Hassna Louadah and Hamidreza Fahham: An experiment in Mixed Reality (MR) integrating Microsoft HoloLens, a UR collaborative robot, and a nutrunner tool, RIA Innovation Conference 2024.
This prototype showcases how MR can be used to guide and control automated industrial tasks. The HoloLens application was developed to communicate in real-time with a Universal Robot (UR) and a nutrunner.
The toolchain integrates SolidWorks and Blender for CAD modeling of the brake disc. The 3D model is then imported into Unity combined with C# scripting. Python is used alongside the UR robot via an interface, leveraging the RTDE (Real-Time Data Exchange) protocol for external data processing and remote control logic. The application is managed in Unity, while Visual Studio is used not only for deployment to the HoloLens but also for implementing client-server interaction, with the server side of the system developed in C# within Visual Studio to manage communication and control flows between devices.
This experiment was part of our work at the UoH’s Institute of Railway Research, pushing the boundaries in smart maintenance technologies.