ShowMe - "Assembly satnav" takes the pressure off workers
Short Description
Cue Man-Machine Communication: The project ShowMe designs the assembly line workplace of the future. Production is under pressure to meet requirements, on the one hand due to the diversity of variants, on the other due to ever shorter innovation cycles.
Against this backdrop, ShowMe focuses on the modern workplaces of the future. The new concept puts people first and proposes a visual assistance system for manual production tasks. The system passes on intelligent, context- based assembly instructions and signals mistakes even while these are being made.
Transferring the knowledge of experienced workers to new workers is, so to speak, already built in. All this has a positive effect on the quality of the workplace. Mental pressure is taken off the workers, they are supported better ergonomically, and can work more efficiently to fulfill quality requirements.
System detects potential errors in real time
ShowMe acts like a navigation system. It is based on real time enabled 2D and 3D object position recognition – it “sees” the workpiece, the components and the surroundings and “tracks” the movements the assembly worker makes. In combination with familiar assembly sequences the system is able to independently and intelligently provide operational guidance that assures quality at the same time.
Based on historical data and experience stemming from quality assurance, the assembly planning component attempts to guide the assembly worker through the system in the best possible way, i.e. so that assembly is optimally balanced with respect to ergonomics, efficiency and quality. If an error is detected, the software adaptively calculates detours - alternative paths and assembly routes - to the destination.
Any hardware component designs can be used for visualization: smart glasses, monitors, tablets or projection systems. The system superimposes the real world on a simulated world by means of computer graphics or augmented reality, depending on the requirements of the situation.
Project Partners
Contact Address
Project Coordinator
Harald Bauer
E-mail: harald.bauer@profactor.at