The Opportunity

Vista Medical manufactures pressure sensors in the form of fabrics and mats for the medical and sports industries. In the case of hospital beds, Vista’s pressure fabrics can help to identify uncomfortable parts of a patient’s body through pressure maps. The pressure maps can then be used to redistribute pressures on the bed for attaining the required comfort level. Vista uses a pressure table connected to a computer software for calibration and pressure verification, where load application is done manually. Vista collaborated with TACAM to develop a robotic solution.

TACAM staff assembling the robotic tooling system

The Approach

A tool system to be used for specific load application on Vista’s sensor mat was designed, fabricated and integrated with the UR10 collaborative robot. This work included 3D CAD design of the end-of-arm tool, tool fabrication and integration, implementation of a load measurement device and testing of the tool at Vista Medical.

The Outcomes

A prototype robotic tool was developed to address the problem of lack of accurate predetermined loads on Vista’s verification system.

The Benefits

• Improvement in accuracy of calibration and verification process for Medical sensor mats
• Efficient and reliable product design and testing

Testimonial

 “RRC Team understood the mechanism of the pressure sensor array and was prompt in developing the proof of concept to demonstrate what could be accomplished by using Universal COBOT, an important step in moving forward with automating verification system. “

—Ashok Dhawan P.Eng, Engineering Manager

The project team

Collaborators:

With support from: