Until now, robot programmers needed to be skilled technicians who used a teach pendant device (remote control) to interact with the robot. Comau is aiming to reverse this scenario with its easy-to-use PickAPP.
Designed for 8-10-in tablets, PickAPP is configured with graphics to improve the overall operator experience. Anyone familiar with smartphones will be able to move a robot and create a pick and place process simply by preparing a list of waypoints, without having to learn robotic programming language. The user moves the robot manually by pulling and pushing robot joints, or using the interface in a similar way to that for toy cars or drones. Additional configurations, like the type of movement and actions relating to a gripper, can be easily added.
The application has been tested by a sample group ranging from expert technicians to young people who play games on a tablet. According to Comau, they were all able to perform the programming required for a pick-and-place process in just a few minutes, without prior training.
PickAPP is available for Comau low payload robots such as Rebel-S (SCARA), Racer3 and Racer5 (3-5 kg payload), and will soon be implemented for the entire Comau robot family.
