doi: 10.3850/978-981-11-0749-8_675
Towards Remote Telecontrol of a Desktop Microfactory via Internet Protocol with Virtual Reality
Tobias Tiemerding1, Manuel Mikczinski2 and Sergej Fatikow3
1OFFIS - Institute for Information Technology, Group Automated Nanohandling, Escherweg 2, 26121 Oldenburg, Germany
2MiCROW GmbH, Marie-Curie-Straße 1, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
3University of Oldenburg, Departement of Computing Science, Division Microrobotics and Control Engineering, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
Abstract
The demand for microfactories is constantly increasing, especially in the area of micro-assembly for low volume production or lab environments. Here, manual assembly is reaching its limits with respect to accuracy, yield and throughput. Therefore, a variety of microfactories have been developed, including the MiCROW-Pro factory of the authors. When looking at the size, the demands on the working environment, or the required investment cost, one may quickly realize that the application of such factories is not possible for everyone (especially small and medium-sized enterprises). New technical approaches and business models in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the vision of a “Smart Factory” are needed here. With this paper we embrace the concept of telecontrol of a microfactory via internet protocol (IP). Therefore, the MiCROW-Pro control software was enhanced and a new remote client application was developed. The key feature is the virtual representation, as this helps process understanding and does not imply the need for high network bandwidth. Overall, remote control may offer some day the same convenience working conditions for an operator wherever he is located. In addition, remote control allows for new business models, as such as machine sharing or even rental of machinery time (Manufacturing time as a service).
Keywords: Micro and Desktop Factory, Micro-assembly, Micro-handling, Telecontrol, Smart Factory.
