Robotics Interoperability Project
The cost of programming, commissioning, and maintaining robotic systems remains a key inhibitor for widespread adoption. Additionally, the integration of the robot with other automation equipment remains a difficult and expensive process. This project focuses on the development of a gateway for plug-and-play communication and interoperability between OPC-UA, MTConnect, and DDS based devices, currently the standards for automation equipment and cloud and simulation platforms.
OPC-UA (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture) is an industrial machine-to-machine communication protocol designed to collect data from various devices and transport it to systems for monitoring and control.
MTConnect is an open, royalty-free standard intended to foster greater interoperability between manufacturing equipment, devices, and software applications by providing a uniform, high-level language for communications.
DDS (Data Distribution Service) is a middleware protocol and API standard for data-centric connectivity. It offers a publish-subscribe mechanism for streaming high-bandwidth data between critical devices and systems in real-time.
Each of these technologies plays a vital role in advancing interoperability in robotics, enabling different systems and devices to connect and communicate effectively within industrial environments, but their unified power when properly integrated with one another can be the catalyst for permanent manufacturing change in the US.
Objective of Robotics Interoperability Project
Develop a gateway plug-and-play communication between robot, automation systems, simulators, and cloud platforms to decrease costs and time to implement multi-robot solutions for manufacturers and others within the industrial space.
This initiative is a cornerstone in the evolution of interoperability in robotics, particularly in the realm of Multi-Robot systems. By enabling different robotic systems to communicate and operate harmoniously, industries can significantly reduce the costs and implementation time associated with deploying multi-robot solutions. The project’s focus on creating a vendor-neutral, standards-based gateway highlights the importance of a unified approach to robotics interoperability, ensuring a broad compatibility and ease of integration that drives innovation and operational efficiency for manufacturers of all sizes.
Technical Approach to Robotics Interoperability Project
Developed CDIP will focus on connectivity and interoperability. The Gateway will be built upon open standards to ensure that it is vendor neutral.
- Development of OPC-UA/DDS Gateway that allows host of robotics and automation devices to connect seamlessly
- Improve ROS2 DDS integration to fully realized ROS2 potential and support legacy ROS 1 systems
- Enable task-based interoperability through MTConnect integration
- Integrate gateway with simulation and cloud platforms
The creation of an OPC-UA/DDS gateway, enhanced ROS2 integration, and MTConnect interoperability converge to forge a unified framework for robotics communication. This facilitates a streamlined, cost-effective deployment of multi-robot systems, propelling industrial automation forward.
Participants
Siemens (Principal Investigator), Keba Corporation, Real Time Innovations, Southwest Research Institute, Yaskawa