Triton has been a pioneer in the fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) before many knew what it was.  Industry 4.0 is the term used to describe the 4th revolution (disruptive, rapid change) in industrial technology.  This revolution is characterized by the use of cyber-physical systems, which is a merger between physical equipment on the floor, and the virtual model of that same piece of equipment that exists in cyber-space.  This can be as simple as a working, synchronized simulation of a robotic system, all the way to social machines and augmented operators.  The end result of this merging of technology is shortening the cycle between design and launch of a product or machine, and simplifying changes to existing processes by fully understanding the consequences of an engineering change before a single bolt is turned.

Triton has perfected offline CAD simulation systems that are linked and checked back to the real physical equipment.  Any changes or new parts to be added to the system are programmed offline in the simulation, checked for interference and other issues, and then downloaded to the equipment.  The only non-value added time used on the machine is for the first test cycle to ensure that the simulation is correct.  The robot is essentially “self-taught”, as it takes what it is told should be the correct path, verifies that path on it’s own, and then proceeds to execute the program based on the real physical condition.

The video linked below does a good job explaining the fundamentals of industry 4.0 by walking through the history of manufacturing, and showing a vision for the future.