An Autonomous Robotized Cell for Polymer Foaming

We illustrate challenges and preliminary results of the FoAIming project (artificial intelligence and robotics in polymer foaming) that aims at exploiting robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) methods in the fields of materials science/engineering and chemical engineering to improve foaming processes and to achieve new foams with better properties. In this project, we propose the design and development of a robotic system for the management of foaming experiments that allows: i) the autonomous/interactive conduct of the experiments, ii) the measurement of the properties of the foams, and iii) the analysis, modeling, and tuning of the foaming process. In the proposed system, a robot manipulator is used to handle polymeric samples and products. The robotic platform is managed by an autonomous/interactive control system responsible for experiment planning, execution, supervision, and evaluation. The introduction of AI techniques is expected to contribute to the understanding of the complex phenomena associated with the foaming of polymers. In this perspective, machine learning methods are expected to support effective experiment setting and data interpretation. From an infrastructural point of view, the development of a robotic platform that permits remote and autonomous experiment execution can lead to interesting implications in terms of safety, innovative teaching, and sharing of information, materials, and equipment with research centers and companies.