Life Ready AI Kit

The "Life Ready AI Kit" system is a system that allows to approach Artificial Intelligence training from a practical and progressive point of view.

The "Life Ready AI Kit" was conceived and initiated by ERM Automatismes and Grai Matter Labs, a French pioneer in embedded artificial intelligence on the Edge processor. AI experts and teachers were involved in the project team from the start, in order to design a high quality teaching system and educational activities.

The Life Ready AI Kit is based on a real-life application of robotics and AI to waste sorting in recycling centres. Its mission is to recognise, capture and classify bottles of different types.

It uses an Intel RealSense depth and tracking camera, a collaborative robot, an Edge Computing unit for control and AI calculation.

On the AI algorithm side, two activity areas and educational projects have been developed:

1. the tracking and seizure of bottles by the robot (Grasping AI) at Bac+3 to Bac+5
2. classification and arrangement of bottles according to criteria (Classification AI) at CPGE, IUT
In parallel to AI, activities are proposed around vision and robotics.

The programming of the AI algorithms and the control of the robot is based on Python and ROS2.

Contents of the "Robot Edge AI" training product

The central system "Life Ready AI Kit" GM10 consists of:

-A 4-axis Dobot Magician robot
-An Intel RealSense depth and tracking camera mounted at the end of the robot arm
-A pneumatic gripper at the end of the robot arm (pump integrated in the robot base)
-A 22-inch touch screen simulating a conveyor belt with objects to be sorted
-A GrAI VIP chip associated with an ADLINK I-Pi SMARC card under ROS2
-A Jupyter server installed on the I - Pi SMARC board allowing experiments to be launched from several stations using Python programs developed by the students
-A Linux PC equipped with tools for training AIs. This PC can also be used to conduct experiments locally.
The Jupyter server makes it possible to offer, for a single experimental system, several study, programming and results analysis stations. It is therefore a very powerful tool for island teaching.

The "Jupyter Server" GM11 option consists of:

-A control box with industrial PC card and Edge IA processor (Grai Matter Labs)
-A Jupyter server installed on the industrial PC board allowing the deployment of a second island of study, programming and results analysis stations.
On this island, students will be able to:

-Test their AI algorithms on a set of pre-registered images
-Send their complete program to the GM10 central island to perform a test with the hardware environment (Robot, Camera, Conveyor)
They will connect to the Jupyter Server with a standard PC-Windows.

-The "Jupyter Server + RealSense Camera" option GM12 is identical to GM11 with the addition of an Intel Realsense camera connected to the control box. In addition to GM11, this option allows for the shooting of the images on which the AI algorithms will be tested.