Certified by the German employers’ liability insurance association, the APAS assistant is the first assistance system, which allows direct collaboration with people without additional shielding. The APAS assistant supports the workers in case of heavy, monotonous and dirty tasks. The direct collaboration is made possible by using a highly sensitive sensor skin. This skin enables the APAS assistant to react within a very short period of time, when a staff member approaches. Before there is any contact between man and machine, the APAS assistant stops and only then continues its operation, when the danger zone is free.
With the APAS assistant new product variants and tasks can be configured not only in a fast, but also cost-efficient way. By using so-called work plans the production assistant can be taught new tasks and it can be adapted to changed conditions within a very short time. What makes the system special, is that robot, camera and gripper can be applied by using one and the same software. With the help of a graphical user interface, the operator is supported when configurating the work plans by dialogs leading through the menus. Therefore programming skills are not necessary.
Work plans are stored and can be repeated whenever necessary. The result: fast availability and lower costs. The integrated camera system memorizes the start point of a work plan at the workplace, and the APAS assistant can calibrate itself after its position is changed. The APAS assistant can be used in a versatile and flexible way at many different workplaces in production. The production assistant is also a valuable supporter in case of retroactive automation, since existing production lines can be automated subsequently without major changes in the machine layout. Equipped with an IPC based control system, intelligent sensors, connectivity concepts and its software functions, in many ways the APAS assistant already qualifies as a cyber-physical system of the Industry 4.0.
