Overview

The project idea is to develop an integrated modular solution consisting of a physical production cell empowered by an innovative software infrastructure for the production of high value added optoelectronic components. This integrated solution is entitled white’R – white room based on Reconfigurable robotic island for optoelectronics.

white’R is a self-contained White room consisting in a multi-robotic island that can be easily integrated in existing production shop-floors. It empowers the handling, assembly and disassembly of high value added optoelectronic products. The island’s devices – robots, operation units, transport, handling and tooling systems – are conceived as Plug-n-Produce reusable modules properly configured coherently with the production requirements.

The white’R island presents a dual level of reconfigurability and reusability: one pertains to the capability of the island – as a whole – to match evolving variable family of products by selecting the appropriate equipment and functionalities; the second reusability level refers to the single modules’ exploitation strategy that changes across their lifecycle coherently with the natural degradation processes. The white’R island also embraces a two-fold Plug-n-Produce paradigm: each single module of the island – from end-effector, to aggregated tooling system, to complex machine equipment, till robotic arms – is designed and build as self-declaring intelligent module capable of inferring with other island entities; the same capabilities, considered at a higher level, make the island as a whole as a Plug-n-Produce solution as it is a compact White room island that can be easily integrated in the shop-floor where preexisting equipment is operating while severely reducing the costs and times caused by the reconfiguration and ramp-up inefficiencies.

The compact production island would result in intelligent co-operative distributed manufacturing devices that interact among each other as well as with humans to accomplish multi-level optimization strategies related both to the inside island objectives and the shop-floor (outside island) process-production goals.