The FlexPaint project

Purpose - To present the technical and subsequent commercial developments arising from a large European research project into robotic paint-spraying of low-volume, highly variant components.Design methodology approach - Discusses the economic need for robots that can plan their own paint trajectories for unknown parts, and describes the design and management of the project. Presents details of the technical approach taken by the researchers, the subsequent commercial developments, and the present state of the art.Findings - The commercial developments following the research project promise a solution to the increasingly prevalent problem of small batch sizes in paint-spraying. This opens up new markets, making much wider use of robot technology.Originality value - Updates robot specialists and general readers on the progress of a highly innovative European initiative.