In this seminar, you will build and program a gripper robot that moves objects and interacts with a model factory at KU Leuven’s model factory, so you can see your robot in action!

You will gain practical skills for Industry 4.0, including Digital Twins, basic coding, and electronics.

You will:

• Learn the basics of Industry 4.0 and Digital Twins
• Build a gripper robot from provided hardware
• Program the robot and its Digital Twin for computer control

Requirements:

• Laptop with USB connection (or join a group)

The seminar is open to beginners and advanced students alike.

Format: 4 sessions × 90 min in English.

Each session is offered on two different days for flexible scheduling.

If you are interested in the seminar and would like to register or have any questions, please write an email to one of the contacts by 20.04.2026.

Project Description:

We will provide some 3d printed and electronic parts from which you can build your own gripper robot. We will use an Arduino Nano microcontroller to control the robot. The robot has a light barrier, which senses if there are new objects available to grip on one side of the robot. If an object is detected, the robot rotates its arm (see Fig. 1) towards the object and grab it with a gripper mechanism (Fig. 2). Then, the arm of the robot will rotate to its other side, where the object will be placed on a conveyor belt. With the Digital Twin, you will be able to see the current state of the robot at your computer and control it via a Graphical User Interface. We will use the software "Processing" for the coding of the Digital Twin.

Details of the sessions:

Session 1: Introduction and Hello World

• Short introduction to Digital Twins
• Short introduction to coding and circuit basics
• Installation of the Arduino Software and building a first circuit to let an LED blink

Session 2: Building and Programming the Gripper Robot

• Further introduction to coding and circuits
• Assembling the robot and circuit
• Coding the behavior of the robot under guidance

Session 3: Connecting the Gripper Robot to your PC

• Coding the interfaces for communication of the robot
• Introduction and installation of the tool Processing
• Coding the first program in Processing

Session 4: Integrating the Gripper Robot with the Digital Twin

• Code a basic Digital Twin in Processing
• Make a working connection between the gripper robot and the Digital Twin program
• Test your robot at the model factory!

Dates and Room:

• Session 1: 27.04. or 28.04., 17:00 - 18:30.
• Session 2: 29.04. or 30.04., 17:00 - 18:30.
• Session 3: 04.05. or 05.05., 17:00 - 18:30.
• Session 4: 06.05. or 07.05., 17:00 - 18:30.

The room for all sessions is PW 00.0012. You only attend at one date each session!

Contacts:

The seminar will be hosted by Mr. Wuttke from TU Dortmund University.

E-Mail: alexander2.wuttketu-dortmundde

The seminar is supervised by Prof. Lugaresi.

E-Mail: giovanni.lugaresi@kuleuven.be