This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II research project will advance a Mobile Robotic Welding System (MRWS) to significantly improve automated ship fabrication techniques in the United States. Providing automation to the American shipbuilding industry poses significant challenges. Traditional robotic systems are inadequate in industries such as shipbuilding characterized by size and scale because of their inherent inability to adhere and maneuver across uneven and even inverted environments while maintaining a weld. The team addresses these problems by merging recent climbing robot technology developed for remote inspection tasks in the electric power industry with automated welding equipment. This project will advance this technology, moving it from the laboratory to the field and address the technical challenges posed by real-world conditions. This will include vehicle and manipulator interaction in a dynamic environment, sensor systems capable of handling variable conditions, and robust navigation and control algorithms with self preserving and correcting behaviors.
This proposed effort focuses on technology innovation to significantly advance automation of manufacturing, inspection and maintenance processes through an autonomous, mobile climbing robot. If successful the outcome of this project will additionally advance the state of knowledge in performing robotic tasks remotely in unstructured environments. The general need for such capability in robotics is immense. Shipbuilding is an extremely labor-intensive, $15 billion dollar industry in the US, and its success depends on improvements in productivity. Over $40 trillion will be spent worldwide in infrastructure spending between 2005 and 2030. The US will spend $6.52 trillion overall and $1.53 trillion in energy/power segment with includes pipelines, storage facilities and alternative energy.
NSF PII award #0849008 October 15, 2012 James W. Beard, PI "Developing a Mobile, Robotic Welding System" Many industries such as large shipbuilding and site-based fabrication and construction do not lend themselves to traditional assembly line robotic systems. Large military ships, for example, tend to be unique with each successive ship manufactured having different characteristics. The size and scale of a typical ship combined with the high costs associated with dry-docks or real-estate immediately adjacent to the launch location has led toward a common manufacturing technique in which the structural components of the ship are assembled in multiple locations with only the final assembly occurring in the most expensive location. We call these "unstructured environments" because the building process is not regular (i.e., is not highly dimensionalized). Robotic systems in these environments must be mobile, flexible and adaptable. This creates a unique set of challenges that this project has addressed. Mobile robotics (robotic systems capable of navigating through the environment to perform motion control tasks) provides new opportunities to improve worker productivity in unstructured environments. Robotic Technologies of Tennessee (RTT) and its University partner, Tennessee Technological University (TTU) have a history of developing automated mobile robotic platforms in unstructured environments such as the power production and shipbuilding industries. Under the NSF STTR program, Robotic Technologies of Tennessee (RTT) has developed and commercialized a climbing mobile robotic welding system suited for welding in unstructured environments such as shipyards or construction of large structures. This system is called the Mobile Robotic Welding System (MRWS). The MRWS is capable of mechanizing weld processes while operating in inverted positions, even upside down. When compared to manual welding processes or track based automated systems, the MRWS increases productivity, safety and quality. This system allows the weld technician to perform the weld process remotely making the job safer and more comfortable for the operator. This tends to reduce work place injuries related to repetitive motion and flying debris. In addition, the ability to control the welding from a control device allows the worker to remain in a comparatively better ergonomic position which enables older and less physically healthy welders to perform in their jobs longer. Finally, the MRWS better matches the expectations of younger generations of workers giving industrial recruiters a better chance of attracting young workers to join the industry (i.e., the industry is having trouble finding workers). This system has been approved and qualified for the most stringent welding processes (NAVY requirements for ships) by several Tier-I shipbuilding manufacturers. Two commercial versions of the MRWS have been developed under the NSF STTR program. These systems are in use at the largest US shipyards. RTT’s mobile robotic welding systems have been a featured technology of the National Shipbuilding Research and have been featured at several industry forums (Shiptech 2009 – 2011, Fabtech 2010, 2011, 2012).
