Fronius participates in voice-controlled welding research project

Welders in action and people with high paraplegia have one thing in common: They lack the ability to control devices easily by hand. This common ground was the starting point for a cooperation project among welding technology provider Fronius, the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria (FH OOE), Campus Hagenberg, and LIFEtool. Their solution: to control welding systems and computers through voice input.

The purpose of the research project, Welding Interaction in Future Industry (WIFI), was to develop alternative interaction methods for the field of industrial welding. These methods should not only support welders, but also people with reduced strength or paralysis of the arms and legs.

Welders need both hands to guide the torch, their gaze must remain with the arc at all times, and any movement of the fingers can cause an inaccuracy in the seam. Helmut Friedl, project manager at Fronius Intl., explained the initial situation: “Up to now, there has not been a solution that allows welders to completely set various parameters, such as amperage or arc length, without there being any interruption of the welding process. An alternative form of parameter input could make the welder’s life considerably easier.”

“This problem is comparable to that of people who can only use their hands to a limited extent as a result of a stroke or accident, or those who are paraplegic,” explained Mirjam Augstein, a researcher at Campus Hagenberg of the FH OOE. “With the help of the WIFI interface, however, they are able to operate computers or power sources without having to use their hands.”

The control method works with the help of voice commands. It will be used in industrial welding equipment and as a supplement to LIFEtool’s mouth-controlled computer mouse, allowing the welding process to run efficiently and giving people with disabilities access to new fields of activity.

The WIFI project has received one of three WINTEC (Science Award for Inclusion) Awards for 2018 from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection.