Data communication network with gigabit plastic optical fiber for robotic arm system

A robotic arm system comprising:

• a robotic arm comprising an end effector, a transmitter, first through M-th sensors electrically coupled to the transmitter, a receiver, and first through N-th motion actuators electrically coupled to the receiver, where M and N are integers equal to or greater than 2;
• an AI processor system;
• a transceiver electrically coupled to the AI processor system;
• and
• an optical data communication network comprising a first gigabit plastic optical fiber which optically couples the transmitter to the transceiver and a second gigabit plastic optical fiber which optically couples the transceiver to the receiver, wherein:
• each of the first and second gigabit plastic optical fiber is capable of supporting 100 gigabits per second;
• the transmitter comprises first through M-th transmit channels capable of converting electrical signals respectively received from the first through M-th sensors into first through M-th optical signals having first through M-th wavelengths respectively and each having a data rate capability of at least 20 gigabits per second;
• the receiver comprises first through N-th receive channels capable of converting first through N-th received optical signals having first through N-th wavelengths respectively into electrical signals sent to the first through N-th motion actuators, each of the first through N-th receive channels having a data rate capability of at least 20 gigabits per second;
• the end effector comprises a spray nozzle and a paint supply, the spray nozzle being capable of spraying paint from the paint supply onto a to-be-painted portion of the fuselage;
• the first sensor is configured to sense temperature of an environment in which the to-be-painted portion of a fuselage of an airplane resides;
• and
• the AI processor system is programmed to control a speed of the spray nozzle during an automated painting operation as a function of the temperature sensed by the first sensor.

A method for operating a robotic arm system, the method comprising:

• acquiring sensor data using a multiplicity of sensors mounted to a robotic arm, wherein the sensor data includes temperature data indicating a temperature of an environment in which a to-be-painted portion of a fuselage of an airplane resides;
• transmitting the temperature data from a transmitter incorporated in the robotic arm to an AI processor system external to the robotic arm via a first gigabit plastic optical fiber;
• processing the temperature data using artificial intelligence to analyze the temperature data, compute robotic arm motion, and generate motion commands;
• and
• transmitting the motion commands from the AI processor system to a receiver incorporated in the robotic arm via a second gigabit plastic optical fiber, wherein each of the first and second gigabit plastic optical fiber is capable of supporting 100 gigabits per second,
• wherein processing the temperature data using artificial intelligence comprises generating motion commands which control a speed of a spray nozzle mounted to the robotic arm during an automated painting operation of the to-be-painted portion of the fuselage as a function of the temperature data.