i UR ROBOT SCRIPTING AND OFFLINE PROGRAMMING IN A VIRTUAL REALITY ENVIRONMENT Bachelor Degree Project in Production Engineering G2E, 30 credits Spring term 2020 Alberto Zafra Navarro Jorge Guillén Pastor Supervisor/Handledare: Víctor Igelmo García Examiner/Examinator: Anna Syberfeldt i Abstract Nowadays, the profession of a robot programmer is becoming more and more necessary. However, due to the complexity of the software used, a lot of experience and training is necessary. Training that not everyone can access due to the lack of availability of these machines. In addition, new technologies such as virtual reality (VR) are emerging, providing a world of new possibilities. This project aims to create a more straightforward and intuitive way of programming, taking advantage of VR technology. In addition, it is expected to flatten the learning curve required for the operators, thanks to a more natural way of programming. A software has been developed in order to achieve that. Within this software, the user can interact with the virtual robot to create the path that the robot will follow, specifying all the necessary parameters for its programming. In addition, one of the most important functionalities of this software is program exportation. The user can export a program at the touch of a button. This generated robot program is ready to be imported to the physical robot, where it will perform the same path as the virtual robot was performing. ii Certification This thesis has been submitted by Alberto Zafra Navarro and Jorge Guillén Pastor to the University of Skövde as a requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Production Engineering. The undersigned certifies that all the material in this thesis that is not my own has been properly acknowledged using accepted referencing practices and, further, that the thesis includes no material for which I have previously received academic credit. Alberto Zafra Navarro Jorge Guillén Pastor Skövde 2021-06-06 Institutionen för Ingenjörsvetenskap/School of Engineering Science iii Acknowledgements To our families, for the unconditional support they granted us over the years. To Victor Igelmo, our supervisor, for their help, support and patience during the project development. To Patrik Gustavsson, for flattening the initial part of the project giving us the virtual robot package. Thanks to the University of Skövde and to ASSAR Innovation Arena, for providing us with the materials and knowledge needed to move forward in our professional lives. iv Table of Contents 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1. Background .......................................................................................................................... 7 1.2. Problem Statement ..................................................................................................................... 7 1.3. Aims and Objectives ............................................................................................................ 8 1.4. Extent and Delimitation....................................................................................................... 8 1.5. Sustainability ....................................................................................................................... 8 1.6. Outline ............................................................................................................................... 10 2. Theoretical Frame of Reference .................................................................................................... 11 2.1. VR Glasses .......................................................................................................................... 11 2.2. Unity 3D and C# ................................................................................................................. 12 2.3. Collaborative Robots ......................................................................................................... 12 2.4. Robot Programming .......................................................................................................... 13 2.5. Bézier Curves ..................................................................................................................... 15 2.6. Type of Robot Movements ................................................................................................ 16 3. Literature Review .......................................................................................................................... 18 4. Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 21 4.1. Methodology Motivation and Application ........................................................................ 22 5. Results ........................................................................................................................................... 24 5.1. Previous Work ................................................................................................................... 24 5.2. Program Control ................................................................................................................ 25 5.3. Programming environment and Simulation ...................................................................... 26 5.4. Robot Jog ........................................................................................................................... 27 5.5. Path Creation and Targets ................................................................................................. 28 5.6. Program Exportation ......................................................................................................... 31 5.7. Improving the robot movement ........................................................................................ 31 5.8. Testing and Evaluation ...................................................................................................... 33 5.8.1. Testing ........................................................................................................................... 34 5.8.2. Evaluation ...................................................................................................................... 35 6. Discussion ...................................................................................................................................... 36 7. Conclusion and Future Work ......................................................................................................... 39 v 7.1. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 39 7.2. Future Work ...................................................................................................................... 39 References ............................................................................................................................................. 40 vi List of Figures Figure 1. Venn Diagram For Sustainable Development .......................................................................... 9 Figure 2. HTC Vive headset .................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 3. Collaborative Robot ................................................................................................................ 13 Figure 4. Lead-through Programming Method ..................................................................................... 13 Figure 5. Walk-through Programming Method ..................................................................................... 14 Figure 6. Offline Programming Method. ............................................................................................... 14 Figure 7. Programming using VR. .......................................................................................................... 15 Figure 8. Example of Bézier Curves. ...................................................................................................... 15 Figure 9. MoveL ..................................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 10. MoveP with a blend radius of 50 mm .................................................................................. 16 Figure 11. MoveP................................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 12. MoveJ ................................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 13. SRDM Flow Chart. ................................................................................................................. 21 Figure 14. Base Software. ...................................................................................................................... 24 Figure 15. Radial Menu Left. ................................................................................................................. 25 Figure 16. Radial Menu Right. ............................................................................................................... 26 Figure 17. Virtual Environment. ............................................................................................................ 26 Figure 18. General Speed