New Airgate system allows for remote monitoring of robots

Airgate has developed a way to communicate with Universal Robots (UR) remotely. The Airgate Robot Communications Solution (ARCS) is a communication system for UR robots that enables the user to securely monitor and manage robots through secure connections.

The system is meant to improve production costs, quality and efficiency—and reduce downtime—all especially important needs in the medical device manufacturing space.

“Quality is such an important requirement in all industries, but particularly in medical devices. These solutions will definitely help in data logging, root cause analysis and traceability,” said Douglas Peterson, U.S. general manager of Universal Robots

The ARCS system is a GSM modem solution, which is a modem that uses a SIM card and operates through cellphone companies. The Universal Robots will be able to be controlled on mobile devices as long as the user is connected to a 3G network. The basic ARCS system sends a text message to the robot’s operator if the robot’s system fails.

“The Airgate Robot Communications Solution is going to help customers monitor and manage the health of the robot from a remote location. I believe remote management will definitely grow into a valuable tool for monitoring device health and performance,” Peterson said.

Airgate also developed the ARCS rm (remote management) software that allows the user to control robots through an encrypted VNC connection. As long as the robot operator has granted access to an internet-connected device, such as a tablet, cellphone or computer, the ARCS rm will open the robot’s touch screen, PolyScope interface on the device where the operator will be able to troubleshoot, operate and diagnose any issues with the robot.

The system could also help operators to better leverage Internet of Things–type capabilities.

“Log files and system health information can be accessed remotely in cases where a technician can’t be physically present immediately. And if the root failure cause components are logged and recorded, this would be useful information that can be passed on to our vendors to let them know which of their components are failing frequently and why, leading them to find better and more robust solutions,” said Peterson said.

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