10th East Switzerland Innovation Conference: Rapid Innovation

Companies convince their customers with innovations. But only if the time factor is right. Rapid innovation is therefore a trump card in the globalized market: developing products as quickly as possible, bringing them to market, collecting feedback and implementing them. Rapid iteration steps based on automated processes produce continuously improved products and - success. At the 10th Eastern Switzerland Innovation Conference, organized by the Institute for Innovation, Design and Engineering (IDEE-FHS) of the University of Applied Sciences St.Gallen, everything revolved around Rapid Automation and Rapid Innovation.

Transport, reload, sort

In the Rapid Automation workshop, the participants experienced the advantages of iteratively developed prototypes in a practical way. After a brief introduction, they were given the task of building prototypes for transporting, sorting, reloading and charging used glass from various robot kits such as littleBits, Lego Mindstorms EV3 or Arduino. And to do this in a specific sequence. Lukas Schmid, head of IDEE-FHS, is pleased with the results. "Not only do all the prototypes work, but also the production line." The goal of the workshop, he says, was to give the participants a feel for all the things that can be done with simple robot kits in a very short time. And they were to get to know different kits with their advantages and disadvantages.

Quickly built, simply programmed

Following the practical part of the conference, the participants learned how national and international market leaders drive innovations with Rapid Innovation and thus successfully position themselves in their markets. Optrel AG, for example. The Wattwil-based company specializes in anti-glare products that are used primarily in welding and medical applications. In his presentation, Ramon Hofer Kraner, head of research and development, showed where his company uses prototypes similar to those created earlier in the workshop. For example, a cutting robot that cuts adhesive tape to the required width. All it took was a small setup on an existing robot and they were able to cut 10,000 to 20,000 adhesive strips, Hofer said. With the help of relatively inexpensive robotic arm systems, such as those from EVA Robotics, Dobot or Franka, this will become faster and easier in the future, he added. "Perfect for pick-and-place processes, they can be set up in no time and programmed with a tablet."

Neural network paints paintings

An insight into the world of data was provided by Romeo Kienzler, Chief Data Scientist at IBM Watson IoT (Internet of Things). In the production process, many small computers and sensors provide a large amount of data. Data that is uploaded to a cloud can already be analyzed there and then used accordingly, for example to detect and predict anomalies. Artificial neural networks, which function similarly to our nerve cells in the brain, play an important role here. The idea is to build ever larger and more powerful networks, deep learning systems. They can learn not only all mathematical formulas, but also functions. "For example, a neural network learns the style of an artist and then paints a new painting itself," says Romeo Kienzler. Neural networks can therefore be used to create predictive models for industry. "Big Data and physical production are the heart and head of Rapid Automation," said Romeo Kienzler.

Robots with feelings

Finally, Michael Schüpbach, Sales Engineer at Fanuc, showed that robots are now not only increasingly intelligent, but also have sentient sensors. Founded in Japan, Fanuc is the world market leader in industrial robotics and produces 120 different robot models with handling weights ranging from 500 grams to 2.3 tons. One important division is collaborative robots with embedded sensors. This allows them to be operated safely without a safety fence. The robot arm, for example, stops as soon as it is touched. In addition, it can be pushed away quite easily. "Because a protective fence is no longer necessary, the robots can take on various tasks. This opens up new possibilities for designing production and the workplace. This can be provided for both the robot and the human and can be flexibly retooled." If 2D and 3D vision systems, force-torque sensors and feeling sensors are combined in robotics, rapid automation emerges, he said. "If you build a whole system out of that, then you get rapid innovation."

The 11th Eastern Switzerland Innovation Conference will take place next year on Wednesday, May 2, 2018.

More information: IDEE-FHS