June 2020

A UK START-UP is hoping to accelerate the adoption of robots in the UK by slashing the initial cost of assessing possible projects to just 10% of the total bill. Buckinghamshire-based Vikaso is using modelling software to create digital twins of proposed projects – in particular, those involving collaborative robots (cobots). Instead of committing to a heavy upfront capital investment, prospective customers only need to commit about 10% of the total project value for the prototyping phase. If they are happy with the initial simulation, they can commit the remainder knowing that the project will do what they want. Vikaso was set up last year by Vaibhav Boricha, who previously worked as a process planner at BMW’s Mini plant in Oxford.“When I was an end-user, it was painfully slow for me to develop automation applications. Our approachmakes it possible to accelerate the development and implementation process,”he says.“We’re trying to tackle automation challenges that haven’t been tackled before.” Boricha argues that traditional offline proofs-of- concept can be costly and do not give a holistic view of what an application will look like. By contrast, Vikaso’s“virtual strategy”generates and validates concepts.“You can conduct the entire development journey visually at a fraction of the cost – typically £7,000-8,000, rather than £80,000.” The output from the simulation exercise is a report that validates the project. “It’s not just a good-looking simulation,” Boricha argues. At the core of the Vikaso’s approach is off-the- shelf modelling software from Visual Components, designed specifically for advanced 3D manufacturing simulations. Despite his roots in the automotive industry, Boricha sees opportunities in companies employing 100-500 people, operating in any sector. “The principles are the same in any industry. Product cycle times may vary, but the core technology remains the same,” he says. Boricha sees machine learning as being key enabler in the future. Currently, this technology is limited to the initial deployment, rather than self- adapting over the lifetime of a robot. “I know the challenges that exist in the manufacturing environments – the kind of tasks that can be automated but have not been so far,” Boricha explains. “As an example, random bin- picking is a focus area for us – we are trying to crack it using machine learning.” Boricha says that Vikaso will work with cobots from any supplier. The choice will depend on the application. He hopes that the new model will boost the number of cobots in use in the UK. “Automation has not been taken as seriously in the UK as it should have been,” he believes. At present, with 85 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers, the UK ranks 22nd in the world for robot deployment. https://vikaso.co.uk/virtual-development 8 June 2020 www.drivesncontrols.com UK start-up slashes costs of starting cobot projects by 90% p The German PLC-maker Barth Elektronik has joined forces with RS Components to develop a self-build project to help implement social distancing.Their People Counter can be built in less than an hour and records the number of people entering and leaving an area, indicating when it is safe to allowmore to enter, while still maintaining the recommended safe distance fromeach other. It is aimed, in particular, at shops where social distancing can be difficult to control. The parts can be bought fromRS, and software, manuals and video instructions can be downloaded from the RS DesignSparkWeb site. www.rs-online.com/designspark/ people-counter-project-for-covid-19 p PTC and Rockwell Automation are offering free augmented reality (AR) software until August 2020 to help their customers tomaintain business continuity while complyingwith stay- at-home orders.The PTCVuforia Chalk software allows service personnel and operators to connect and collaborate with remotely located experts to solve machinery or equipment problems. The software is part of the FactoryTalk InnovationSuite offered by PTC and Rockwell following Rockwell’s $1bn investment in PTC in 2018 to create a strategic partnership. www.ptc.com/en/products/augment ed-reality/vuforia-chalk-free-access p The US-based National Electrical Manufacturers Association (Nema) has published a free downloadable guide on how to disinfect electrical equipment for Covid-19, while preserving the equipment’s functions and integrity.The document – Nema GD4-2020: COVID-19 Cleaning and DisinfectingGuidance for Electrical Equipment – answers common questions on how tomaintain the cleanliness of equipment. https://drivesncontrols.news/kfedp p ABB’s Robotics and Discrete Automation business has launched a package of digital tools and virtual and field service support initiatives to help businesses restart production lines that may have been idle for weeks or months during the Covid-19 pandemic. As well as helping customers to troubleshoot and fix issues related to robots and dormant operations, the package includes digital tools to help users to optimise processes and be more proactive inmaintenance, helping to cut bothmaintenance and production costs. ABB is also offering virtual consultations and audits to help identify issues and ensure users have the correct parts in stock for a quick restart to production. https://new.abb.com/products/rob otics/service/service-and-support n NEWS COVID-19 BRIEFS Viakaso’s founder Vaibhav Boricha: he has practical experience of the challenges of automation EUROPE’S LARGEST 5G research network has gone live in Germany with the aim of developing technologies and applications for digitised and networked production in factories. The German government is contributing almost €6.2m towards the cost of establishing and running the 5G Industry Campus Europe, which covers an area of 1km 2 at RWTH Aachen University, including 7,000m 2 of machine halls. Over the coming three years, various industrial applications of 5G will be tested – from sensor technologies for monitoring and controlling production, to mobile robotics, logistics and cross-location production chains. Another aim is to test the use of edge-cloud systems for fast data processing to exploit the potential of 5G for networked and adaptive production.“With the intelligent interaction of the 5G network and local edge-cloud systems, we are able to implement end-to-end real- time applications in a scalable way – from the sensor to the cloud,”explains Sven Jung, who is heading the technical side of the initiative. The project has been granted a 5G licence to operate in the 3.7–3.8GHz band. It will operate with a bandwidth of 10Gb/s. “This is where the future for innovative production will be created,”says the project leader, Niels König.“This will redefine previous requirements for industries.” Ericsson is supplying the 5G technology. Europe's biggest 5G research network targets factory apps