Universal Robots Holds Technical Workshop on Programming and Operating It Yourself
Full-scale operation of the Korean branch established in July… ‘Universal Robot Plus’ also introduced

#Demonstration 1 Scene: Challenge yourself to program the collaborative robot UR5 to pick up cylindrical objects one after another and place them in a basket. Use the button on the back of the Teach Pedant to set the robot to Free Drive mode. Move the robot by hand to place it in the correct position before saving each position as a waypoint. You can open or close the gripper by turning the output channel on and off with the Set command. Set the gripper to have enough time to completely close before moving on to the next waypoint with the Wait command. The UR5 robot programmed in this way will automatically repeat the task of picking up objects and placing them in the desired location.

#Demonstration 2 Scene: This time, we will challenge programming the collaborative robot to find and draw a path in the maze. Set the robot to free drive mode, and move it by hand so that the tip of the pen can be located at key points in the maze. Save each key point as a waypoint to specify which direction the robot should choose. Once all the points are determined, move the robot from the paper and run the program. Now the robot will move automatically and draw a path to escape the maze.


The previously introduced demonstration scenes 1 and 2 are examples that show that non-experts, not engineers, can directly program and operate collaborative robots. The reporter who participated in the demonstration implemented a simple program to operate the robot and even the movements with a little help from the engineer. It took less than 5 minutes to successfully complete the demonstration with just a few touches on the control panel.

Universal Robots, which provides user-friendly collaborative robots around the world, held a 'technical workshop' on the 8th where participants can directly program and operate robots.

▲ General Manager Andrew Pether explains 'pick and place', where a robotic arm picks up an item and places it in a designated location.

The purpose of the event was to show how flexible and accurate Universal’s collaborative robots are, as well as how easy they are to program. Attendees experienced the “Pick and Place” task, where they operated a UR5 to place a cylindrical object into a basket, and the “Maze Run” task, where they operated a UR3 holding a pen to get through a maze drawn on paper.

This experience gave participants the opportunity to program and operate a Universal Robots UR5 or UR3. The non-engineer participants were guided by Andrew Pether, UR APAC Technical Support Manager, to program and operate the robot. They held a control panel that looked like a tablet PC and programmed the location of the robot arm in the order of the programming, and after a few steps, watched the robot arm automatically pick up the object and place it in the designated location. The same goes for finding a maze. If you program it by specifying the exit point of the maze drawn on a flat surface by location, the robot arm escaped the maze by drawing a line according to the completed program. If you apply a simple maze, it can be applied to bonding paint or paint in industrial sites. Of course, you can control the speed or implement curves that are not right angles.

Andrew Peter, the general manager, also spent a lot of time emphasizing the safety of collaborative robots. Universal Robots emphasized that they have excellent safety features that comply with the ISO/TS 15066 guidelines for collaborative robots published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). They are designed to operate safely and accurately when working side by side with people or working independently.

Through this event, Andrew emphasized once again the importance of ‘easy programming and high flexibility’ and stressed that Universal Robots’ collaborative robots can be a good solution for small and medium-sized businesses struggling with a shortage of skilled workers.

Meanwhile, the company also introduced in detail the features and usage of the recently released 'Universal Robots+'. 'Universal Robots+', which was unveiled at the Automatica exhibition in Germany in June, is a showroom of 'Plug & Play' application solutions that can be used immediately after connecting to the robot body. It provides new convenience to customers who want to use the Universal Robots application right after installing it. With the launch of 'Universal Robot Plus', Universal Robots has been able to shorten the development period and reduce additional costs for applications to be applied to Universal Robots, while also increasing user convenience.

  ▲ General Manager Andrew Pether explains the 'Maze Finder' programming.


Below is a Q&A with General Manager Andrew Peter.

- You showed a demonstration that non-experts can implement programming and operations, but is more precise work also possible?
Yes. Since the accuracy is 0.1mm, precise work is also possible. For precise work, you can use a gripper suitable for precise work or change the accessories. The demo showed manual positioning, but the interface allows for more precision by pointing arrows or manually entering numbers for the spaces.

-What else do you support to increase precision?
Depending on the application, the tool can be different, so you can use something like a very small pair of tweezers to perform precise work. That's why we support companies to develop many applications through Universal Robot Plus and connect them to our products.

-Universal Robots continues to release robots centered on payload (carry weight), but do you have any plans to release various types of robots, such as those over 10 kg or dual arms?
The Danish R&D Center is currently developing a variety of such products. Currently, there is no product such as a dual arm, but it is possible to use two products together through the UR interface.

-Is the main technology used for safety hardware or software?
We are increasing safety by using hardware and software such as position sensors and algorithms together without using force sensors.

-Can I purchase accessories such as grippers directly through Universal Robots Plus?
You cannot purchase directly from Universal Robots Plus. To purchase, you can purchase the seller's product through the link site for each product. To be listed on the Universal Robots Plus platform, the product must be commercially available. Korean developers have already applied to create UR apps and we hope more can participate.

-So, is it possible to purchase both hardware and software in that way?
Both hardware and software are available for purchase. The USB and hardware come together, and you just plug the USB into the controller and the screen will be created automatically.

-Is the ISO 15066 standard an official standard? Also, is it a mandatory guideline?
The 3rd party guidelines for safety are guidelines that help in using international standards. They are guidelines for companies to interpret international standards and use them in factories. The ISO standards are complicated, so they provide guidelines by simplifying them technically. They are meant to help you understand, but you do not have to follow the 3rd party guidelines.

- Compatibility of programs or communication methods between the robot body and attachments.
Compatibility is not an issue. It can be plugged into the interface with a cable, or it can be connected directly to the control box because it has an I/O interconnect. It can also be connected to industrial protocols and USB.