May 2021

TECHNOLOGY n A FRENCH START-UP aiming to make industrial robots simple enough for anyone to use, has announced a software platform that, it claims, will cut the cost of robot programming by a factor of ten. Fuzzy Logic Robotics (FLR) says that its Fuzzy Studio software will allow any factory to automate using robots quickly, simply and cost-effectively, even for complex applications involving tasks such as welding, gluing, grinding, painting and dispensing. It says that its platform is as easy to use as a video game. It employs the same standard interface for any make of robot, and delivers “industrial-grade” precision and performance for real-time control of the robots. The software covers all of the steps involved in integrating robot workcells, from pre-project design and commissioning, to real-time production control, inline re-programming and maintenance. FLR hopes that the platform will accelerate the uptake robots for any type of user, from large manufacturers to SMEs, systems integrators, and even OEMs. The company argues that until now, both industrial and collaborative robotics has been too costly for truly flexible production because of the complexity of the software and integration required. Only a few handling applications – such as pick-and-place – have been made truly accessible to non-experts, and thus cost-effective for flexible production. Most robot and cobot applications need complex, dedicated software tools and brand experts to implement. The tools require significant training and expertise. As a result, says FLR, more than 75% of the TCO (total cost of ownership) of robots in standard mass production applications is devoted to software training and services. In flexible production, this figure can exceed 90% of the TCO and can kill the potential return-on-investment. FLR contends that its universal platform covers all steps of the robot process intuitively. It: n allows users to drag-and-drop CAD parts into 3D digital twins, generating complex trajectories automatically, and to deploy these trajectories to production robots in a single click; n removes the gap between offline simulation and real-time control, thus cutting downtime and streamlining the robotics workflow; n reduces the need for robotics expertise through its use of a no- code, real-time digital twin technology; n can swap between any make and model of robot in a couple of clicks to choose the best one for an application, without needing to switch software and redo time-consuming design work; and n allows any size of company to implement complex robotic applications. Fuzzy Logic Robotics was founded in 2018 by a Franco-American team of robot experts who envisaged a new way of controlling and programming the next generation of robotic applications. Thanks to an early customer in the audiovisual industry, the founders were able to develop a new paradigm that allows untrained users to interact with, control and program any industrial robot. FLR says that its mission is to enable the next revolution in robotic automation “by crushing complexity and transforming the way people interact with and use robots”. Fuzzy Studio was announced during last month’s virtual Hannover Fair. www.flr.io French robot platform is a ‘game changer’ that will slash costs re’W effe o e tal enc ing user r s of Rit losur cooling Vis insp equ ww i t ection ipment laim tal.co.uk o ct it .rw y*ev sur e a eceiv unity t t the oppor o r .uk co sour y FREE * ms an erT.erff Limited-time o UCTURE TRAS IT INFR al. tit .r ails please visit www or full det F.y d conditions appl VICES ARE & SER W SOFT Fuzzy Logic Robotics claims that its universal robot programming and control software will make robots easy and cheap enough for anyone to use