Audi’s main plant in Ingolstadt has for the first time deployed a robot to work with employees – without any barriers. This is the first time that the Volkswagen Group has deployed human-robot cooperation in final assembly. According to Audi this technology is in place to make work easier for assembly employees.
The manufacturer tells us that the employees of the A4/A5/Q5 assembly lines have found the robots to be an enormous help. An example of this aid is how employees would have had to bend over repeatedly to take out coolant expansion tanks – a repetitive task which could lead to back problems. The robot now fills this role. Internally this robot is known as “PART4you”. The robot is fitted with a camera and a suction cup which allows it to pick up components and pass them to the Audi employees. They hand over the components when needed and they make sure to do it in an ergonomically optimal position.
Dr. Hubert Waltl, Board of Management Member for Production at AUDI AG, said, “The factory of the future will feature increasing interaction between man and machine. That allows us to automate routine operations and to optimize ergonomically unfavourable workplaces.” Dr Waltl continues by saying, “People will continue to make the decisions on production processes. And our employees will continue to be essential for future-oriented, successful production.”
Johann Hegel, Head of Assembly Technology Development, said “In a production process with increasing diversity of model versions, PART4you provides the employees with important assistance. It selects the correct component and holds it ready to be taken. This means that the employees no longer have to reach over long distances or bend down repeatedly. The robot becomes an assembly assistant operating at the same speed as the assembly worker – and not the other way around. Thanks to a soft protective skin with integrated safety sensors, there is no danger to the employees. Because PART4you fulfils the special safety precautions for cooperating robots, the intelligent system has received the required certificate from the employers’ liability insurance association.”
Audi has been working with this type of robot since 2013 in its A4 body shop. Here the robot, equipped with an adhesive nozzle, applies adhesive to bonded seams. According to Audi more human-robot cooperation is on the cards for the future not just in Ingolstadt, but in its international production sites also.
