Design and development of a benchmarking testbed for the Factory of the Future

Abstract

We present the design and development of a benchmarking testbed for the Factory of the Future. The testbed as a physical installation enables to study, compare and assess robotics scenarios involving the integration of mobile robots and manipulators with automation equipment, large-scale integration of service robots and industrial robots, cohabitation of robots and humans, and cooperation of multiple robots and/or humans. We also report on the lessons learned of using the testbed in recent robotic competitions.