By minimizing the
acceleration of industrial robots, energy consumption can be reduced by up to
40 percent – while retaining the given production time. This is the result of a
new optimization algorithm that was developed by researchers at Chalmers
University of Technology.
(August 24, 2015) Optimization of the robot's movements 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.
The optimization also determines the order in which the various operations are
carried out to minimize energy consumption – without reducing the total
execution time”, says Professor Bengt Lennartson who initiated the research
together with, among others, General Motors.
The optimization never changes the robot’s operation path,
only the speed and sequence.
“Thus, we can go into an existing robot cell and perform a
quick optimization without impacting production or the current cycle”, says
Bengt Lennartson.
To achieve safe optimization, several robots moving in the
same area need to be coordinated. The optimization tool will therefore initially
identify where robots may collide, and the entry and exit positions for each
collision zone, and for each robot path.
“The first test results have shown a significant
improvement, such as a 15 to 40 percent energy reduction, but the results are
still preliminary. In order to estimate the actual energy savings, further
testing in industry is required”, says Kristofer Bengtsson, who is responsible
for the implementation of the new optimization strategy.