Exploring ODIN Software Architecture for Flexible Human-Robot Collaboration in Manufacturing

During recent years, the research community has devoted significant efforts to enhancing robot capabilities. These advancements in robot cognition and perception have started a shift in the production paradigm from rigid automation systems to hybrid and collaborative working environments. Collaborative robotics and flexible manufacturing solutions offer competitive advantages for manufacturers. However, implementing a flexible Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) system is challenging, especially in lower volume, diverse manufacturing environments. In particular, the adoption of robots in such environments is constrained by:

• The high integration and deployment complexity of end-to-end integrated robotic applications.
• The limited flexibility of existing solutions in handling unexpected events dynamically.

How does the ODIN Architecture address these challenges?

ODIN aims to take human robot collaboration to the next level and bring humans and robots closer in the manufacturing workplace. The ODIN modular architecture has been designed with scalability in mind and tackles these limitations by:

• Creating digital models that represent production entities, processes, and communication in a unified yet flexible manner.
• Supporting multiple interface technologies and adopting an extensible interfacing technology, enabling control of a wide range of robotics hardware, control systems, and manufacturing equipment.
• Dynamically planning and orchestrating manufacturing operations execution by the involved human and robot resources.

The ODIN architecture orchestrates the software modules in the shopfloor and integrates task planning, perception, actuation, and robot control modules along with Augmented Reality (AR) interfaces for human operators. It has been implemented in three industrial cases for the ODIN pilot cases.

For further information on the ODIN architecture, refer to the paper ODIN Architecture enabling reconfigurable human – robot-based production lines.

Spyros Koukas - MEng, MBA
Senior Software Engineer & Technical Lead at Netcompany-Intrasoft SA