AR-aided robot programming

In the current industrial revolution, intelligent automation has become more important than ever, with robotics being one of its central pillars. Despite becoming more common and experiencing an increase in the number of installations, robots still present several challenges to implement. One of the biggest ones is programming them, as it requires extensive training, knowledge, and skills. Even then, it is still a time-consuming process. For those reasons, this thesis seeks to simplify robot programming by using Augmented Reality (AR) technology. For this purpose, a system capable of generating box-packing programs without the need to write a line of code was generated. In it, people from different backgrounds can fully develop paths to pack several objects just by selecting the box layout and the product’s sources in the User Interface (UI). Nevertheless, to allow for more control over the paths generated, the system incorporates 3 operating modes. In the most advanced, manual program development is also allowed by adding and modifying the path’s targets. To validate the system’s results, two experiments were conducted: one to test the system’s functionality and the other to measure its complexity, while also comparing it to commercially available software. Finally, the limitations, results, and potential of the system are discussed alongside its sustainability impact.