Mitsubishi Electric Develops Teaching-less Robot System Technology

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced it has developed a teaching-less robot system technology to enable robots to perform tasks, such as sorting and arrangement as fast as humans without having to be taught by specialists. The system incorporates Mitsubishi Electric’s Maisart AI technologies including high-precision speech recognition, which allows operators to issue voice instructions to initiate work tasks and then fine-tune robot movements as required. The technology is expected to be applied in facilities such as food-processing factories where items change frequently, which has made it difficult until now to introduce robots. Mitsubishi Electric aims to commercialize the technology in or after 2023 following further performance enhancements and extensive verifications.

Product features include as follows:

1. Robot movements self-programmed/adjusted based on simple commands from operator

• Robot movements are self-programmed and self-adjusted in response to simple commands communicated by voice or via a device menu by a non-specialist operator.
• Proprietary voice-recognition AI accurately recognizes voice instructions even in noisy environments for the first time in industrial robot manufacturers.
• Sensors detect 3D information (images and distances) about work area, which are processed with augmented reality (AR) technology for simulations that allow operator to visualize expected results.
• Programming and adjustments require just one-tenth or less time than conventional systems.

2) Technology-optimized movements enable robot to perform tasks as fast as humans

• The self-programming system generates commands to control robot movements, including to avoid obstacles, in order to perform work tasks as fast as humans (minimum 2 seconds to grasp item).
• The system also adjusts and optimizes the timing of opening and closing robotic hands to reduce wasted time.
• Using visual information from a camera attached to the robot’s hand, the system automatically corrects movements, including when the position of the robot or the object to be placed changes.

This robot system also features integrated system management of peripheral information. To simplify the process of adding custom functions, the system supports the Robot Operating System (ROS) software platform. Also, the company has developed a ROS-Edgecross linkage function to centrally manage information on Edgecross, ROS and the entire system. Edgecross connectivity and multi-vendor capability simplify the monitoring and analysis of entire production lines for enhanced productivity and quality. Edgecross is a Japan-based open software platform for edge computing combining FA and IT.