NEC and Nidec Develop Technology to Control Robots Equipped with Intelligent Motors
2017年12月7日 - 4:21PM
JCN Newswire (英)
NEC Corporation (TSE:6701) and Nidec Corporation (TSE:6594)
announced today the successful joint development of a technology
that enables highly precise, real-time remote control of
Intelligent Motors(1), motors incorporating microcomputers through
a wireless network.
As utilization of the Internet of Things (IoT) accelerates, there
is greater need for robotic equipment to communicate and work
together cooperatively in the growing robotics industry. In
consideration of this demand, NEC and Nidec have successfully
developed a new technology that combines NEC's wireless
communication technology with Nidec's motor synchronization
technology to enable highly precise, real-time remote control of
Intelligent Motors through a wireless network.
NEC's wireless communication technology accurately predicts the
future operational status of Intelligent Motors in the event of a
wireless network communication delay. This enables the motors to be
remotely controlled in real-time, and for future operations to be
adjusted based on prediction results.
In addition, Nidec's motor synchronization technology enables
multiple Intelligent Motors to interact with each other through
highly precise synchronization between them, or among multiple
robots equipped with Intelligent Motors.
This newly developed technology has been verified by simulation
testing with automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in an environment
where wireless communications were unstable due to the data
transmission of peripheral equipment and the influence of
electromagnetic noise. According to the testing, the technology
could improve transportation efficiency(2) by 30% compared to
conventional methods.
Going forward, NEC and Nidec will promote commercialization of this
technology throughout a wide range of fields, including automatic
carriers in plants and warehouses, security robots, reconnaissance
robots, and remote control of drones for inspection and
delivery.
NEC will present this technology at the IEEE International
Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE) 2018 in Las Vegas from
Friday, January 12 to Sunday, January 14, 2018.
URL: http://www.icce.org/
http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_NECNidec12718.jpg
Wireless collaborative control technology
Features of the new technology
1. Predicts communication delays between a control server and
Intelligent Motors
The highly precise stochastic model was discovered over the
occurrence of delays on various wireless networks, such as Wi-Fi
and LTE, and communication delays were successfully predicted
through its utilization(3).
2. Achieves advanced, real-time remote control based on
communication delay prediction
Communication delay prediction technology can predict how much time
has elapsed since feedback information (position, velocity, torque
and others) was sent from Intelligent Motors and how much of a
delay there will be for an arrival of the control commands (orders
on position and velocity) to Intelligent Motors.
With this prediction, the technology accurately estimates the
status of Intelligent Motors at the time that the control commands
will be received. It then controls the motors in advance on the
basis of the predicted future status (Note 4), enabling real-time
control, even from a remote site where communication delays
occur.
3. Collaboratively controls robots with highly precise
synchronization between motors
An Intelligent Motor is a motor equipped with a microcomputer
developed by Nidec, enabling easy control through a wireless
network. The developed motor synchronization technology hereby
achieves highly precise synchronization by having multiple
Intelligent Motors interact frequently, enabling the coordination
control of multiple robots equipped with Intelligent Motors. In
addition, an expensive computer is no longer necessary for control,
which was conventionally required on the side of robots. As a
result, for conveying operations in plants and warehouses, it
becomes possible to transport parcels of various shapes and
weights, not by a large, high-cost automated guided vehicle, but
through the combination and collaboration of multiple small,
low-cost automated guided vehicles. This contributes to low-cost
operations.
(1) Intelligent Motor
A motor incorporating a microcomputer developed by Nidec. It can be
easily controlled through a wireless network. In addition, a
variety of information on the motor can be obtained, such as
position, velocity and torque.
(2) Transportation efficiency
Time required for an automated guided vehicle conveyance to prevent
deviation from a certain route by remote control.
(3) Communication delay prediction
With the definition of two states of communication networks,
high-delay state and low-delay state, it was discovered that the
transition model of the two delay states could be predicted very
precisely using a certain molecule's stochastic model of the state
of transition between a high-energy state and a low-energy state.
It was demonstrated that the method could improve prediction error
by about 30%, compared to the latest outcome in the same kind of
research in a real network environment.
(4) Advance control
A control method by predicting future states in the control system.
The presentation at IEEE ICCE 2018 will be given centered on this
control technology.
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network
technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world.
By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross
utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's
advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of
its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in
technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society.
For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.
Based on its Mid-term Management Plan 2015, the NEC Group globally
provides "Solutions for Society" that promote the safety, security,
efficiency and equality of society. Under the company's corporate
message of "Orchestrating a brighter world," NEC aims to help solve
a wide range of challenging issues and to create new social value
for the changing world of tomorrow. For more information, please
visit
http://www.nec.com/en/global/about/solutionsforsociety/message.html.
Source: NEC Corporation
Contact:
NEC
Seiichiro Toda
s-toda@cj.jp.nec.com
+81-3-3798-6511
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