Kane Robotics announced GRIT, a vision system that uses AI-powered visual sensors that replicate the human eye, assessing uneven surfaces and enabling its cobot to make real-time adjustments in material removal operations.
The Chino-Calif. based company says GRIT handles tasks such as sanding, grinding and finishing in the manufacturing process, thanks to a high-speed camera and AI-driven computer vision integrated with Kane’s GRIT cobot offering.
AI-powered vision system
A human operator sets up the cobot and attaches the necessary tools for the weld-grinding process, then monitors and adjusts the process through a live custom interface. Next, artificial intelligence takes over. Using the camera, the vision system “sees” uneven surfaces on a weld or seam. Thanks to rapidly learning AI, the system alerts the cobot’s robotic arm and steers it accordingly.
“Thanks to AI, we can now teach a cobot to flexibly respond to changes in surfaces based on what it ‘sees’ through a camera attachment,” said Arlo Caine, a robotics engineer at Kane who spearheaded the GRIT project “The cobot world hasn’t seen this before.”
The GRIT vision system was first introduced at the Paul Mueller Company, a Missouri-based global manufacturer of stainless-steel tanks and equipment. The company needed an option for seamlessly grinding welds on large steel tanks used in the dairy, food, brewery, beverage, pure water and pharmaceutical industries. GRIT’s AI software performs live object detection, ensuring accurate tracking even as the weld seam disappears during rotation. When faced with imperfect welds, the system proved it could be taught to detect variations and refine its grinding accuracy.
At the Paul Mueller Company, the cobot integrated well with the other machinery, according to Kane Robotics. The GRIT cobot does the tedious and strenuous work of holding the grinder. The vision system manages the tiring task of tracking large seams for long periods.
Finally, a human operator sets and adjusts the force level most suitable to the chosen abrasive, grinding speed and number of grind passes to achieve the required finish.
While originally developed for weld grinding, GRIT is compatible with various robotic components and customizable for diverse applications, from polishing aerospace parts to sanding furniture.
“The GRIT Vision System is a breakout for collaborative robotics,” said John Spruce, CEO of Kane Robotics. “Kane was among the first to successfully integrate robots, tools, cameras and AI software into a cohesive product. Today, that means more efficient, precise and safe material removal in manufacturing. The future possibilities are limitless.”
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