Students from the TH Nürnberg deepen their automation expertise during a visit to Cologne

Students from the TH Nürnberg deepen their automation expertise during a visit to Cologne

“igus is a company with a hands-on mentality that simply loves research.” This was the summary of students from the Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm, who visited the igus factory in Cologne to deepen their knowledge of automation technology. Last July, they travelled to Bordeaux as Team Autonohm to take part in the 26th RoboCup World Championships with the igus low-cost cobot ReBeL.

The eight students from Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm (“the Ohm”) regularly take part in international robotics competitions as Team Autonohm. During the visit to igus, Alexander Mühlens and his team familiarised the young specialists with new low-cost automation trends from which the young robotics experts will benefit in future competitions. “The visit to igus was a valuable opportunity for our students to deepen their knowledge of automation technology alongside their studies,” says Prof. Dr Frank Pöhlau, Professor at the Ohm’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Precision Engineering and Information Technology. “They have gained deep insights into a company with a hands-on mentality that simply loves research. This investment in the next generation of robotics experts is not only an inspiration, but also a step towards a promising future of automation.”

Students build autonomous logistics vehicle with Low Cost Automation from igus

The Cologne-based company is always looking for robot enthusiasts to strengthen its own teams worldwide and therefore actively promotes young talent. igus supports future robotics specialists not only with knowledge, but also with hardware. The company provided Team Autonohm with the ReBeL, an articulated arm robot with six axes made almost entirely from high-performance plastic. It competes with classic industrial robots made of metal. It has a weight of just 8.2 kilograms and the fully equipped plug-and-play version costs as little as €4,970. The students use the ReBeL for an autonomous logistics vehicle called Omega4. Barely larger than a compact pallet, equipped with an electric four-wheel drive and the articulated arm robot as a gripper, Omega4 could transport goods in industrial plants in the future. The arm has a reach of 660 millimetres and a load capacity of two kilograms. “I am still extremely impressed by the high degree of commitment and passion for robotics. Also, it really is remarkable how quickly and with what amount of imagination the students developed the robot,” emphasises Mühlens. “Within just a few days, the ReBeL was married to the automated guided vehicle (AGV).”

Team Autonohm took fourth place with the ReBeL at the RoboCup World Championships

At the 26th RoboCup World Championship in Bordeaux, the autonomous vehicle proved that Omega4 has what it takes to become a logistics robot. There, 2,500 participants from 45 countries presented their developments in the fields of robotics, AI and computer science. Originally launched as a robot football tournament, other disciplines now complement the world championship, including RoboCup@Work, a competition that promotes the development of mobile robots that could work together with humans on complex tasks in the future. Omega4 proved that it can perceive, interpret and interact with its surroundings using sensors, cameras and sophisticated software. In the end, Team Autonohm finished in fourth place.

Young engineers’ visit inspires igus to develop new LCA product

igus also benefited from the young engineers’ visit and launched a new product. “In addition to their self-developed platform for their logistics robot, Team Autonohm and the Ohm use a mobile vehicle called Eduard, which enables intuitive basic training in mobile robotics. We have added the manufacturer Eduart Robotik to our robotics marketplace RBTX.com,” says Mühlens. “In the next step, we want to combine Eduard with the ReBeL to create a new type of low-cost automation system for research.”