Students: Zainurofiq Benda, Ashlyn van Someren, Mark Jensen, Biko van Mil, Matthijs van Winden
Ampoule handling robot: A New Medical Container Checking System with an Integrated Robot-Arm in Collaboration with VI-Assist X1 by Luo Automation
Introduction
“Providing a solution in the form of modern automation to the Healthcare industry” is the ultimate goal of Luo Automation. With their strong VI-Assist X1 which can perform an automated visual inspection there is a single drawback on it, the picking and placing is still done by hand. This strenuous and boring task was a call for an innovation and here is where the ampoule handling robot was born. The ampoule handling robot is an automated system using the combination of a Cobot Arm, custom End of Arm Tool (EOAT) and integrated with VI-Assist X1 to achieve a high-speed and reliable ampoule handling and scanning which results in optimized effectiveness and efficiency.
Problem
Currently Luo Automation have several solution lineups varying in speed and capacity. Their machine VI-Assist X4 is the biggest and fastest machine they currently have. The problem is that using VI-Assist X4, the types of medical container that can be scanned is quite limited compared to VI-Assist X1. But VI-Assist X1 doesn’t have as much capacity and speed as the VI-Assist X4 machine. So, they need a system using a Robot-Arm that could integrate with the VI-Assist X1 machines and also achieve the desired speed and capacity.
Additionally, they don’t have the VI-Assist X1 machine right now. So, simulating the machine is also our responsibility.
Solution
We designed a system, and we came up with a proof of concept. Below are some determining factors in our system:
- Infeed
Originally, all the medical containers come in a basic packaging box that varies depend on the types of the medical container. We decided to make a grid infeed to singulate each ampoule. This grid infeed is a wooden plate with the size of the holes customized according to the ampoule’s size and could handle 200 ampoules at one time. The distance between each ampoule is also customized according to the End of Arm Tools so it can work perfectly.
- End of Arm Tools
As we have discussed with Luo, the initial idea is to integrate a robot arm with 4 VI-Assist X1 machines and we know that to achieve the desired speed we need to be able to pick up and place multiple ampoules at the same time. After plenty of brainstorms and discussions with our group members and the tutors, we came up with a solution of using 6 suction cups, attached to 2 handlebars with 3 suction cups on each end. This allows us to pick up 2 ampoules and put it inside 2 of the scanners at a same time then put the other 2 ampoules inside 2 other scanners. And while it waits for the scan’s result, the robot will take up another 4 ampoules and will put them inside the scanners after the first batch has already been scanned. Since there are 6 suction cups, there are always 2 empty space to pick up the scanned ampoules. Then the robot arm will put the scanned ampoules to the outfeed boxes depending on the scan’s results. And the cycle will continue until all the ampoules have been scanned or the operator presses the stop button.
As for this project we were only given one type of ampoules, we decided to design our own suction cups that can fit perfectly on the ampoules head. We have been through a couple of ‘trial and error’ processes until we eventually found the best one. In our newest model, we designed a suction cup and 3D-printed it, then put a rubber skirt to give a good grip each time it picks up an ampoule. We blow out the ampoules using compressed air when we want to put it down.
- Machine Simulation
Since Luo still doesn’t have the VI-Assist X1 machine at the current time, we made a dummy box as the scanner and simulate the machine with a python code. We also made a web interface acting as the HMI and put a button for running/stopping the whole program. We are using FlaskIO python library to communicate between the web interface and the robot arm. The machine simulation receives signals every time the robot has placed an ampoule inside the scanner and sends a signal back to the robot for the scanning result, so the robot know where to put the scanned ampoules.
How to get started
All the customer has to do is just put all the ampoules inside the infeed grid and press the green button on the web interface. The customer can sit back and enjoy their cup of coffee while the robot does its job! Just contact us if you are interested in learning more.
Customer Quote
“We are very happy with the outcome of this project; it makes us realize that the goal of handling 1000 medical containers with a robot arm is very feasible. We also really like the design of the End of Arm Tool and will definitely keep the general design in mind. It really opens up opportunities for us to explore in using robot arm more in the future project and will start where the SMR students have left off!”