Revolutionizing Craftsmanship: The Lerosh Project and Interactive Scape's Intuitive Robotics Interface

In the realm of modern manufacturing and craftsmanship, robotics could become an indispensable tool. However, the complexity of traditional robotic control systems often makes them inaccessible for most users due to their complicated interfaces.

The Challenge with Conventional Robotic Controls

Conventional robotic systems require operators to navigate complex menus and input precise parameters, a process that is both intimidating and time-consuming. This necessity for specialized knowledge limits their use to individuals who have specific training, thereby excluding many potential users in the crafts and small-scale manufacturing sectors.

Traditional control systems do allow users to perform basic actions such as moving to designated points or displaying parameters like rotation angles. However, managing more complex processes, such as the grinding of sophisticated objects, remains inefficient with these conventional input devices. They are generally restricted to retrieving and executing pre-programmed tasks. For each new or customized process, users must either program the system themselves or rely on the expertise of a specialist, making it impractical for those without extensive programming skills to use such robotics controls effectively. This constraint severely limits flexibility and innovation in various crafts and production environments.

This foundational issue of complexity and user-unfriendliness is what Interactive Scape aims to address with the development of a new, graphical user interface, enhancing the accessibility and practicality of robotic technology for a broader audience.

Project LEROSH: Democratizing Robotic Technology

The LEROSH project, formally known as "Lernende Roboterschleiftechnik für das Handwerk" (Learning Robotic Grinding Technology for Craftsmanship), represents a collaborative initiative aimed at integrating robotic technology into everyday craftsmanship. Working closely with werk5 and other partners, this project focuses on identifying the unique challenges craftsmen face and developing practical, innovative solutions to overcome these barriers. A central achievement of this collaboration is the conceptualization and ongoing development of a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) that simplifies robotic commands into intuitive actions performed on a tablet.

Interactive Scape’s Role in Innovation

Within the LEROSH project, Interactive Scape brings its technical expertise to the forefront by developing the aforementioned GUI. This interface allows users to draw grinding paths directly on a tablet with a stylus. These inputs are then seamlessly translated into commands that the robot can execute, effectively turning complex programming requirements into simple, intuitive gestures. This development is crucial as it ensures that advanced robotics can be accessible to all users, regardless of their programming skills, and be applied effectively in their existing workflows.

Our ongoing research and development efforts are directed towards refining this interface, with the aim of making it not just functional but also instinctive for end-users. By enabling craftsmen to design and execute robotic tasks with minimal learning curve, we are helping to democratize advanced manufacturing processes and bring high-precision automation to traditional craftsmanship.

Design and Features of the New GUI

Our new graphical user interface is designed to be:

• Simple and Intuitive: Easy to use without prior knowledge in robotics or programming.
• Versatile: Capable of visualizing components and robotic movements, adjusting control modes, and incorporating 'Teaching' features to refine operations based on machine learning insights.

Capabilities of the Interface

The current MVP of our interface already boasts impressive capabilities:

• Visual Competence: Graphical representation of parts and robots for better planning and analysis.
• Adaptive Control Modes: Users can select or draw new movement sequences directly on the tablet, enhancing efficiency and precision.
• Teaching Functionality: Incorporates expert patterns into the system which prepares it for machine learning applications, even though it's not initially integrated.

Future Directions

As we continue to iterate and refine our interface, we aim to enhance its capabilities in the following ways:

• Simulation Capabilities: We plan to implement real-time movement analysis to anticipate and correct errors before they occur during execution. This will ensure higher precision and reliability in robotic operations.
• Increased Autonomy and Flexibility: Future updates will provide users with the option to manually control tasks or to automate them. This flexibility is especially advantageous for repetitive and labor-intensive operations, allowing craftsmen to focus on more critical aspects of their work.
• Teaching Mode Enhancement and Trainable AI Integration: The current GUI includes a Teaching mode that enables users to directly input complex sanding behaviors through motion patterns using a stylus. These patterns are then memorized and executed by the robot. Moving forward, we plan to integrate AI-driven learning that will allow these patterns to evolve based on ongoing operations, enhancing the system's ability to adapt to new tasks and improving operational efficiency over time.

Exploring the Future of Craftsmanship with LEROSH

At Interactive Scape, we are committed to pioneering advancements in technology through collaborative initiatives like the LEROSH project, which is part of the "Handwerk 4.0: digital und innovativ" program supported by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung from 2022 to 2025.

Visit us at Hannover Messe 2024

Interactive Scape is excited to invite you to experience the future of craftsmanship at Hannover Messe 2024, April 22-26, 2024 in Hall 2, Stand B16, where we will be showcasing the LEROSH project alongside our partners. This is a fantastic opportunity for industry professionals, enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the transformative power of robotics in craftsmanship to see our innovative graphical user interface (GUI) in action.

Join us to see firsthand how the LEROSH project is setting new standards in the field. We look forward to meeting you there.