Highlights at the Bosch ConnectedWorld 2019

Intralogistics in motion: Autonomous transport systems bring flexibility and transparency to intralogistics. Bosch Rexroth’s new ActiveShuttle moves loads weighing up to 260 kg quickly and safely through production facilities. An integrated hub platform enables fully automated loading and unloading of dollies equipped with small load carriers. As a result, ActiveShuttle can facilitate many kinds of transport concepts, ranging from cyclical deliveries to consumption-based material supply. Even when other transport vehicles are in play and people are present, the vehicle merges effortlessly into the intralogistics environment.

Visual inspection using artificial intelligence: Artificial intelligence holds huge potential to improve manufacturing quality and productivity. ViPAS from Bosch is an AI-based system for visual quality control. Equipped with a gripper arm, cutting-edge camera technology, and intelligent software, ViPAS inspects the most diverse kinds of components ranging from screws to pumps and right through to common-rail injectors. It compares the images recorded with stored information and classifies the parts either as “OK” or “not OK” (i.e. faulty). Thanks to deep learning, the system can be trained with sample images. As a result, ViPAS can be used for a range of visual inspection tasks.

3D printing for industrial applications: Bosch and BigRep, one of the leading suppliers of large-format 3D printers, are working on establishing 3D printing as industrial production technology. Automated additive manufacturing can not only be used to produce prototypes and models quickly and efficiently, the technology is also being readied for deployment in mass manufacturing. To this end, the companies have equipped BigRep printers with IoT solutions from Bosch. IoT devices, software, and intelligent sensors monitor all operating conditions and help to optimize process quality. This data also increases the quality of the printed components. The software is able to detect wear and errors before they cause machine downtime, thus increasing the availability of 3D printers.

Software for a transparent value stream: Nexeed software harmonizes, analyses, and visualizes big data volumes in connected manufacturing. It can help to raise productivity by up to 25 percent at individual facilities or reduce stockpiling by as much as 30 percent as internal projects at Bosch have demonstrated. On top of that, Nexeed can increase flexibility within plants: machines can be retooled faster and geared up for customized production – all the way down to batch sizes of one. In intralogistics and extralogistics as well, Nexeed software improves the transparency of materials flows and international supply chains.

Intelligence for autonomous robots: Bosch’s mobile robotics platform is an innovative software solution for developing and operating autonomous mobile robots in industrial applications. Within a short period of time, robots can learn, for example, to get their bearings, detect and navigate around obstacles, or load and unload items such as pallets or boxes. Via the cloud, the operator can also see where a robot is located and what job it is performing and can assign new tasks to it. Based on a modular, generic platform, the approach allows different robots and whole fleets of robots to be individually and quickly equipped with this intelligence and operated. Potential areas of application include robotic cleaners that autonomously clean large facilities such as train stations or airports, logistics robots to transport items within large warehouses, for example, or outdoor machinery for agricultural or construction uses.

Source and photo: Bosch