Virtual reality for manufacturing: A robotic cell case study

Virtual reality (VR) is a technology that has existed since the 1960s, but due to its high equipment cost, its use was limited. During the last decade, advancements in computers and reduction of technology costs made VR accessible and its applications widespread in various fields, including manufacturing. In this paper, a virtual environment for a robotic cell is developed, so that the layout design is validated and implementation planning is conducted to set up the real robotic cell. We show how the developed semi-immersive environment provides users with a sense of presence in the digital environment, and how it enables them to work with 1:1 scale digital objects as in the real world. The application of the developed virtual environment is further discussed for teaching and training purposes.