selection of the tools, simulation and testing, data collection, analysis and verification of the results.

The novelty of the demo project is the joint handling of non-form-retaining textile materials and solid frame materials by intelligent and flexible robot/assembly robot stations. The active control method detects the performance of the robot’s working organs and checks the quality assurance data with the real ones. Through the analysis and pattern recognition of the collected data, artificial intelligence must be able to make changes to the drafting process. During testing, data will be collected and algorithms created for artificial intelligence to make decisions.

Smart Industry Centre (SmartIC) was created at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) and Estonian University of Life Sciences (Institute of Technology) in 2017 to improve collaboration in research and development and use of distributed infrastructure in the field of Industry 4.0 - robotics, mechatronics, additive manufacturing, product quality control and related fields of IT (especially artificial intelligence). In 2018, Institute of Technology of University of Tartu joined in collaboration (mainly in the field of robotics). In 2017-2020 several new labs were opened (FMS and Robotics Lab, Industrial Virtual and Augmented Reality Lab, Additive Manufacturing Lab/ ProtoLab, Computer Tomography Lab for quality control, etc). Several new ERF and H2020 funded projects were initiated and launched in 2017-2020.