Together with his five-man team, the ensuing brainstorming session came up with the idea of a robot that plays noughts & crosses. This is a game that is understood virtually all over the world, is a quick game and one that is unlikely to frighten people away. So the brainstormers allocated tasks: KEBA was to write the program for the controller and the computer provided while Haberkorn was to do the rest. A sketch with dimensions was enough for item's Austrian distributor, Haberkorn, to make a start on the project. Garstenauer still had drawing for a robot arm in the drawer - left over from a previous project and also made from item profiles. "We decided to work with Haberkorn partly because we had worked together in the past and were impressed with their service. We also knew they were fast and their deliveries were reliable." Other reasons were the appearance of the profiles, well suited to general showing at a trade fair and the fact that the components could, if necessary, be used later for other projects. We already knew about the extendibility and modular principle of the system and that alone was reason enough to rely on Haberkorn and item profiles", enthused Garstenauer. The frame also had to stand up to the technical demands. The construction had to be rigid enough for the substructure to withstand the dynamics of the motion. At the same time, the safety of the visitors to the stand was a key factor. And, to top it all, Haberkorn did not want to disappoint anyone. Gerald Hinterlechner, a field engineer, coordinated the project planning and assembly of the frame and ensured that all the item components reached the customer at the appointed time.

At the trade fair in Nuremberg, this application was not the main attraction but it did act as a magnet to attract inquisitive members of the public. Visitors were able to use the computer to interrupt the simulated game and take on the computer themselves. In this way, KEBA was able to do what it had set out to do and break down the apprehension barrier between robots and people and was able to demonstrate to customers by means of the game what opportunities the KEBA controllers can offer. A particularly neat touch was that the robot automatically tidies up after each game and allows the human partner the first move. In this way, everyone wins: people lose their fear of robots and the company demonstrated its capabilities. The application also made a good impression within the KEBA company. It is now in use regularly as a permanent testing station and often goes on tour to various exhibitions. It is particularly well received in vocational colleges as a practical demonstration of what can be done and how motion can be controlled with control technology. KEBA's head of R & D, Michael Garstenauer, is already planning to extend the application. "On the one hand, we could integrated other board games or develop other applications using the controlled movement of target pieces." So there will be developments of this robot in the future.

Automation by innovation
For over thirty years, KEBA, based in Austria, has been designing and building innovative, high-quality solutions for the fields of industry, banking and service automation.
Internet: http://www.keba.com/industrie/en/kemotion/

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