Ready Robotics, a developer of operating systems for automation and robotics, has announced a new collaboration with Toyota Motor Corporation and Nvidia to introduce a new operating system (OS) to industrial robotic solutions.
Toyota will employ Ready ForgeOS in conjunction with Nvidia’s Isaac Sim, which helps build a simulated robotic programming environment for its aluminum hot forging production lines.
Kazuhiro Suzuki, group manager, Toyota Motor Corporation’s Raw Materials Development Division, said: “The unique architecture of ForgeOS allows for the sim-to-real workflow we need for this production line because it bridges Nvidia Isaac Sim’s simulation capabilities with the control of our physical system.
“This means we can program in simulation, transfer that program, and then use ForgeOS to capture live production data and iteratively improve our processes.”
The introduction of the new OS is hoped to improve safety and efficiency in Toyota’s manufacturing processes.
Programming robotic systems for forging typically means that the metal parts need to be kept hot during programming, which presents safety challenges for workers.
By integrating the sim from Nvidia with the new OS, programming can reportedly now be completed in a simulated environment, eliminating the hot parts risk.
Once proven in the simulated environment, these programs can be seamlessly transferred into the live production work cell, removing the necessity for programming in the physical installation itself, thereby reducing the concern for safety around hot parts.
ForgeOS is likewise able to relay real-time production data from the cell on the factory floor back to the original Nvidia Isaac Sim simulation. This forms a digital twin of the live cell, enabling visualisations of its current state and facilitating greater monitoring and oversight, according to Ready Robotics.
The collaboration is hoped to create greater opportunities for production data to be captured from automation systems for use in process monitoring and improvement, or even artificial intelligence applications.
