Resilient manufacturing lines based on smart handling systems

Manual and automated production lines must evolve to “produce more and diverse with less”, however they need to address shortcomings such as

• high product variants requiring tool level dexterity and resource level reconfigurability
• lack of cognitive perception systems to allow autonomous reasoning and operation
• absence of adaptable control to accurately handle a variety of workpieces and materials, and
• inefficiency of planning systems in addressing holistically all hierarchical production levels.

SMARTHANDLE will research technologies to address these needs and support European industry, by implementing a) intelligent, reconfigurable agents to provide dexterity in a range of handling applications, b) AI based reasoning enablers to optimize the flexibility potential of these agents and c) Higher-level planning and coordination mechanism to allow the successful and scalable deployment of such solutions in real life use cases.

SMARTHANDLE is a research and innovation action (RIA) nevertheless, it acknowledges that such technologies can be meaningful only if they lead to solutions that address real life needs. Thus it has engaged 3 use cases from the consumer goods (MENICON-handling of deformable, delicate and high precision parts: contact lenses), Metal Industries (ALUMIL- packaging of large variable section materials: aluminum profiles) and automotive tier-1 suppliers (ABEE- disassembly of complex products: batteries) involving dexterous operations that are not possible to implement with the existing technologies.

SSH aspects will be addressed, demonstrating benefits for workers by reducing their involvement in unsafe and unhealthy tasks, improving their working conditions when working in areas where the SMARTHANDLE reconfigurable solutions will operate.