LocarneseTech is an association that aims to develop a platform for innovation in the fields of robotics, mechatronics and Industry 4.0, creating the ideal framework conditions to support companies already active in the sector and to attract new ones. The aim is to foster the degree of innovation, facilitate access to skilled labour and lay the foundations for virtuous synergies with research institutes and the regional innovation system.

In this regard, several companies within the association (Baiardi Engineering, Georg Fischer, Ideal-tek, Interroll and Irsol) had the opportunity to meet with researchers of the Department of Innovative Technologies to learn more about the research activities conducted by the various Institutes and Laboratories.

In particular, the Sustainable Production Systems (SPS) and Automation, Robotics and Machinery (ARM) laboratories were visited for the presentation of some European projects, such as KITT4SME, FLUENTLY, MESOMORPH and, at national level SINGULARITY, EXORESCUE, FLEXDB2 and ALLURE.

Afterwards, the participants also met bilaterally with other research groups to develop new opportunities for collaboration and projects.

 

Research project presented:

KITT4SME

The KITT4SME programme and coordinated by the Sustainable Production Systems Laboratory (SPS), aims to develop an online solution platform for use by manufacturing companies.

The KITT4SME lighthouse demonstrator, developed as part of the project, shows a collaborative robot capable of supporting the operator in screwing operations. 

The work cell contains a collaborative robot with a screwing head and a visual recognition system that identifies the workpiece, screws and the operator's hands. It is trained to assist the operator and take over part of the workload, speeding up the screwing process and increasing productivity. 

Furthermore, this system can be integrated with the Fatigue Monitoring System (FaMS), also developed by SUPSI, which is used to measure the operator's physical stress and fatigue levels and adjust the cobot's interventions accordingly.

FLUENTLY

 

Artificial intelligence (AI) and digitisation offer countless benefits that drive many companies to look for new ways to integrate them. However, AI-based technologies are not always easy to implement, requiring experience and special skills from operators.

The Fluently project, funded by the European Horizon 2020 programme, aims to change this situation by developing an innovative intelligent digital interface unit.The latter enables natural interaction between the human operator and the machine by allowing it to interpret the content and tone of speech accurately and convert gestures into instructions, while also focusing on improving the well-being of workers.

The project solution also includes the Robo-Gym, which offers the first environment in Europe where interactive training between humans and robots can take place.

 

MESOMORPH

The inherent physics of microsystems does not allow the simple reduction of conventional technologies to industrialise micromanufacturing processes.

The MESOMORPH project, funded by Horizon 2020, makes it possible to limit the number of micromanipulation tasks with the realisation of an all-in-one machine equipped with new processes for creating electronic, fluidic and optical functions directly on a substrate, with a resolution of up to 300 nm. The result is achieved by combining multiple materials by means of additive manufacturing (2PP two-photon polymerisation, ALD single-layer atomic nano 3D printing) and subtractive manufacturing (femtolaser micro-ablation) in a self-contained clean room.

The project also allows an increase in production capacity through the parallelisation of batch production.