Robot Control Meta Language (RCML)

The Russian entrepreneurs from Robot Control Technologies company created the innovation Robot Control Meta Language (RCML) environment which will allow robots and the robotic systems of different producers to interact among themselves. In the long term development will give the chance to significantly broaden the sphere of use of industrial robots at the Russian manufacturing enterprises.

Today any large-scale modern production does not do without the help of industrial robots who are widely used to processes of welding, movement of products, processing, coloring, assembly, etc. The cumulative number of industrial robots in the world already exceeds 1.3 million units. According to the forecast of Boston Consulting Group, by 2025 the share of the tasks solved using robots will reach 26%. The Russian share in the world volume of consumption of robots at the moment makes less than 1%, and robotization density — 2 robots on 10 thousand workers. It is caused including the fact that technology processes on domestic productions became outdated and need upgrade. Among the main problems: a lack of knowledge of robotization opportunities, complexity of joining and coordination of components of a robotic complex, need of each robot to program separately, the shortage of software for design, weak educational infrastructure, etc.

The RCML language developed by innovators from Perm will allow the specialist to configure interaction of robots on the set algorithm regardless of technical skills. The special textbook in which basic elements of a modern language of programming, examples of use and solving of tasks on programming of robotics are described was for this purpose prepared. Robots are programmed automatically on the basis of the current set of assigned tasks, their priorities and a situation in a production cell.

"As it is banal sounds, but everything began with the idea. We wanted to create the universal solution for all types of robots without exception. Dmitry Sutormin — the co-founder of the RCML project was the primary source of the idea, and it infected with this idea me. So, in 2014 at us it turned out creative R&D, and we began development — Mikhail Tyulkin, the co-founder of the Robot Control Meta Language project told. — However since fall of 2015 we understood that it is necessary to narrow the direction, and were focused on the industrial sector of robotics. We gave the idea a shape: from architecture of program components before embedding in the existing ecosystem of solutions in industrial robotics — in fact the first MVP. Now all development is conducted by a programming team in Perm, all of them are graduates of the Perm universities".

The main objective which is set before themselves by developers — as much as possible to facilitate installation and adjustment of work of the software on large-scale industrial productions and "make friends" among themselves the robots who are carrying out different tasks. It will allow business to lower costs for implementation new hardware and the software as on the high-precision productions and projects providing implementation of robots, the cost of software can reach 60% of project cost.

The project is at a readiness stage: value proposition is confirmed and suitability of language in operation is proved. The Japanese producers of industrial robots of FANUC and the German partners in the field of build automation and cooperation of group of robots already became interested in development.

The traditional programming method of industrial robots is a programming by training. The robot is taken for a trunk and show a series of provisions: it is necessary to rise so, here capture should be clamped, here is unclenched — and the robot remembers it and repeats.

RCML allows to integrate in one production chain of robots of different producers: general options of a task are entered into the system in the RCML language. A system knows internal codes of robots of the most popular producers and calculates that each robot — to transfer procurement should make, to boil thoroughly, glue, drill an opening — to receive a finished product.

RCML allows to integrate in one production chain of robots of different producers: general options of a task are entered into the system in the RCML language. A system knows internal codes of robots of the most popular producers and calculates that each robot — to transfer procurement should make, to boil thoroughly, glue, drill an opening — to receive a finished product.

Partner network

To increase sales, founders of RCML develop network of partnership as in the sector of industrial robotics the enterprise buys a complex from different solutions more often, but not separate components. Now among partners of the Perm company RCML large producers of industrial robots — such as Kuka, ABB and FANUC RCML^[1].

Format of sales

The RCML company from Perm sells an annual subscription to the universal controller for industrial robots for $1.5 thousand which allows to collect production chains of robots of different producers, to save on their setup and by that to reduce cost of production. For September, 2017 such licenses purchased only fifteen companies (though in plans there were 300 sales until the end of this year).

Robotics