MIR 500 User manual

Operating Guide
01/2019 v1.0
en

Copyright and disclaimer
All rights reserved. No parts of this manual may be reproduced in any form without the express written
permission of Mobile Industrial Robots ApS (MiR). MiR makes no warranties, express or implied, in respect
of this document or its contents. In addition, the contents of the document is subject to change without
prior notice. Every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this manual. Nevertheless, MiR
assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions or any damages resulting from the use of the
information contained.
Copyright © 2018-2019 by Mobile Industrial Robots
For more material
,
go to our website
Contact the manufacturer:
Mobile Industrial Robots
Emil Neckelmanns Vej 15F
DK-5220 Odense SØ
www.mir-robots.com
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
CVR: 35251235

Table of contents
1 About this manual ............................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Overview..................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Document history ....................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Where to find more information ................................................................................ 1
2 Safety................................................................................................................................ 2
2.1 Introduction................................................................................................................ 2
2.2 Safety concept ............................................................................................................ 2
2.3 General safety instructions......................................................................................... 3
2.3 1 Warning notes ................................................................................................. 3
2.3 2 Caution notes................................................................................................... 3
3 Getting started.................................................................................................................. 4
3.1 In the box.................................................................................................................... 4
3.2 Installing MiRCharge 500............................................................................................ 5
3.2 1 Marking potentially hazardous floor area ....................................................... 6
4 Product presentation........................................................................................................ 8
4.1 About MiRCharge 500................................................................................................. 8
4.1 1 How charging works ........................................................................................ 8
4.2 Identification label...................................................................................................... 9
5 Usage .............................................................................................................................. 10
5.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 10
5.2 Creating a charging station marker on the map....................................................... 10
5.3 Creating charging missions ....................................................................................... 13
5.3 1 Create a simple charging mission .................................................................. 13
5.3 2 Insert a charging action into a larger mission................................................ 16
5.3 3 Charging action parameters explained.......................................................... 20

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MiRCharge 500 Operating Guide 01/2019 v.1.0 1
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1 About this manual
1.1 Overview
This Operating Guide contains all essential information about how to start up and operate a
MiRCharge 500 charging station. It also includes necessary information about safe handling of the
charging station and examples of how to wet up robots for automatic charging in a MiRCharge 500.
The Operating Guide is intended for Mobile Industrial Robots’ distributors as well as end users
responsible for the daily operation of MiRCharge 500.
1.2 Document history
This table shows latest and previous versions of this document and their interrelation with product
software releases.
1.3 Where to find more information
At mobile-industrial-robots.com, the following extra resources on MiRCharge 500 are available.
• MiRCharge 500 product page
https://www.mobile-industrial-robots.com/en/products/mir-add-ons/mircharge/
This page contains specifications, pictures, brochures and manuals for MiRCharge 500.
To access the pages in the Distributor site, sign in with your distributor account at http://
www.mobile-industrial-robots.com/en/account.
• Distributor site > Manuals
http://www.mobile-industrial-robots.com/en/account/manuals/
The section contains the following resources:
• This MiRCharge 500 Operating guide
• Distributor site > Download
http://www.mobile-industrial-robots.com/en/account/download/
• CAD drawings
Click Show CAD-files to see the list of available CAD drawings.
• EC Declarations of Conformity
Click Show Certificates to see the list of EC Declarations of Conformity.
• Certificates.
Click Show Certificates to see the list of certificates for the robot.
• Distributor site > How to
http://www.mobile-industrial-robots.com/en/account/how-to/
This page contains how-to articles that describe how to perform specific tasks with the robot.
Doc version Release date Description HW rel
1.0 2019-01-24 First edition 1.0

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MiRCharge 500 Operating Guide, 01/2019 v.1.0 2
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2 Safety
2.1 Introduction
The information in this chapter must be read and understood before MiRCharge 500 is powered up
for the first time. It is important to read the following safety information in order to operate
MiRCharge 500 safely.
This manual contains notices you have to observe to ensure your personal safety, as well as to
prevent damage to property. The notices referring to your personal safety are highlighted in the
manual by a safety alert symbol. The notices shown below are graded by signal words to indicate
degree of danger.
2.2 Safety concept
Mobile Industrial Robots ApS disclaims any and all liability if MiRCharge 500 or its accessories are damaged,
changed or modified in any way. Mobile Industrial Robots ApS cannot be held responsible for any damages
caused to MiRCharge 500, accessories or any other equipment due to malfunctioning of MiRCharge 500.
Indicates an immanently hazardous situation that will result in death or severe personal injury if proper
precautions are not taken.
Indicates a potentially hazardous situation that could result in death or severe personal injury if proper
precautions are not taken.
Indicates a situation that could result in minor personal injury or damage to the equipment if proper
precautions are not taken.
Indicates a situation that could result in property damage if proper precautions are not taken.

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Safety
MiRCharge 500 Operating Guide, 01/2019 v.1.0 3
2.3 General safety instructions
This section contains general safety notes. Some safety notes are further specified in other sections
of the manual and further safety notes are present throughout the manual.
All service and repair work must be carried out by qualified service personnel.
2.3.1 Warning notes
2.3.2 Caution notes
• Do not remove the front cover of MiRCharge 500
Danger of electric shock from contact with live parts.
• Do not use MiRCharge 500 in an environment with explosive gases.
Danger of fire or explosions caused by sparks from static electricity.
• Immediately, disconnect power from MiRCharge 500 if the charger does not work correctly or has been
damaged
Leaving the power on may cause damage to the device.
• Do not place MiRCharge 500 near heat sources, and follow the installation instructions given in this manual
Failure to follow the instructions may cause damage to or malfunction of the device.
• Do not cover or block the vents on the sides of MiRCharge 500
Blocking may cause overheating of the device.
• Only use MiRCharge 500 for its intended purpose
Wrong use can damage the device.
MiRCharge 500 is a charging station with the specific purpose to charge the internal battery of MiR500 robots.
Do not connect MiRCharge 500 to other equipment than MiR500 robots and do not attempt to charge
external batteries.
• Do not place or drop metal parts on the charging connectors during charging
Risk of short circuiting and damage to charging station and/or robot.
The charging connectors carry voltage only when in contact with the connectors underneath the robot. Both
robot (including its battery) and charging station are protected by fuses to avoid dangerous situations in case
the terminals underneath the robot are short circuited during charging.
• Only connect MiRCharge 500 to a wall outlet that fits one of the supplied cable plugs
Use of a different plug or alterations to one of the supplied plugs may damage the device.
• Ensure that MiRCharge 500 is properly grounded by using one of the supplied three-prong plugs
Failure to ground the device may cause electric shock.
If the supplied cables do not fit the local wall outlet, please consult a local electrician.

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MiRCharge 500 Operating Guide, 01/2019 v.1.0 4
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3 Getting started
3.1 In the box
This section describes the content of the MiRCharge 500 box.
Figure 3.1. The MiRCharge 500 box and content
1.MiRCharge 500
2. Power cables for different wall outlets:
• NEMA L6-15 plug - for use in 230/240 V installations.
• NEMA 5-15P plug - for use in 110/120 V installations, (only
delivers 50% of the max rated charging power).
• CEE 7/7 plug - for use in 230/240 V installations
3. MiR document folder containing EC Declaration of Conformity.

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3.2 Installing MiRCharge 500
MiRCharge 500 is easy to install and commision in any facility where MiR500 robots operate.
Make sure to read and follow the safety notes applying to the installation of MiRCharge
500. See Safety on page 2.
Figure 3.2. MiRCharge 500 components
1. M8 mounting holes for fixation to wall.
2. Mounting bracket (one on each side)
3. Air vent (one on each side)
4. Power inlet
5. Power button
For a safe installation, ensure that the following preparations are made before
mounting and powering up MiRCharge 500:
• To avoid overheating, place MiRCharge 500 in location where non of the air vents
are blocked.
• Make sure to connect the power cable to a suitable wall outlet that supports the
necessary power. For national electrical codes, please consult a local, licensed
electrician.
• Ensure that MiRCharge 500 is installed on an electric circuit which is protected by
a circuit breaker with current rating 16 A (EU) / 15 A (US).
Mounting The charging station is to be placed against a wall with access to a power outlet.
The two distance brackets (2) are prepared with M8 holes (1) that are used to fix MiRCharge 500 to
a wall.

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MiRCharge 500 Operating Guide, 01/2019 v.1.0 6
Wall fixing is not required; the robot will not push the charging station when docking.
But if there is a slight risk that the charging station could be pushed, for example to one
side or the other, it is recommended to fix it to the wall to ensure that the physical
position of the charging station corresponds to the marker position on the map.
Powering up Insert the power cord into the charging station first (4), then into the wall power outlet. Press the
Power button (5) to turn MiRCharge 500 on.
3.2.1 Marking potentially hazardous floor area
When docking to MiRCharge 500, the robot mutes its personnel detection means temporarily. This
includes turning off the protective fields around the scanners.
The muting starts when the robot reaches the entry position approximately 1 meter from Charging
station marker. To indicate this to people nearby, MiR500 slows down and starts blinking yellow
using the eight indicator lights on the corners of the robot.
To avoid potentially hazardous situations as a consequence of the muted personnel detection
means, the physical area around MiRCharge 500 should be marked with signal tape or similar.
For more information on personnel detection means and protective fields, see MiR500
User Guide.
The size of the marked area is calculated based on the robot’s path going to the charging station and
takes into account that the robot may have to make a turn of up to 90° when docking to the charging
station.
Figure 3.3 illustrates how to calculate where the floor marking should be:
• The red dotted line shows the area where the robot mutes the personnel detection means. This
is the potentially hazardous zone.
• The yellow/black striped line indicates the area that should be marked with signal tape. The
space between the red dotted zone line and the tape marking should be held free of objects to
ensure a smooth entry to the charging station.

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Figure 3.3. The floor around the docking station must be marked with signal tape to indicate where the personnel
protection means are muted.

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MiRCharge 500 Operating Guide, 01/2019 v.1.0 8
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4 Product presentation
4.1 About MiRCharge 500
MiRCharge 500 is a charging station that enables MiR500 robots to stay charged for undisrupted
operation 24/7. Multiple MiR500 robots can share the same charging station; however this requires
integration in MiRFleet to avoid bottleneck situations. For more information, see MiRFleet
Reference guide on the website.
4.1.1 How charging works
Automatic recharging happens when MiR500 moves to a marker (on the map) in front of MiRCharge
500, and locates the integrated VL-marker. The robot then guides itself into position on the charging
plate (pos 2 in Figure 4.1.).
The connectors on both charging plate and underneath the robot are voltage-free until
connection between those is made and proper CAN bus connection is established.
Figure 4.1. MiRCharge 500 uses the VL-marker to orient itself correctly on the charging plate
1. VL-marker: the V-shaped recess combined with the front plate to the right form a so-called
VL-marker that the robot’s front safety scanner uses to detect the charging station
2. Charging plate
3. Charging connector, positive terminal
4. CAN high - CAN bus communication between robot and charging station processor
5. CAN low - CAN bus communication between robot and charging station processor
6. Charging connector, negative terminal

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MiRCharge 500 Operating Guide, 01/2019 v.1.0 9
When MiR500 is in position on top of the charging connectors (pos. 3 and 6 in Figure 4.1.), the robot
must first deliver a small current to the charging station before the charging station starts the
charging.
If the robot’s battery is completely discharged, it is necessary to connect an external
cable charger. See MiR500 User Guide on the website.
Charging
time
MiRCharge 500 charges a battery from 10% to 90% in an hour.
4.2 Identification label
The identification label of MiRCharge 500 is placed on the right-hand side of the of the charging
station.
Figure 4.2. Example of MiRCharge 500 CE marking and identification label
• CE Mobile Industrial Robots ApS declares that MiRCharge 500 meets
the requirements of the applicable EC directives. See also the EU
Declaration of Conformity.
• Serial number The 15-digit serial number is a unique identifier of the charging
station.
• MiRCharge 500 1.0 Product name and hardware version.

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MiRCharge 500 Operating Guide, 01/2019 v.1.0 10
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5 Usage
5.1 Introduction
It takes two steps in the robot interface to set up robots for automatic recharging in MiRCharge 500.
This chapter describes how to create a marker in front of the charging station that will enable the
robot to move and connect to the charging station:
1. Creating a charging station marker on the map on the location where MiRCharge 500 is located,
see Creating a charging station marker on the map on page 10.
2. Creating a mission that includes driving to MiRCharge 500, recharging to a defined battery level
and moving away again, see Creating charging missions on page 13.
After these steps are carried out, the robot is able to move to the charging station autonomously
and keep the battery charged while carrying out missions.
If the robot is operating as part of a fleet, automatic charging is handled by MiRFleet.
This means that you should not create missions that include charging actions.
5.2 Creating a charging station marker on the map
This section explains how to create a charging station marker on a map.
Before creating the marker, you must ensure that the robot is localized correctly in an active map. If
in doubt, you can check if the red lines representing the laser scanner line match the black lines on
the map.
Figure 5.1. The red laser scanner line along a wall indicates that the robot is localized correctly in an active map.
1. Manually drive the robot to a position approximately 1 meter in front of MiRCharge 500.
2. In the robot interface, select the map where you want to create the marker; go to Setup > Maps
> Edit map.
3. On the Object-type menu, select Markers (1), and then select the icon Draw a new marker (2)
Tip! Alternatively, if the active map is visible on the dashboard, the marker may be created
directly from the dashboard. Select the icon Draw a new marker.

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4. In the Create marker window, enter a name for the marker and select Type > MiRCharge 500.
5. Select Detect marker. The Detect-marker function tracks the position of the charging station
and automatically sets the X, Y and Orientation values in the robot, enabling it to connect to the
charging station.

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6. select OK to create the marker. A new marker icon represented by a lightning symbol is now
visible on the map and ready to use in missions.
If the robot is too far from the charging station, a message that the robot failed to locate
the marker is displayed. Try to move the robot closer to the charging station, and ensure
that the front safety laser scanner is positioned in front of the VL-marker of the charging
station.
Figure 5.3. The ideal position of the robot when you create a marker for the charging station.
Figure 5.2. The charging station marker of the
MiR500 can be recognized by the red lightning
symbol. For the MiR100 / MiR200 robots it's
yellow.

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5.3 Creating charging missions
This section describes how to create missions that include moving to a charging station for
automatic recharging of the battery.
The first example shows how to set up a simple mission that only includes that charging action itself,
see Create a simple charging mission on page 13
The second example shows how to include a charging action in a larger mission where you set the
robot to check the battery by inserting an If action that regularly checks if the battery is below or
above a defined level. See Insert a charging action into a larger mission on page 16
A charging mission must contain minimum two actions:
• Docking
• Charging
5.3.1 Create a simple charging mission
This simple example shows how charging is handled via a mission including the minimum required
actions:
• Docking
• Charging
To move the robot away after ended charging, this example also contains a
• Relative move
The Relative move action is not necessary if charging is part of a larger mission where the robot
moves to another position after finished charging.
Follow these steps to create a simple charging mission:
1. In the robot interface, go to Setup > Missions and select Create Mission. Name the mission,
select the correct site and select Create mission.

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The Create mission window opens.
2. Insert the following actions:
• On the Move menu, select Docking.
• On the Battery menu, select Charging.
• On the Move menu, select Relative move.
The mission now looks like this:
Next steps include definition of which charging station to go to, setting of charging parameters and,
finally, how to move away from the charging station.
To set the parameters for each action, select the gearwheel of the action in question.
1. In the Dock to action dialog, select the marker position in front of the charging station that you
created on the map. Select Validate and close.
2. In the Charging action dialog, define how the charging should be completed.
In our example, there is no minimum time. When the battery reaches 40%, the charging is
completed. Select Validate and close.

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• To read more about the different Charging action combinations, see Charging action
parameters explained on page 20.
3. In the Relative move action dialog, define how far the robot should move away from the
charging station after charging is completed. This is done by defining an X-value and a Y-value
that moves the robot backwards and to the side. Select Validate and close.
4. The mission is complete. Select Save to save the mission.
The mission is now visible in the missions list and ready to add to the missions queue.

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5.3.2 Insert a charging action into a larger mission
Usually, charging actions are part of larger missions where the battery level is regularly checked
throughout the mission. The missions can be created in a number of ways, but must include an If
action that regularly checks the battery level and sends the robot to a charging station when the
battery level falls below a defined percentage.
In the following example, the whole mission is embedded in a Loop action that ensures that the
mission starts over every time the last action is carried out. Inside the Loop action, there is an If
action which checks the battery level every time the actions under True or False are completed.
Follow these steps to insert a charging action into a larger mission:
1. In the robot interface, go to Setup > Missions and select Create Mission. Name the mission,
select the correct site and select Create mission.
The Create mission window opens.
2. Insert the following actions:
• On the Logic menu, select Loop.
Click on the gray bar that reads Content to embed the next action into the Logic action.
• On the Logic menu, select If.
Click on the gray bar that reads True to embed the next actions into the If action.
• On the Move menu, select Move three times.
Click on the gray bar that reads False to embed the next actions into the If action.
• On the Move menu, select Move.
• On the Battery menu, select Charging.