Fraunhofer taps NVIDIA’s simulation skills to improve robot designs

-
Fraunhofer AMR

Fraunhofer developed O3dyn to explore new concepts of AMR motion and dynamics for logistics operations. | Credit: Fraunhofer IPA

The Fraunhofer Institute in Germany conducts practical research in a number of important fields, including AI, cybersecurity, and medicine. One of its 76 research institutes, the Fraunhofer IML group, seeks to advance robotics and logistics. The researchers are testing the simulation capabilities of NVIDIA Isaac Sim to potentially enhance the design of robots. 

Its most recent mobile robot development, O3dyn, uses technologies developed by NVIDIA for simulation and robotics to produce an indoor-outdoor autonomous mobile robot (AMR).

“We’re looking at how we can go as fast and as safely as possible in logistics scenarios,” said Julian Eber, a robotics and AI researcher at Fraunhofer IML.

The latest research aims to bridge the sim-to-real gap by developing and validating these AMRs in simulation. The researchers use Isaac Sim to train the AMR virtually by placing it in photorealistic, physically correct 3D environments.

The team leverages Isaac SIM to test the operation of O3dyn by importing a complete 3D CAD model of the robot into the simulated environment. The accurate specifications are combined with Omniverse PhysX to deliver a realistic response to any input. The robot uses simulated warehouse environments to train the AI guidance on how to navigate and operate in its intended missions.

In the physical world, O3dyn uses a variety of camera and sensor inputs into the NVIDIA Jetson edge AI and robotics platform to aid with navigation. With improved speed and agility, it can move at up to 13.4 m/s (30 mph) and has omnidirectional wheels that can move in any direction.

“The omnidirectional dynamics is very unique, and there’s nothing like this that we know of in the market,” said Sören Kerner, head of AI and autonomous systems at Fraunhofer IML.

As a result, the virtual robot can move as quickly in a simulation as the actual robot can in the physical world. Harnessing the virtual environment allows Fraunhofer to accelerate development, safely increase accuracy for real-world deployment and scale up faster.

Fraunhofer refers to this idea as simulation-based AI. Fraunhofer is making the AMR simulation model open source so that developers can enhance it in order to achieve results more quickly.

The post Fraunhofer taps NVIDIA’s simulation skills to improve robot designs appeared first on The Robot Report.



from The Robot Report - Robotics News, Analysis & Research https://ift.tt/dFOkzPy
via artificialconference

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Valiant TMS and Realtime Robotics partner to cut programming, cycle times

-
Image
Valiant TMS is integrating robot motion optimization as a service. Source: Realtime Robotics Realtime Robotics today announced that Valiant TMS will integrate its Optimization-as-a-Service offering with customers’ manufacturing operations. The companies said the combination of Realtime’s proprietary software and engineering expertise with Valiant TMS’s manufacturing industry experience will improve the efficiency and productivity of automated operations. With Optimization-as-a-Service, companies can identify and eliminate production bottlenecks, significantly reducing cycle time and programming time, said Realtime Robotics. “Manufacturers are always looking for ways to improve their production processes, but few have the time or resources to spend on such a lengthy, involved task,” said Peter Howard, CEO of Realtime Robotics, in a release . “We’re thrilled that our optimization solution has struck a chord with so many, automating the task of generating and testing potential layou...
Read more

Ocado wins UK patent lawsuit over Autostore

-
Image
On the left, Autostore’s ASRS, and on the right, Ocado’s ASRS. | Source: Autostore, Ocado Yesterday, the UK High Court ruled that Autostore’s patents, which have been the subject of a patent infringement case against Ocado , were invalid, and that Ocado did not infringe upon them. Both Autostore and Ocado operate automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) that operate on similar principles. Autostore filed the lawsuit in October 2020, when it asserted that Ocado infringed upon six of its patents. The European Patent Office invalidated two of these patents before judgment was made on the case, and two other patents were withdrawn by Autostore before the hearing started.  Judge Hacon invalidated the remaining two patents because AutoStore had disclosed its technology publically in a business deal with the Central Bank of Russia before the company filed its patents. Halcon ruled that even if the patents were valid, the Ocado Smart Platform (OSP) did not infringe on the...
Read more

Update on AgTech automation at CNHI

-
Image
The Robot Report Podcast · Update on AgTech automation at CNHI The Robot Report Podcast · 2023 year in review: GenAI, humanoids dominate robotics industry   In Episode 138 of The Robot Report Podcast, co-hosts Mike Oitzman and Eugene Demaitre catch up with Marc Kermisch, global chief digital and information officer at CNH Industrial, or CNHI. Kermisch takes us through the latest developments at CNHI in agriculture autonomy and digitization, explaining how robots and data can help farmers and growers improve yields and efficiency. We also recap the latest robotics news and walk through an update from robotics and automation companies that attended this month’s 2024 CES show. News of the week Locus Robotics layoffs The mobile robot maker last week confirmed that it had a “small, targeted RIF,” or reduction in force. North American robot orders dropped last year, according to the Association for Advancing Automation ( A3 ). Warehouse construction also declined by 2...
Read more