Industrial Robot Teleoperation for Guiding Metal Reinforcement Bending and Unbending Operations

TechnipFMC designs devices and components for offshore oil and gas exploration, extraction platforms, crude oil refineries, and petrochemical plants. As part of offshore flexible hose connection operations, one step involves freeing the metal reinforcements at the end of the hose in order to install a connection arch. Once the connection is installed, the metal reinforcement must be repositioned. These tasks of freeing and repositioning the metal reinforcement are currently carried out by operators.

INNODURA develops an innovative industrial robot teleoperation system to facilitate the attachment of flexible hose strands onto a spider-like fixture with hooks. This task is complex due to the helical trajectories that need to be followed, and requires a level of precision that traditional control interfaces, such as the robot pendant, cannot provide. The current interface, which requires joint-by-joint control or Cartesian mode, is not intuitive and insufficient to generate complex trajectories in real-time.
To address this challenge, INNODURA integrates its INNOTRACK module, a robotic teleoperation solution based on a 6D tracker.
The principle: the operator guides an industrial robot in real-time by manipulating an assent handle equipped with position sensors. The robot faithfully replicates the detected movements. This system allows :  
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            · Instant robot guidance in space
            · Triggering of external actions
            · Robot brake management
            · Activation of haptic feedback in case of collision risk
            · Triggering of an avoidance trajectory or emergency stop (ARU)

‍Combined with the INNOSCAN module (3D vision of the environment), INNOROBOT integrates smart collision management. Even in the event of an incorrect maneuver, the system preserves the safety of the environment and the operator.An advanced version of the system allows the operator to freely point, using a wireless tracker, the start and end points of the trajectory. An algorithm, developed in partnership with BYES, automatically adjusts the path to ensure precise placement of the strand on the spider. The wireless tracker also offers advanced features :
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             · 6D trajectory recording
             · Definition of key points in space
             · Calibration of the robot frame / tracking frame