A practical interaction between robots and RFID-based Digital Product Memories in a logistic scenario

In this work we describe the key concepts of a ldquoDigital Product Memoryrdquo (DPM) and how industrial robots are able to interact with such a memory. The DPM is a data storage based on the commonly used RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology and can contain all kinds of product information, e.g. a complete product history or handling information. Thereby each product can be handled individually, even in automated logistic processes. Additionally, the whole life cycle of a product can be stored for quality assurance or backtracking. In automated processes, e.g. production, logistics and retail, robots are used to handle, to detect and to manipulate such objects with DPMs. The DFKI¹ Robotics Innovation Center develops industrial robots which communicates via RFID with the DPM and deriving handling and manipulation information from it. In this work we present two autonomous robot systems in detail which are used for direct DPM interaction. Furthermore, we state our experiences in several demonstration scenarios and discuss our next steps regarding future robotic scenarios for DPM interaction.