Enabling Affordable Industrial Robotics Education through Simulation

Abstract

Sergeyev's research interests include high energy laser propagation through the turbulent atmosphere, developing advanced control algorithms for wavefront sensing and mitigating effects of the turbulent atmosphere, digital inline holography, digital signal processing, and laser spectroscopy. Dr. Sergeyev is a member of ASEE, IEEE, SPIE and is actively involved in promoting engineering education. Mr. James Walker, Michigan Technological UniversityJames Walker holds an M.S. in computer science from Michigan Technological University, where he currently performs virtual reality research in pursuit of his Ph.D. He was the lead software developer for the robotics simulator described in this paper. Shashank Enabling afordable industrial robotics education through simulation AbstractExisting industrial robot training software is often too expensive for schools to provide for students or for students to acquire on their own. For example, high schools and community colleges may want to provide students with a basic level of experience with programming industrial robots. If the software is accessible and free, such training software could provide a platform for anyone to learn more about industrial robotics. In this paper, we describe the development of RobotRun , a software package that simulates an industrial robot and teach pendant controller. The software allows students to practice basic programming tasks which control the movement and function of the robot. When completed, this open-source program will be suitable for use in high-school outreach activities and in any degree program which focuses on industrial robotics such as two-or four-year Electrical Engineering Technology programs. RobotRun was written in the Java programming language by two students over the course of a summer. It provides a 3D view of a robotic arm, allows the use of diferent end efectors, and will eventually be used to simulate diferent factory environments and processes. In addition, the system allows students to learn about controlling the end efector in diferent coordinate frames and programming paths that the robotic arm should follow. The teach pendant controller resembles real teach pendants and therefore provides students with a learning experience that can be transferred to real-world industrial robotics applications. This project is a part of a larger collaboration between Michigan Technological University and Bay de Noc Community College which aims to develop curricula and training materials to supplement the RobotRun software.

Board # 74 : University, Community College and Industry Partnership: Revamping Robotics Education to Meet 21st Century Workforce Needs – Year 2 Progress

“…These courses are: RealTime Robotics Systems, Handling Tool Operation and Programming, and Robot Operations. Authors have already reported on these developments [51][52][53][54][55] and therefore the detailed description of these courses is omitted here.…”

“…The list of certification programs already in place and currently developing as part of this project are listed below. The authors have provided a detailed description of each certification option in the previous publications [51][52][53][54][55] and therefore are omitted here. As a way to encourage more (and more diverse students) to consider careers in robotics, faculty members from Bay College and Michigan Tech will promote robotics automation to K-12 teachers and high school students.…”

Revamping Robotics Education to Meet 21st Century Workforce Needs- Years 1-2 Progress Reports

“…Authors have already reported on these developments [51][52][53][54][55] and therefore the detailed description of these courses is omitted here.…”

“…The list of certification programs already in place and currently developing as part of this project are listed below. The authors have provided a detailed description of each certification option in the previous publications [51][52][53][54][55] and therefore are omitted here. and programming with FANUC robots and the "RobotRun" simulation software.…”