Internationale Partnersuche

Innovation & Technologie Angebot

Technical partners sought for self-repairing industrial robot system.

Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Reference Number: TOUK20180601001
Publication Date: 1 June 2018

Summary

A UK SME has developed a self-repairing industrial robot system using a patented novel method which eliminates planned and unplanned downtime and system failures. They are now seeking technical partners to further develop the innovation, via technical cooperation agreement, to a proof of concept stage but they are also open to license agreements.

Description

A UK SME has invented a new concept for self-repairing industrial robots that eliminate planned and unplanned downtimes.



Currently manufacturers who use robots and hydraulic machinery have to deal with frequent downtimes, outages and system failures. They utilise online monitoring to anticipate the failed component, and then schedule to replace the anticipated failed component which impacts their production flow which in turn has an effect on their overall revenue. The systems have to be repaired manually by a technician or engineer which can sometimes take a while depending on the type of failure that has occurred. 



The art aims to eliminate planned and unplanned downtime in robots operating within a cell. The system utilises dual drive redundancy on one or more joints, and implements state of the art motors. The system is monitored by a fault detection and fault isolation (FDI) system. 



The FDI system detects, identifies, switches off, isolates the failed drive, and engages the second motor instantly. A repair robot is then deployed to remove and replace the faulty drive, without stopping or hindering the on going operation.



Therefore, the main advantages of this system include the elimination of planned/unplanned downtime, which means there will be no stoppage in the production line, hence increasing productivity.



The advantages are even greater when the system is employed in inaccessible environments such as nuclear reactors or plants that handle hazardous materials. 



The SME is now seeking European collaborative partners with whom he can form mutually beneficial technical cooperation agreements for further development of this concept with the opportunity to also license the technology for the appropriate partners.

Advantages and Innovations

The main advantages of this system include the elimination of planned/unplanned downtime, which means there will be no stoppage in the production line, hence increasing productivity.



The advantages are even greater when the system is employed in inaccessible environments such as nuclear reactors or plants that handle hazardous materials.

Stage Of Development

Concept stage

Requested partner

Looking for partners to form mutually beneficial technical collaborations/agreements to further develop the concept to stage where it can be demonstrated for commercialisation to prospective end users and large scale manufacturers. 



Technical Partners Sought:



Engineering and Electrical organisations whom can further develop the concept to a physical demonstration stage which can be then used to attract further public and private investment.



Licensing Partners:  There is also the option to license this to the appropriate organisation who see this as an opportunity further down the line.



Roles:



To help develop quick release motor drives that are adapted for all industrial robots so that they can be replaced quickly and efficiently during a failure.



To further design and develop the concept to a physical demonstration stage in pilot test environment.