THE OBJECTIVE
With industrial robots, reliability is everything. When KUKA Robot Group wanted to introduce a new, more intelligent PC-based controller, the KR C4, the developers needed a software platform that could support multi-core processing. They wanted to integrate control systems that manage robot, motion, sequence, and process control. They also wanted to add functionality, including safety and connectivity. But the main challenge was to reduce hardware costs.
HOW WIND RIVER HELPED
Since 1996, KUKA has relied on the VxWorks® real-time operating system as the foundation for its robots. The company also leveraged Wind River® Professional Services to help accelerate its development.
THE RESULTS
The KR C4 represents a breakthrough on many fronts for KUKA—the first to consolidate control, HMI, and safety on a standard PC-based platform. VxWorks enabled the team to reduce costs and drive higher performance by replacing hardware-based functionality with software-based tasks. They developed an architecture in which multiple integrated controllers share a common database and infrastructure, with the scalability to handle multiple workloads of varying criticality. With VxWorks and a reliable partner in Wind River, KUKA was able to reduce its development risks and deliver an innovative product on time.
