SICK’s Collaboration with Linköping University Students on CDIO Project

At SICK, we believe in fostering innovation and nurturing talent. Recently, we had the pleasure of collaborating with a group of university students on a CDIO (Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate) project. This educational concept encourages students to engage in the entire development process, from initial conception to final operation.

The students participated in a CDIO project course at Linköping’s University, where they were given the opportunity to choose from various projects presented by companies and university groups. We were thrilled to learn that more than half of the students selected SICK as their top choice! As a result, we formed a team of five enthusiastic students to work on an exciting project: developing an automatic sorting robot.

The task was simple yet challenging: build a system that could sort a variety of items without any external input, much like a five-year-old would. The students embraced this challenge, working diligently to create a backlog of tasks and ensuring the entire process ran smoothly.

Over the past four weeks, the students dedicated three days a week to come to our facility and bring their project to life. They utilized advanced methods such as Deep Learning-based object detection and feature vector embedding for clustering objects. Additionally, they implemented a tracker to monitor moving objects, allowing the robot to collect and sort them into three different containers based on intrinsic similarities and differences, such as color, size, shape, or use.

We are proud to announce that the system is now fully operational! The robot can efficiently sort objects into three containers, demonstrating the students’ impressive ability to tackle complex problems with innovative solutions. Their system can identify and classify objects with remarkable accuracy, showcasing the power of modern technology and teamwork.

This project would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of both the students and our team of volunteering employees. Our employees provided invaluable support and coaching throughout the project, ensuring the students had the guidance they needed to succeed. Special thanks to Andreas Wrangsjö, Hugo Asplund, Oliver Stromann, Erik Hedberg, and Poornima Jayamani for coordinating and supervising the entire project.

The CDIO project has been a fantastic experience for everyone involved. The students have done a marvelous job, and we are incredibly proud of their achievements. At SICK, we are committed to supporting educational initiatives and providing opportunities for the next generation of innovators. We look forward to more collaborations like this in the future!

Stay tuned for more updates on our projects and initiatives. Together, we can continue to push the boundaries of technology and innovation.