For those who ever wanted to program an industrial robot, virtual reality technology can offer a lot of benefits. Even with no coding knowledge, this process becomes a lot more straightforward. Sisu and Sixsense are teaming up to commercialize this technology under the VUDU System. An interesting concept which further highlights the potential of virtual reality.
Coding Industrial Robots in VR
Under normal circumstances, coding an industrial robot is anything but straightforward. It requires a lot of knowledge and effort to do so successfully. To make this process a lot more streamlined and approachable, Sixsense and Sisu are joining forces. Their new VUDU System for industrial robot programming requires no coding skills. However, it does use VR technology.
Under the hood, the solution makes use of various technologies. It combines motion tracking and a handheld controller to teach tasks to robotic arms. This method is known as “programming by demonstration”, a process in use for quite some time now. It is the first time this concept is streamlined in a significant manner. Until now, achieving this goal requires users to physically move the arm through the various steps of said task.
Professor Maya Cakmak explains the problems in this industry to date:
“The software is still difficult for most robots. Some of the more accurate robots out there have 300-page user manuals. I’ve seen some code for these, and you have to know algebra and matrix transformations to still be able to do anything.”
Although the program is in the early stages of development, initial results seem promising. There is no option for fine manipulation. However, it is a solid foundation for more complex programming procedures to be implemented in the future. A lot of work remains to be done, but VUDU System has a lot of potential. It makes the concept of industrial robotic training far more approachable regardless of coding knowledge.
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