On September 15, 2020, at the 22nd China International Industry Fair, Flexiv Ltd. showcased their cutting-edge robotics ztechnology and industrial applications based on adaptive robots, including the world’s leading force control technology, the ultimate fusion of robotics and AI, and a series of industrial solutions.
Flexiv officially launched their adaptive robot Rizon last year as a new generation of robotic products. With its disruptive and innovative product design, unique adaptivity, simple and aesthetic industrial design, and brand-new product value, Rizon has been awarded by both the iF Design Award and German Innovation Awards.
High-precision and fast-response force control technology throughout the full arm is the core feature of the adaptive robot. Rizon supports seven degrees of freedom, each joint equipped with proprietary force and torque sensing technology.
With the advanced whole-body force control algorithm applied to the adaptive robots, Rizon improves the force perception and force control performance by orders of magnitude compared to traditional robots.
In order to better demonstrate the advanced nature of force control technology, Flexiv presented the Ball Balancing Challenge at this year’s CIIF.
In it, the adaptive robot determines a ball’s position on a tray in real time, based on the detection data generated by the force sensor. It can then control the ball to move along its target trajectory. If the robot arm or ball encounters any external disturbance, the robot quickly makes real-time adjustments that returns the ball to its original route.
It is worth mentioning that the display operates entirely on force control. In this way, it is similar to persons who close their eyes, relying solely on their arms’ force perception and control to maintain the balance of the ball on the smooth tray.
Flexiv also demonstrated the deep integration potential of robotics and AI technology at the event. In intelligent table tidy-up task, the robot effectively identifies, classifies and autonomously picks and places randomly positioned items. In the application of body massage, it recognizes a person’s body posture and local features in real time, performs massage according to the person’s needs, while making real-time adjustments to ensure an enjoyable and safe experience.
Innovative industrial applications break through the limitations of traditional automation
Flexiv is committed to creating industry-level solutions for different scenarios, replacing manual tasks that used to be hard to automate, and upgrading low-flexibility automated production lines. Following continuous deepening and iteration of industrial applications, Flexiv focuses on three application demonstrations at this year’s CIIF: force control assembling, curved surface sanding and polishing, and connector plugging with wiring harness.
Take the application of curved-surface polishing for example. Surface polishing technology is widely used across a number of industries such as automotive, electronics and furniture. The quality of the polishing process, and the control of loss of raw materials, directly impact the final appearance of the product and the cost of the production line. In this case, manual work is still required.
Traditional robotic polishing solutions often require additional force sensors or force-controlled floating devices to be installed at the end of the robotic arm, requiring high procurement and maintenance costs, and have limited ability in handling complex workpieces. The adaptive robot, however, requires no additional equipment, yet is able to completely change the inherent mode.
Flexiv’s polishing application ensures accurate fit to complex workpiece surfaces and the precise polishing force control. The control system is simple and easy to use, compatible with a variety of sizes of machine parts, and adapts automatically to the deviation of the workpiece and tooling.
The application of automotive interior parts sanding exhibited at CIIF only requires the operator to import the sanding trajectory via simple trajectory dragging and teaching, using a streamlined and illustrated system to set the sanding process. Then the application provides high-precision hybrid control of force and position to ensure stable and reliable results.
“Having perfected the product and applications, based on industrial trials over the past year, we’ve brought a batch of more complete and innovative applications to this year’s CIIF,” said Dr. Wang Shiquan, co-founder and CEO of Flexiv. “At the same time, we’ve got some really interesting interactive displays to offer the audience a more intuitive experience, through which they can familiarize with the unique characteristics of adaptive robots and feel the fusion of the latest force control and AI technology. Flexiv will continue to innovate and explore product technologies to make robots more dexterous, intelligent, flexible, and universal, and facilitate the next generation of industrial automation.”
