This thesis has two aims, both related with simulation programs. The first one is to analyze the viability of using Factory I/O as a tool at the University of Gävle for teaching and understanding the PLCs and the ladder programing. The second one is do a 3D model of the robotics laboratory to use it with the KUKASim and after that find a method to transfer code from KUKASim to the actual robots.Factory I/O has been install and use with a Siemens PLC, which was programed in Siemens TIA Portal. The evaluation of the software as a teaching tool has been done according to a supposition of how much time could it take to an average bachelor degree student in automation to create a functional project. In order to determine that, a demo has been done, which consist on a process in where a box enters by a conveyor. There are two ruts for the box to exit, straight or to the left, and the direction is choose by moving a switcher in the PLC. After analyzing finishing the demo, it has been determinate that it could take around 4 hours to complete a functional project.For the KUKASim part, KUKASim was already installed. However, during the development of this project it was updated from 2.2 to 3.0.4 which caused a minor issues; the SketchUp model could not be imported to 2.2 version and by the time that the upgrade was made the 3D environment of the robotic laboratory was already made in KUKASim.On the other hand, the Office Lite software was needed to be installed in order to transfer the code from KUKASim to the real robots, but due to some license issues, the installation was done at the end period of the project. The connection of both software was not possible to make, still, during the time that Office Lite was not available, an alternative method to transfer the code was found. The program files were download from KUKASim and transfer to the robot with WorkVisual.The conclusion of the thesis is that Factory I/O could be used as a learning and teaching tool because is an easy program to work with. All the same, KUKASim is a multifunctional software, which has make it possible to achieve both of the purposes for corresponding part of the project.

This thesis was conducted to provide an automated method for characterization of printed electronics. The work was built on a multi-axis milling machine. Further, the machine was modified by replacing the milling-tool with an installment utilizing electrical probing. Different measurement techniques, machine vision applications, and software solutions were evaluated and utilized. All the revolving functionalities of this project was then merged into a complete system, controlled by a graphical user interface. The resulting system was capable of autonomously characterize a given number of components on a printed sheet. The final version of the system is capable of finding the origin of the sheet by using machine vision and fiducial markers.

Eurofins is one of the world's largest laboratories which, among other things, offer chemical and microbiological analyses in agriculture, food and environment. Several 100.000 tests of various foods are executed each year at Eurofins’ facility in Jönköping and the current processes include much repeated manual tasks which could cause ergonomic problems. The company therefore wants to investigate the possibilities of utilizing Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) at their facility. Human-Robot Collaboration is a growing concept that has made a big impression in both robot development and Industry 4.0. A HRC approach allow humans and robots to share their workspaces and work side by side, without being separated by a protective fence which is common among traditional industrial robots. Human-Robot Collaboration is therefore believed to be able to optimize the workflows and relieve human workers from unergonomic tasks. The overall aim of the research project presented is to help the company to gain a better understanding about the existing HRC technologies. To achieve this goal, the state-of-the-art of HRC had to be investigated and the needs, possibilities and limitations of HRC applications had to be identified at Eurofins’ facility. Once these have been addressed, a demonstrator could be built which could be used for evaluating the applicability and suitability of HRC at Eurofins. The research project presented used the design science research process. The state-of-the-art of HRC was studied in a comprehensive literature review, reviewing sterile robots and mobile robotics as well. The presented literature review could identify possible research gaps in both HRC in laboratory environments and mobile solutions for HRC applications. These areas studied in the literature review formed together the basis of the prepared observations and interviews, used to generate the necessary data to develop the design science research artefact, the demonstrator. ABB's software for robotic simulation and offline programming, RobotStudio, were used in the development of the demonstrator, with the collaborative robot YuMi chosen for the HRC implementation. The demonstrator presented in the research project has been built, tested and refined in accordance to the design science research process. When the demonstrator could illustrate an applicable solution, it was evaluated for its performance and quality using a mixed methods approach. Limitations were identified in both the performance and quality of the demonstrator's illustrated HRC implementation, including adaptability and sterility constraints. The research project presented could conclude that a HRC application would be possible at a station which were of interest by the company, but would however not be recommended due to the identified constraints. Instead, the company were recommended to look for stations which are more standardized and have less hygienic requirements. By the end of the research project, additional knowledge was contributed to the company, including how HRC can affect today's working methods at Eurofins and in laboratory environments in general.

Safety-related functions are important in autonomous industrial applications and are featured in an extensive body of work contained within the standards. The implementation of safety-related systems is commonly done by an external company at a great cost and with limited flexibility. Thus, the objective of this thesis was to develop and implement a safety-related system using o-the-shelf products and to analyse how well it can comply with the established standards of safety-related functions. This work has sought to review the current standards for safety-functions, the eectsof harsh radio environments on safety-related systems, and how to validate the safety-function.The system development process was used to gain knowledge by rst building the concept based on pre-study. After the pre-study was nished, the process moved to the development of software, designed to maintain a wireless heartbeat as well as to prevent collisions between the autonomous and manual-driven vehicles at a quarry, and implementation of the system in real hardware. Finally, a set of software (simulations) and hardware (measurements in an open-pit mine) tests were performed to test the functionality of the system. The wireless tests showed that the system adhered to the functional requirements set by the company, however, the evaluated performance level according to ISO 13849-1 resulted in performance level B which is insucient for a safety-related function. This work demonstrates that it is not possible to develop a safety-related system using the off-the-shelf products chosen, without hardware redundancy.

Automatisering av arbetsprocesser har varit ett aktuellt tema för många verksamheter i många år. Ofta är dessa automatiseringar relaterade till fysisk automation som exempelvis robotar vid produktionslinjer. Men med dagens teknik finns det potential för att automatisera arbetsprocesser i verksamheters back-office processer. Robotic process automation, eller förkortat som RPA, är en teknik som har förmågan att imitera användarens steg i en arbetsprocess och återskapa arbetsprocessen utan den mänskliga resursen. Denna studie har som syfte att fastställa utmaningar och möjligheter som är relaterade vid införande av RPA i verksamheter. Genom intervjuer och tidigare publicerat material om RPA, skall denna studie erbjuda en djupare förståelse kring utmaningar och möjligheter för den stigande trenden robotic process automation. / Automation has been a hot topic for many businesses for a number of years now. The term is usually related to automation of physical machinery like robots to speed up production and assembling of cars. But with currently technology, the automation has taken a step further. Automation is now capable of automating back-office processes. Robotic Process Automation, also known as RPA, is a technology that is capable of imitating the users step in a business process and replicate it automatically, without human intervention. The purpose of this study is to determine the challenges and opportunities related to the implementation of RPA in businesses. By performing interviews and examining existing material about RPA, this study aims to deliver a deeper and wider understanding of the rising technology that is Robotic Process Automation.

Vid rökdykning i stora byggnader har rökdykare problem med desorientering, stora avstånd och lokalisering av branden. Detta arbete utforskar användbarheten och rollen av en brandrobot, FUMO, vid rökdykning i industrilokaler och underjordiska parkeringshus. Genom att intervjua brandmän med erfarenhet av rökdykning har en hierarkisk uppgiftsanalys (HTA) genomförts och HTA-diagram har tagits fram för hur rökdykning i underjordiska parkeringshus och industrilokaler ser ut idag. Baserat på dessa HTA-diagram har nya analyser genomförts som har resulterat i kompletterade HTA-diagram som beskriver hur en rökdykningsprocess som inkluderar FUMO kan se ut. Resultatet visar att FUMO kan genom utforskning och lokalisering av branden innan rökdykarpar går in, bidra med en säkrare arbetsmiljö för rökdykarna. / When smoke diving in large buildings, firefighters struggle with disorientation, vast distances and locating the fire itself. This thesis explores the usability and role of a surveillance robot, FUMO, when smoke diving in industries and underground parking lots. By interviewing firefighters and conducting a hierarchical task analysis (HTA) on smoke diving in both underground parking lots and industries, it has been found that FUMO in its basic module can aid firefighters in planning and locating a fire. Based on the HTA describing the current work process of smoke diving, two iterations were conducted to create an HTA with part-goals allocated to FUMO for each environment. These HTA shows how FUMO can be integrated in the current work process of the firefighters. By exploring the environment and locating the fire before the smoke divers are sent in, FUMO can contribute to a safer work environment for the smoke divers.

Wheel loaders are under the influence of low frequency vibrations that may be harmful for the health of the operator, and for the productivity of the machine. The strong vibrations can significantly impact the operation of the machine since they are not equipped with wheel suspension systems and due to their work environment in rough terrains with uneven surfaces. The risk of spilling or dropping the load is also increased and they can introduce higher mechanical stress that can wear out parts faster. The focus of this thesis work is to develop an approach for damping these vibrations dynamically by improving the functionality of the electrohydraulic system in Volvo's prototype wheel loader LX1. The dynamic damping system controls the cylinder of the lift framework to make it behave as a damper. The system utilizes the lift cylinder pressure and piston position as feedback to adjust the oil flow in the cylinder using the proposed control system. Results indicate that the proposed technique is capable of attenuation that is comparable with the existing boom suspension system based on accumulators through simulations and experimental tests.

In this Master's thesis the option of using deep reinforcement learning for cavity filter tuning has been explored. Several reinforcement learning algorithms have been explained and discussed, and then the deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm has been used to solve a simulated filter tuning problem. Both the filter environment and the reinforcement learning agent were implemented, with the filter environment making use of existing circuit models. The reinforcement learning agent learned how to tune filters with four poles and one transmission zero, or eight tune-able screws in total. A comparison was also made between constant exploration noise and exploration noise decaying over time, together with different maximum lengths of the episodes. For the particular noise used here, decaying exploration noise was shown to be better than constant, and a maximum length of 100 steps was shown to be better than 200 for the 8 screw filter.

På uppdrag av Projektengagemang AB i Skövde har detta projekt genomförts för att studera möjligheten att kvalitetssäkra automationsprojekt bättre med hjälp av emulering. I projektets sammanhang innebär det att representera hela eller delar av automationssystemet virtuellt. För att lyckas med projektet har forskning inom områden som projektledning och virtuella miljöer studerats för att undersöka vad som i dagsläget är möjligt att genomföra. Med hjälp av litteraturen utformades ett intervjuprotokoll för genomförande av en intervjustudie. Beställande och levererande företag av automationsutrustning har bidragit för att ge en realistisk bild av hur automationsprojekt genomförs, kvalitetssäkras samt vad som idag är problematiskt. Sammanställningen och analysen av intervjustudien tyder på att vikt skall läggas vid planering och nedbrytning av projekt, för att ha en tydlig plan från början. Samt att virtuella miljöer kan användas för att testa programkod tidigare i projekt, alltså i mindre kritiska lägen. Efter en granskning av Projektengagemangs förutsättningar i förhållande till intervjustudien framkom att det finns brister och förbättringspotential gällande programstruktur och kvalitetssäkring. Förslaget för att öka kvalitetssäkringen med hjälp av emulering innefattar skapandet av ett arbetskoncept där en emuleringsmodell tillsammans med en kravspecifikation används för framtagning av ett grundprogram. Samt att företagets konstruktionsgranskning utökas till att inkludera kontroll av både programmering och eventuell emuleringsmodell. I förslaget till Projektengagemang lämnas 2 olika konfigurationer som skulle kunna användas för att inkludera skapandet och användning av emuleringsmodeller i projekt. Vilket skulle öka kvalitetssäkringen markant. I dagsläget påverkas inte ledtiden markant med införandet av emulering, dock finns möjligheten på längre sikt. Ytterligare kravställningar behöver tas i beaktning innan val av mjukvaror sker, eftersom förutsättningarna för varje projekt påverkar byggnationen av en emuleringsmodell.

För att upptäcka defekta luftmunstycken har Ecco FinishingABi Skara tagit fram en ny provutrustning som ska ersätta en otillförlitlig och osäker befintlig provmaskin. Ecco Fi-nishing AB vill hitta en tillförlitlig och säker mätmetod som ska mäta mängd vatten i 50 provrör. Examensarbetets övergripande mål är att hitta en noggrann och repeterbarmätmetod för nivåmätning av vätska i provrören. Två mätmetoder utvärderades som är mest lämpliga för nivåmätningen, visionsystem och mätning genom vägning. Anledningen till att valet ham-nade på dessa två mätmetoder är provutrustningens provrör, dels att det är många mätpunkter och för att det är små provrör. Det gjordes tjugo experiment för visionsystem och tjugoex-periment för vägningsmetodför att utvärdera och beskriva för -och nackdelar. Experimenten av visionsystem och vägning gjordes först i laborationsfas för att sedan testas på företagets befintliga provutrustning. Resultaten av mätningar sparades i ett Excel-ark som användes för att utvärdera insamlade data. Utvärderingarna jämfördes mot uppsatta mål, tillförlitlighet, noggrannhet, repeterbarhet, automatisk rapportering av resultat och tid för mätningen. Vis-ionsystem rekommenderas för fortsatt arbete och implementation på den befintliga provut-rustningen. / To detect defective air nozzles, Ecco Finishing AB in Skara has developed a new test equip-ment to replace an unreliable and uncertain existing test machine. Ecco Finishing AB wants to find a reliable and safe measurement method that will measure the amount of water in 50 test tubes. The overall goal of the thesis is to find a precise and repeatable measurement method for level measurement of fluid in the test tubes. Two measurement methods were evaluated that are most suitable for level measurement, vision systems and measurement by weighing. The reason for the choice of these two measurement methods is the test tubes of the test equipment, and that there are many measuring points and because of the small test tubes. Twenty experiments for vision systems and twenty experiments for weighingmethodwere made to evaluate and describe pros and cons. The experiments of vision systems and weighing were first made in the laboratory phase and then tested on the company's existing test equipment. The results of measurements were saved in an Excel sheet used to evaluate collected data. The evaluations were compared to set goals, reliability, accuracy, repeatabil-ity, automatic reporting of results and time of measurement. Vision systems are recom-mended for continued work and implementation on the existing test equipment