Braunschweig startup with 2-fold hand robot
Apart from the Yumi, I am not aware of any robot with two arms. Grippers in the form and function of a hand have not yet become established anyway. They are apparently simply too expensive or make only limited sense on one arm. Aeon Robotics GmbH has set itself the goal to change both. The founders were kind enough to write the following lines for the blog readers.
Man demonstrates once - robot reproduces it
Aeon Robotics GmbH, a spin-off of TU Braunschweig, is making it possible for robots to learn grasping movements directly from humans for the first time. The "handeffector" robot has a robotic hand modeled on a human and can detect gripping forces via a built-in sense of force and imitate them using artificial intelligence. In the process, the gripping movements are taught by humans through a one-time demonstration. Robot programming has never been so simple and intuitive.
New teaching method aims to reduce teaching time by 95%.
The system was developed to reduce implementation costs for new processes by speeding up the programming process through the new intuitive teach-in method. Initial experiments show that more than 95% of the learning time can be saved. This no longer requires specially trained personnel. With integrated force measurement and AI-based object recognition and grip adaptation, the system offers automated handling of pressure-sensitive objects of different types and safe interaction with humans. This enables the automation of processes that previously could not be automated with existing automation solutions. Finally, integration into existing production lines is easy because object recognition and AI are already included in the system.
The robot will be used in the food industry to sort and package food. The concept supports employees in monotonous and repetitive work steps. A future application of the technology could be as a service robot in building cleaning and maintenance.
Aeon Robotics GmbH
The spin-off was funded by the EXIST Gründerstipendium of the BMWi. The official start of the project was 01.05.2021. Since 01.10.2021. the StartUp is part of the Batch VIII of the incubator MO.IN of the Braunschweig Zukunft GmbH. The founding team consists of Dr.-Ing. Sönke Michalik and Dr.-Ing. Sören Michalik two former employees of the Institute of Robotics and Process Informatics at the TU Braunschweig and Dr. Lars Heim, a former employee of the Department of Business Administration and Corporate Management at the TU Clausthal.
I think such a robot would have completely new applications. It could not only process food, but also fold towels in laundries or provide effective help in households as a mobile version. The market launch is planned for 2023.