Solving the Hochschule Kempten Makeathon Challenge with Human-arm-like Dexterity

Together with our partner TQ-Systems, we had the pleasure of supporting yet another Makeathon organized by the Hochschule Kempten/ University of Applied Sciences.

This time the task was provided by Pester Pac Automation GmbH: "Automation of wiring in a control cabinet", which is commonly known as a difficult assignment for robots, as it calls for a high degree of sensitivity and dexterity. That’s where our Franka Emika robots and four university teams came into play!

The students had to find a clever way to automatically perform the cabling work within a control cabinet between different components and terminals within a control cabinet. Since the cables have different cross-sections, they had to be handled individually. The task also included the preparation of the cables such as cutting to length and stripping, but especially the clamping of the wires into the components and the laying of the cables within the cable ducts.

The particular challenge was mainly in the handling of the cables, which are difficult to grip due to their flexibility, the operation of the cable clamps and the laying of the cables in the cable ducts.

Nevertheless, all teams found creative solutions to the complex task and managed to use the sensitivity of our Franka Emika Robots in their favor. If an application requires human-arm-like dexterity, our robot is the right one for the job.

Watch the recap below: