Robots learn to move more efficiently Thursday, 27 August 2015

Swedish researchers have found that, by minimising the acceleration of robots so that their movements are smoother, they can reduce energy consumption by up to 40% while retaining the given production times.

The researchers at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg developed an optimisation algorithm which reduces acceleration and deceleration, as well as the time the robot is at a standstill since being at a standstill also consumes energy.

“We simply let the robot move slower instead of waiting for other robots and machines to catch up before carrying out the next sequence,” said Professor Bengt Lennartson, Head of the Division of Automatic control, Automation and Mechatronics at the University.

“The optimisation also determines the order in which the various operations are carried out to minimize energy consumption – without reducing the total execution time.”

Lennartson initiated the research together with car manufacturer General Motors among others. He says to achieve safe optimisation, several robots moving in the same area need to be coordinated. The optimisation tool will therefore initially identify where robots may collide, and the entry and exit positions for each collision zone, and for each robot path.

His colleague Dr Kristofer Bengtsson, who is responsible for the implementation of the new optimisation strategy, said in robot-intensive manufacturing industries, such as bodywork factories in the automotive industry, robots consume about half of the total energy used for production.

“The first test results have shown a significant improvement, such as a 15-40% energy reduction, but the results are still preliminary. In order to estimate the actual energy savings, further testing in industry is required”, said Bengtsson.

“The goal is to make this kind of optimisation standard, and included in robots from the start. At each adjustment of the operating sequences, a new optimisation is conducted by default. But as we all know, it takes time to bring a development product into a robust production process, with several years of engineering work.”

The team presented their research at the IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering being held in Gothenburg this week.


From left: Kristofer Bengtsson, Emma Vidarsson and Bengt Lennartson in the Robotics and Automation Laboratory at Chalmers University of Technology.