AgileHand project is proudly collaborating with MASTERLY, SMARTHANDLE, and HARTU projects to form a cohesive cluster of sister projects. We all work on conducting cutting-edge research and development in intelligent sorting and handling the across entire production lines. By leveraging our diverse and distinctive characteristics, we collectively strive to create efficient, flexible, reconfigurable, and data-driven agile factories.
All four projects are funded through the Horizon Europe HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-04 program — Intelligent Workpiece Handling in a Full Production Line (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA).
A Unified Vision
Sharing a common objective and vision, AgileHand collaborates synergistically with our sister projects, pooling resources and expertise to form a powerful cluster. This collaboration raises awareness and engages stakeholders and the wider public in the pursuit of sustainable manufacturing practices. Several actions are ongoing with a special focus on Social Sciences and Humanities.
HARTU
The HARTU project, over a three-year period, will involve researchers working within five industrial companies. They will study the productive and organizational characteristics of these companies, gather the necessary requirements, and develop the best systems and methodologies to increase flexibility, reconfigurability, and production line efficiency using innovative robotic components.
The project will focus on five use cases located in different regions: three in the European Union, one in Turkey, and one in Taiwan. These use cases cover various industrial sectors: automotive, consumer goods, hand tools, food, and logistics.
In these diverse industrial contexts, HARTU researchers will focus on the robots’ abilities to learn to manipulate and assemble a wide range of objects of different shapes, materials, and sizes. The aim is to develop an effective and intelligent AI-enhanced system that can overcome the difficulties associated with the complexity of various working environments and that can learn and improve its capabilities over time.
SMARTHANDLE
Manual and automated production lines are under increasing pressure to “produce more and diverse with less.” This entails addressing critical challenges such as product variability, the lack of advanced autonomous reasoning, and the need for precise, adaptable control and comprehensive, efficient planning systems. The SMARTHANDLE project is focused on researching and developing technologies to meet these needs, aiming to bolster the resilience and efficiency of European industry.
MASTERLY
To tackle the challenges posed by customization, MASTERLY aims to develop flexible robotic solutions that can overcome these limitations. This will involve using modular grippers along with advanced robotic technologies, including mobile robots, high and low payload industrial and collaborative robots, and smart cranes.
These solutions will be enhanced with AI-driven advanced control and perception capabilities, enabling them to operate autonomously and handle a wide range of parts that vary in size, shape, and material, while being suitable for workers of all genders.
