ISSUE 4 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 8
R O B OT I C S
P R O F E S S I O N A L
RISE OF THE COBOT ONROBOT FORGED FROM ODENSE FURNACE
NEWS, ROBO-CHAT AND TOP FEATURES
UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES UPDATE
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CONTENTS
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Ed's Welcome
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Headline News Top stories and latest news from the robotics industr y
ROBOPRO TEAM
10 News
The latest news, far and wide, from the robotics industr y
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All Hail The Collaborative Robot
Neil Martin Editor-in-Chief neil.mar tin@mvpromedia.eu
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Main feature: Cobots The Rise of the Cobot
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Alex Sullivan Publishing Director alex.sullivan@mvpromedia.eu
Robo Chat
A round-up of robo and AI news, comment and odd stories
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Drones
Cally Bennett Group Business Manager cally.bennett@mvpromedia.eu
PwC report says UAVs could add £42bn to UK GDP by 2030
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Eu Automiation How zoomorphism can teach us to make better robots
Paige Haughton Sales and Marketing Executive Paige.haughton@cliftonmedialab.com
36 ABB
Going plastic-free - exploring the world of sustainable food packaging
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Robo Tax - HEAT Will there be a robotax?
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CimCorp Robots ensure maximum freshness for Kroger ’s Denver dair y
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Robo Business
Soft Robotics raises $20M in Oversubscribed Funding Round
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Omron Omron to introduce new i4 scara product familymaintenance functions
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Robopro Magazine is published by IFA Magazine Publications Ltd, Arcade Chambers, 8 Kings Road, Bristol BS8 4AB Tel: +44 (0) 1179 089686 © 2018. All rights reserved ‘Robopro Magazine’ is a trademark of IFA Magazine Publications Limited. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in any printed or electronic retrieval system without prior permission. All material has been carefully checked for accuracy, but no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies. Wherever appropriate, independent research and where necessary legal advice should be sought before acting on any information contained in this publication. Robopro Magazine is for those who operate in the robotic and allied industries. Full details at: www.robopromedia.com
Autonomous Driving a book detailing a long drive ahead for humankind
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West England Robotics Network The West of England Robotics Network has just been officially launched
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TM Robitics
Choose the Right Robot for the Job
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Spotlight We bring a selection of featured companies into the spotlight for you
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ED'S WELCOME
EDITOR´S WELCOME A variety of stories in this issue, which reflects the wide ranging industry that is robotics. Taking centre stage is our main feature on collaborative robots. I make the point that this is where the industry could win the initial PR war. Collaborative robots have been developed to help and work alongside humans. They are there to help improve productivity and working practices. Now most of us within the industry think that robots that go beyond the collaborative level will also have a beneficiary effect on us all, that they will actually create jobs, as every large stepchange in technology has proved in the past. But public opinion is divided. The fear is that robots will quickly replace the need for human labour and create a major revolution in the workplace, one that could shake the whole of society. Collaborative robots are the appetizer to a world that will become increasingly automated, whether humankind likes it, or not. The worrying thing is that we have to be prepared for what´s around the corner. And that comes down to Government's initiatives, and policies that are there to train the next generation workforce. But how many governments are ready? Can we trust our leaders to make the big step in their own thinking that will get their populations ready? Singapore is certainly taking the bull by the horns with its SkillsFuture initiative. Employers there are asked to spell out the changes, industry by industry, that they expect to happen over the next three to five years, and to identify the skills they will need. Their answers create “industry transformation maps” which are designed to guide individuals on where to head. What’s more, since January 2016, every Singaporean above the age of 25 has been given $345 credit that can be freely used to pay for any training courses provided by 500 approved providers. These include universities and MOOCs. So well done this small City state. They act as a beacon for others to follow.
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We have some great contributed features, which feature plastic reuse, an automated dairy and one which poses the valid question, should there be a robo-tax? And as well as the latest news, we have also prepared a Robo Snippets section – an array of small robo stories which help us keep up with what is a fascinating sector. So there we are, I hope you enjoy this issue and please, if you have any views on the industry, please let me know. All the best,
Neil
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HEADLINE NEWS
ROBOTS TO DOUBLE WORLDWIDE BY 2020 AS NEW SURVEY SUGGESTS THAT WORKFORCE WELCOMES CHANCE FOR HIGHER SKILLED WORK
The International Federation of Robots (IFR) reckons that robots will double worldwide by 2020, meaning that operational stock will more have more than doubled within a seven year period (2014-2020).
Junji Tsuda, IFR President, said: “IT like robotics process automation is by far the biggest contributor in transforming people’s jobs.
Companies and governments must collaborate to ensure workers have the skills that the technological change requires.”
What’s more, a new survey suggests that some 70% of employees think that robots and automation will give them the chance to qualify for higher skilled work. The worldwide automatica survey questioned 7,000 employees in seven countries and said that technical change calls for targeted training and further eduction for employees.
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HEADLINE NEWS
SINGAPORE INVESTS IN FUTURE SKILLS INITIATIVE
Following a recent survey which suggested that some 70% of employees think that robots and automation will give them the chance to qualify for higher skilled work, Singapore has been singled as an example of how countries should be prepared for the coming changes in the workplace. The report said that as far as training is concerned, Singapore is one of the most advanced countries with its SkillsFuture initiative. Employers in the city-state are asked to spell out the changes, industry by industry, that they expect to happen over the next three to five years, and to identify the skills they will need. Their answers are used to create “industry transformation maps” designed to guide individuals on where to head. What’s more, since January 2016 every Singaporean above the age of 25 has been given $345 credit that can be freely used to pay for any training courses provided by 500 approved providers, including universities and MOOCs.
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TERADYNE ACQUIRES MOBILE INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS FOR $148M CASH Teradyne (NYSE:TER) has acquired Denmarkbased Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) for €121m ($148m cash). A further €101m ($124m) will be payable if certain performance targets are met from now until 2020. (see Robo Business for more details)
VIDEO: OCADO UNVEILS UK AUTOMATED WAREHOUSE TO PUBLIC Ocado, the world’s largest onlineonly supermarket, has opened the doors to one of its highly automated warehouses in the UK, giving everyone the ability to learn more about the systems that power its operations. The company said that by far the most differentiating feature of the Andover fulfilment centre is the revolutionary goods-toperson system. Inside the highly automated warehouse is a three-storey high aluminium grid containing stacks of white storage crates of grocery items. On top of the grid is a fleet of robots that pick up crates from each stack and deliver them to pick stations where personal shoppers assemble the customer orders. The robots have been designed in-house by and embody, said Ocado, the most efficient warehouse logistics solution ever designed.
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NEWS
YASKAWA TO BUILD MORE FACILITIES IN SLOVENIA Robot production company Yaskawa is planning to build more new facilities in Slovenia for the production of inverter drives, servo drives and servo motors.
NEW WELDING ROBOT FOR LARGE PIECES IN SMALL SPACES
The company has already built the first European robot factory in Kočevje, Slovenia, and intends to pursue its expansion strategy in Europe. The first Motoman robots to be manufactured entirely in Europe are set to roll off the production line in Kočevje by the end of 2018. And YASKAWA is now building further production sites in Slovenia to meet the growing demand for drive technology. The new production facilities for the manufacture of inverter drives, servo drives and servomotors will be constructed close to the existing robot factory. Manfred Stern, President and CEO of Yaskawa Europe, said: “Expanding our production capacity will enable us to further improve the supply chain, shorten our lead times and enhance the service for our European customers.” He added: “Yaskawa’s Cumbernauld plant in Scotland for servo drives and inverters will continue to operate at the current level of utilisation and remains a vital element of Yaskawa’s manufacturing capability needed to support the growing demand for drive products from Yaskawa in Europe.”
A new robot for welding large pieces in small spaces has been introduced by FANUC. Part of the ARC welding robot range, the ARCMate 100iD/10L can be used to boost the productivity of high-batch production lines, particularly those working with pieces larger than 1,500mm ø. The company said that its repeatability and qualitycontrol capability make it a particularly valuable addition to production lines that must meet high-volume orders in which the quality and function of the weld are critical. To cope with increased production demands, the ARCMate 100iD/10L also has capacity for 10kg of additional tooling, such as welding torches. Managing Director of FANUC UK Tom Bouchier said: “Subcontractors that use bigger workpieces should not have to compromise on weld quality or integrity. Neither should they feel that the welding robot market is closed to them because of space limitations. In fact, the new ARCMate has been designed specifically with these limitations in mind.”
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Despite its higher workpiece capacity, the robot’s footprint is small – around 343 x 343mm – with a compact, articulated design for easy reach into narrow spaces within machine tools or jigs. It can also be mounted either upsidedown or at an angle and routes all cables and welding hosepipes internally in order to maximise its use of space. Bouchier added: “In other words, the robot can fit around you, and not the other way around. This is not the only case for investment: increased weld integrity, higher output, reduced downtime and more effective use of personnel are all reasons why you should consider a welding robot.” Further ROI can be achieved through harnessing the robot’s integrated software. The R-30iB Plus controller, for example, guides an operator through setup and programming. Manufacturers can also maintain the productive capacity of the robot through the use of Zero Downtime, an intelligent maintenance scheduling and status prediction tool.
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NEWS
STATEMENT: EUROPEAN ROBOTICS INDUSTRY WELCOMES COMMISSION’S POSITION ON AI A statement from the European Robotics Association: The European robotics industry welcomes the efforts of the European Commission to provide a solid European approach to reap the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI). A massive European effort in boosting AI technologies, skills and applications is essential to catch up with the adoption of this promising technology. Excellence in AI is a prerequisite for maintaining the global competitiveness of European companies. “We need to follow a coordinated, coherent approach across Europe, joining forces with the member states to win the future, especially vis-à-vis the United States and China as an emerging AI superpower”, states Walter Zulauf, Chairman of EUnited Robotics. Boosting the EU’s technological and industrial capacity and AI uptake across economy While Europe is already strong in basic research on AI, the main challenge to fully reaping the benefits for companies and society alike lies in applying the results of this research in manufacturing processes and products we use. It is thus very important to not predominantly direct research funding to purely academic research, but to specifically encourage more applied research that leads to the uptake of AI by industry, especially in small- and mediumsized enterprises. We welcome the approach of the European Commission to enhance the uptake of AI. Proposed measures such as creating a toolbox for potential users, an AI-on-demand platform and dedicated services for SMEs through the network of AI-focused digital innovation hubs are necessary and relevant.
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One of the main competitive disadvantage of European companies is the difficulty to raise investments especially compared to the US and China. EUnited Robotics thus highly welcomes the initiative of the EC to mobilise the share of private investments, using the European Fund for Strategic Investments as a supportive tool. Access to venture capital is extremely challenging for European start-ups. There are many examples of a brain- and innovation drain from European companies to the US because of a lack of funding opportunities. In line with this, the recently proposed PanEuropean Venture Capital Fundsof-funds programme VentureEU is a step in the right direction. Prepare for socioeconomic changes Artificial intelligence will have a huge impact on our society, and will transform the labour market. Automation and AI have the potential to free workers from strenuous tasks and support our ageing society. While it is quite clear that new jobs will emerge, and others will dramatically change, the exact nature of this change is hard to predict at the moment. It is important for our society to proactively react to this change, and step up efforts in education and training. European school education systems must provide the next generation with the skills needed by the companies (STEM, digital and fusion skills). Lifelong learning needs to be complemented with support schemes for retraining workers needing to adapt to new technologies and changing tasks. To cope with the challenges of digitization, higher education must be able to train the specialized workforce necessary to ensure the competitiveness of the European economy.
Ensure an appropriate ethical and legal framework Europe has already a wellestablished regulatory framework with a strong focus on safety and security of systems placed on the market that makes manufacturers responsible for any damages suffered as a result of using their products. On the one hand this ensures consumers’ trust in products developed in Europe and on the other hand provides legal certainty to companies developing and using those systems, in order not to hamper innovation and investments in new technologies. EUnited Robotics welcomes the Commission’s approach to strike a good balance between tackling the risks and seizing opportunities. A successful deployment of AI technologies requires trust and social acceptance of consumers. This is supported by informing the public about risks as well as current limitations of the technology. Social acceptance currently is threatened by overstated promises what the technology can accomplish today. The European Commission can help by providing neutral, unbiased information about the state of the technology. We welcome the Commission’s initiative for a European AI Alliance and to develop coherent European AI ethics guidelines to safeguard European values, like dignity, privacy and consumer protection.
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NEWS
RSM CHOOSES UNIVERSAL ROBOTS SUPPLIED BY RARUK AUTOMATION RARUK Automation has supplied seven collaborative robots from Universal Robots to Rousant Sherwood Manufacturing, a leading specialist in multi-axis machining. The UR5 and UR10 robots were chosen as a way of increasing profitability at the company. RSM is a family-owned company based at Henleyon-Thames that has been specialising in the subcontract manufacture of complex machined components for over 40 years. It supplies the global medical, aerospace, and oil and gas industries.
RSM said that its continued investment in state-ofthe-art manufacturing technologies is the key to its success. The company has 11 Nakamura-Tome multi-axis, multi-turret, twin-spindle turn-mill centres, complemented by the latest 13-axis slidinghead turning and four-axis milling capability. As a result the company has minimised both cycle times and the number of set-ups required. However, faced with an increasingly competitive global marketplace, the 35-employee company wanted to make further efficiency gains, deciding to focus its attention on automation.
General Manager Robin Salter said: “In effect, the only advantage that competitors in low-wage economies have is their labour costs, so if we can eliminate that element from the calculation, it levels the playing field.” RSM concluded that six-axis Universal Robots were the ideal match for its machine-tending requirements, largely due to their ease-of-programming, competitive price and collaborative operating capabilities. Collaborative robots (‘cobots’) use innovative sensor technology (programmed with a pre-determined force) to stop safely in the event of human contact. As a result, around 80% of the thousands of Universal Robots in use worldwide operate with no safety guarding (after risk assessment). Mr Salter added: “The ability to use the robots unguarded was something that appealed, as was the ease-of-programming. Programming is very intuitive; it can take as little as 10 minutes to program one of our robots for a new part. What’s more, we recently trained one of our apprentices and he picked it up in an hour!” RSM invested in five UR5 (5kg payload) and two UR10 (10kg) Universal Robots.
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NEWS
CIMCORP TO EXPAND ITS FACILITIES IN ULVILA, FINLAND Cimcorp (Ulvila, Finland), a manufacturer and integrator of turnkey robotic gantrybased order fulfillment and tire-handling solutions, plans to expand its production and office facilities at its headquarters. The new facilities will be built on 8,500 square meters of land, bought by Cimcorp in August 2017, nearly doubling the footprint of its current 9,500-square-meter space. The expansion will enable the company to accommodate its continuing business growth with greater capacity and efficiency, as well as incorporate new space for research and development.
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The current facilities include 5,800 square meters dedicated to manufacturing and 3,700 square meters of office space. The expansion will extend the floor area by 7,900 square meters, adding 5,700 square meters for production and 2,200 square meters for offices. With more manufacturing space, Cimcorp said it can meet growing customer requirements and volume increases with greater production capacity and the ability to manage larger-sized projects.
seen over the last five years, and the expected continued growth into the future. There has been a sustained increase in orders, and we have continued to invest in product development. This expansion will ensure that we have the capacity and efficiency to continue to meet our customers’ demands and service the rapidly growing global marketplace. This new, larger facility will help us strengthen our position as a leading supplier of automated solutions for the tire and distribution industries.”
Masatoshi Wakabayashi, CEO, Cimcorp Oy, said, “Our decision to expand our Ulvila facilities is a direct result of the substantial business growth that we have
Construction will begin during summer 2018, with plans for the facilities to be ready in summer 2019.
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KUKA
ALL HAIL THE COLLABORATIVE ROBOT
Recent evolutions in technologies and market trends dictate that automation will underpin a vast majority of operational processes as manufacturers take steps to meet demand and remain competitive, with a focus on both product throughput and quality output But not all processes within a process chain can be automated; human dexterity will always have the upper hand (no pun intended). Robotics are renowned for undertaking repetitive, unsafe or non-ergonomic tasks and can do so 24/7 and provide an operation with significant benefits. But how do we strike the balance between robotic process automation and essential manual processes versus product throughput and quality output? Collaborative robotics provide value where operations can’t be completely automated. These applications incorporate an automated robotic element as a means to undertake repetitive tasks, assisting a worker, not replacing them. They are designed with human safety as a key priority and are smarter than your average industrial robot, designed to undertake complex tasks and are more often than not equipped with smart technologies that make them people aware. Collaborative robots, or cobots, are relatively easy to implement within an existing working environment. They require no guarding or costly fencing and their small footprint dictates
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that they are able to occupy compact spaces ensuring that business owners are able to best utilise existing floor space. Joint torque sensors enable some collaborative robots to detect contact immediately and reduce its level of force and speed instantly. Position and compliance controls enable some to handle delicate components for delicate assembly work. But we shouldn’t think of the collaborative robot as a static element. Imagine the combined strengths of both a sensitive robot and an autonomous, mobile platform; an entirely new means of autonomous, highly
flexible working methods to optimise your production - the perfect basis for meeting the requirements of industry 4.0. So exactly what are the benefits of working with collaborative robotics? Increased efficiencies is the first and most obvious benefit that can be afforded through the adoption of collaborative robotic processes. A recent case study from KUKA highlighted just how an operator can collaborate fully with a seven axis robotic arm and share tasks within an assembly process. The application provided the automotive client with reduced cycle times, enabling the operator to attend to other processes within the manufacturing production line. Ultimately providing an increase in product throughput. An increase in return on investment. Through increased productivity and a reduction in manual labour costs. Collaborative robots can be positioned next to their human co-workers eliminating the need for barriers to work around which can present a loss in hours. Minimal impact upon the human environment. The ability to employ collaborative robots into an environment where humans operate provides an enhanced
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KUKA
level of operational efficiency to business owners. Installing robots, removing robots or deploying humans within one central work space supports flexible working practices especially so for low volume high-mix manufacturers. Safety and complexity considerations. There are certain applications that are simply not suited to humans or traditional robots. Consider the use of surgical instruments where precision and accuracy are paramount. KUKA’s LBR iiwa medical variant collaborative robot as a prime example. In this instance humans are reliant upon the collaborative robot to assist in improving complex or critical techniques and procedures. As a means to future proof your operations. Flexibility and adaptability are key to the success of any business. Collaborative robotics empower business owners and enable changes to an operational process to take place at the drop of a hat. The ability to optimise your operations will stand you apart from your competitors. Collaborative robot arms can be deployed quickly without interference with your production lines. Collaborative robots are redefining human/robot relationships across a number of industries as manufacturers look at ways in which they can improve their operations to align with lean manufacturing principles. As the supply versus demand balance starts to shift we can expect to see collaborative robots become mainstream. As a pioneer and driver of innovative automation solutions, KUKA do not define our standards by what already exists, but rather by the needs of the future; sensitive, lightweight, scalable robotics for every production area. Designing automation to be even more intuitive and introducing it into new areas.
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RISE OF THE COBOT
THE RISE OF THE COBOT RoboPro Magazine Editor Neil Martin takes a look at how the age of the collaborative robot is firmly upon us and how this sector is quickly coming of age. And not only that, it is fulfilling the role of pathfinder for the rapidly expanding robot industry
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RISE OF THE COBOT
Cobots are already in widespread use throughout a number of global industries including machine tending, packaging, quality testing, material handling, assembly and welding. The International Federation of Robots calculates that currently, cobots represent 3% of global robot sales, but this is expected to rise dramatically to 34% by 2025. The market is then reckoned to be worth $25bn. In this wide-ranging feature, I take a look at why robots are leading the charge for the robot industry, the busy M&A scene and include a number of contributions from senior sector executives. I collaborate, therefore I am not
represent one the most important parts of the marketplace. Nor can we think of the cobot as a concept - they are out there now in the workplace and are here to stay for the foreseeable future. In terms of their development they may be work-in-progress, but in practical terms, they are the here and now. And when we pass from the age of the collaborative robot into the age of the thinking robot, we’d best remember another one of Descartes famous quotes: “It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.” Let’s help the future robots remember that!
M&A AND NEW BEGINNINGS
As for where cobots fit within the scheme of things, it struck me that the line the great French philosophy René Descartes used to describe what makes a human being - “I think, therefore I am” (cogito ergo sum) resonates as much today as in the 17th century.
OnRobot is OnMessage
People are increasingly feeling nervous about how robots will be used not only in the work environment (the threat to jobs is well documented and studied). Robots are being used everywhere and whether you believe they will take jobs, or create them; and, whether you think that robots replacing care workers for example, is a sign of a directionless society unable to come to terms about its future, you have to admit that there are plenty challenges ahead of us.
Aiming to make another impression on the cobot market is former CEO of Universal Robots, Enrico Krog Iversen. Universal Robots is said to account for nearly half of the cobot market and is now part of the Teradyne empire, along with Mobile Industrial Robots. Universal and MiR are part of the Odense stable of companies which are currently dominating the cobot market.
However, cobots have less of a PR problem. They do not portray themselves as human replacements, nor do they show-off their AI capabilities. They are, in short, more human friendly and therefore do not pose the threat that sophisticated robots supposedly represent. But, their influence will be huge over the coming years. If the forecast is correct and they represent a near 35% of the robot market by 2025, they will
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As would be expected in a growing sector, cobot companies are keen on mergers and acquisitions, and there have been a number of recent deals which are helping to transform the industry. In short, it’s been a frantic time for the cobot sector.
announcement was at pains to point out that the company henceforth is now known as OnRobot, not to be confused with On Robot (no space between the words note). Not sure why a new team could not have been created, Team Cobot for example (!), but there must be a good reason. Nor, did the release specify the mechanics of the deal in terms of any monies paid, resulting corporate structure, company shareholdings, or management responsibilities. The morphed OnRobot group is targeting what it believes is a gap in the market.
Iversen has aligned with the Danish Growth Fund. Together they have merged three companies - Perception Robotics (US), OptoForce (Hungary) and On Robot (Denmark) - to form OnRobot. The statement which accompanied the official
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RISE OF THE COBOT
The statement said: “The company will grow by strategic acquisitions and technology innovation, addressing the underserved market for collaborative end-of-arm tooling. By initially merging three international companies, the new OnRobot aims to become a world leader in a rapidly growing global market, further building on Denmark’s strong position within collaborative robotics.” OnRobot’s HQ will be based in Denmark and Iversen will be in charge. The enlarged group will also have a global network of distributors and will have access to local sales support, technical assistance and product training from the company's regional offices in Germany, China, U.S., Malaysia, and Hungary. More offices are to come in 2018 said the statement. Iversen spelt out the group’s ambitions: “The aim is to build a world-leading organization in development and production of end-of-arm tooling. Through further acquisitions and collaborations, we expect to reach a revenue exceeding one hundred million dollars in a few years. Safe, costeffective and versatile cobots are becoming increasingly common because they offer sophisticated and intuitive
programming that enables them to be easily deployed and redeployed. Easy-to-integrate end-of-arm tooling, such as grippers and sensors, become vital elements in adapting these powerful automation tools for a wide range of applications.” The Danish Growth Fund are key players in the deal. It was back in 2015 and that the fund, and Iversen, sold Universal Robots to US based Teradyne for $285m. Christian Motzfeldt, CEO of the Danish Growth Fund, said: “In recent years Denmark has successfully established itself as a global hub for robotic technologies. Universal Robots was a pioneer, and since then, many more strong and innovative companies have been formed with roots in Odense, Denmark. The new OnRobot has the potential to become not only a world-leading company, but also a catalyst for further development of the Danish robotics cluster. We are pleased to promote this trend through our investments and invite both companies and investors from around the world to come join us.” Iversen added: “This growth will most definitely depend on cobots being used in more applications. Their small footprint and ability to work safely alongside humans make them
ideal for small and mediumsized manufacturers who need to compete globally. Cobots are also increasingly integrated into very large manufacturers such as automotive plants, where they are taking over processes that can’t be automated using traditional robotics. “As the types of cobot applications expand, so does the need for new tooling that can be quickly and easily integrated into the cobot’s user interface. The new OnRobot is championing a current mega trend in the field of automation. Combining the unique capabilities of these endof-arm technologies under one umbrella company that is led by some of the smartest minds in the robotics industry will make them even easier to implement and program. By the way, the new OnRobot is currently looking to add employees in R&D.” The statement went on to justify the companies chosen to form the merger. It said they were picked…”because of their synergistic end-of-arm technologies, the ability of these technologies to easily integrate to provide improved support and the long-term vision and capabilities of each company’s founders: • On Robot, founded in 2015,provides plug-and-play electric grippers — RG2 and RG6 — that mount directly on the robot arm, are highly flexible and are simple enough to be programmed and operated from the same interface as the robot without the need of engineers; • OptoForce, founded in 2012, provides force/torque sensors that bring the sense of touch to industrial robots so that they can automate tasks that would otherwise require the dexterity of the human hand; • Perception Robotics, founded in 2012 and based in Los Angeles, develops bio-inspired robot grippers: 1) a gecko-inspired gripper for handling large, flat objects and 2) a tactile gripper with compliant
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RISE OF THE COBOT
rubber tactile sensors (“skin”) to give robots a sense of touch. Its first grippers will be available this year.” The group used the automatica trade show to introduce the first fully integrated products with combined user interfaces that simplify both the development and use of the cobots. Some time before the triumvirate was formed, we asked Kristian Hulgard, VP of Sales at North America for On Robot, about the future of the cobot sector. He replied that he sees great potential in what collaborative robots can achieve, as businesses strive to increase efficiencies through automation. “Back in 2011-2012, we started to see a big boom in the creation of collaborative robots that could work alongside humans. We’re now experiencing a huge demand for cobot accessories such as smart grippers and sensitive sensors that are enabling applications we’ve never seen before, from picking delicate herbs to lifting heavy machinery parts. The market for these tools is exploding as the demand for the cobots continues to grow. We’ve really only scratched the surface of what they can do to help companies be more productive and efficient." That sentiment won’t have changed since the creation of OnRobot. The only question is now of course, how long before Teradyne buys OnRobot and adds to its portfolio? Universal Robots alumni busy Another former Universal Robots co-founder has been busy. Back in 2004 robotics engineer Kristian Kassow cofounded Universal. Some 14 years later he’s now started, with two others, Kassow Robots. The company, which is based in Kastrup, Copenhagen, used automatica 2018 to signal its launch on the global stage. The Danish start-up has been developing 7-axis industrial
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lightweight robots since it was founded in 2014. Kassow said that its robots are extremely fast and powerful, and are suitable for use in small spaces. The robots’ user-friendly interface provides businesses with greater flexibility: SMEs without their own robotics specialists can now achieve complex automation and programming costeffectively and independently. Kassow said: “I’ve never lost my passion for robotics and the start-up spirit. We are now set to launch Kassow Robots and are showcasing our 7-axis robots with joint speeds of up to 225 degrees per second for the first time. Our cobots have a combination of qualities that make them strong and unique.” At automatica Kassow Robots presented three cobots: the KR 810 (reach 850mm, payload 10 kg), KR 1205 (reach 1200mm, payload 5 kg) and KR 1805 (reach 1800mm, payload 5 kg). The Danish start-up’s first two models – KR 810 and KR 1205 – are now entering production. They will be followed by the KR 1805 at the end of 2018.
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RISE OF THE COBOT
The three founders behind Kassow Robots are experts in the core areas of development, production and global sales. Their vision is to offer a broad range of cobot models that help industry, and especially SMEs, produce even more competitively. The start-up therefore plans to gradually establish a network of system integrators and anticipates a wealth of applications for its products. Dieter Pletscher, Head of Sales at Kassow Robots since March 2018, said: “It will ultimately be up to system integrators and end customers to decide how and where to use our cobots. Some of the traditional applications we have in mind are loading and unloading machinery (for example in metalworking), pick and place, palletising, small assembly tasks, testing, quality control and adhesive applications.” And shortly after the company announced its entry into the market, it also revealed that German packaging specialist Project Group is to be its first system integrator. Project Group is a mediumsized company, headquartered in Kranenburg near the German town of Düsseldorf, and
specialises in the entire field of final packaging, equipment servicing and peripheral areas. “We are delighted to announce that the Project Group became the first system integration partner for Kassow Robots at the beginning of this week”, said Kassow and Dieter Pletscher, Head of Sales. “It proves that the power and flexibility of our 7-axis cobots open up exciting new opportunities also for SMEs in the area of man-machine collaboration.” Johannes Jansen, Managing Director of the Project Group, added: “The cobots developed by Kassow Robots have impressed us with their flexibility and safety – qualities we urgently require when helping our customers in the packaging industry to meet their automation challenges.” He is referring to Kassow Robots’ 7-axis robots with joint speeds of up to 225 degrees per second. In combination with their high payloads and extensive reach, they provide a “complete technical package that allows us to operate as system integrator even in completely new customer segments”. The fact that the collaborative robots from Kassow Robots require few or
(picture: Johannes Jansen, left, and Stefan Opgenorth, right – Managing Directors of the Project Group of companies – with Dieter Pletscher, Head of Sales at Kassow Robots, centre)
no special safety measures – subject to a risk assessment – is a further advantage for endcustomers. Jansen can identify a broad range of potential applications for medium-sized companies – from pick & place, palletising, pallet labelling and loading of production machines right through to tasks in the co-packing area. Teradyne cobot appetite US-based group Teradyne Automated Test Equipment has a healthy appetite for cobot companies. The group is a leading supplier of automation solutions and its equipment is used to test semiconductors, wireless products, data storage and complex electronic systems. These serve consumer, communications, industrial and government customers. Its industrial automation group includes collaborative robots, autonomous mobile robots and sensing and simulation software. These are used by global manufacturing and industrial customers to improve quality and increase manufacturing efficiency. Teradyne is quoted on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TER and in 2017, it had revenues of $2.14bn. It employs around 4,500 people worldwide. It was back in 2015 that it acquired the world leader in collaborative robots, Universal Robots. Universal Robots manufactures affordable, cagefree and user friendly collaborative robot arms. Headquartered in Odense, Denmark, it employs around 500 people, and has regional offices in the United States, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Turkey, China, India, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Mexico. The company also maintains a strong distribution channel with a network of around 300 partners worldwide.
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The company describes itself as the leader in the field of collaborative robotics. It has well over 21,000 collaborating robots operating in more than 50 countries around the world. They are used in a wide variety of industries, company sizes and applications ranging from pickand-place to injection moulding, palletizing, quality inspection, assembly and many more. Universal Robots believes that many small and medium-sized companies in particular are not yet aware of the advantages of this relatively inexpensive automation option for their individual needs. They want to change this situation and focus on explaining the potential and versatile use of collaborative robotics – under the umbrella of ‘flexible automation solutions by means of plug and produce’. The company’s mission is to tell their existing and potential customers to know that for every problem, UR can provide a cost-effective and easy-to-install solution. Universal Robot CTO and co-founder Esben Østergaard said about cobots: "We need to see the robot as a colleague that works right next to us in close collaboration, not simply as a machine that takes over manual labour and gets people fired.Employees with no prior programming experience are now promoted from operators to robot programmers as the robot takes over the "3D jobs" the Dull, Dangerous and Dirty. "The result is an improved work environment where humans are freed up to focus on more rewarding tasks - both financially and mentally. Putting knowledge back to the factory floor will perhaps be the best long-term result derived from leveraging collaborative robots. The industrial revolutions created enormous wealth, but at the same time it has removed passion and knowledge about the product from production itself. If we can close that gap again - if
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we can somehow mix people and machines in the right way on the factory floor, we see enormous potential there for value adding, rather than just cranking up production levels. It's qualitative change." More recently, Teradyne acquired Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), the leading supplier of collaborative AMRs for industrial and commercial applications. You can see the logic of these deals and the strategy of taking potentially high growth companies fresh from a solid incubator such as the Odense cluster and giving them the resources they need to exploit their future markets. Odense is certainly a happy hunting ground for Teradyne. MiR was acquired for €121m ($148m cash) and Teradyne will be looking to fully exploit the autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) market. This is an emerging category within the approximately $1.1bn logistics systems segment of the professional services robot market and is expected to grow rapidly in the years ahead. When the deal was announced, back in April, the President and CEO of Teradyne Mark Jagiela (pictured) said: “We are excited to have MiR join Teradyne’s widening portfolio of advanced, intelligent, automation products. MiR is the market leader in the nascent, but fast growing market for collaborative autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). “Like Universal Robots’ collaborative robots, MiR collaborative AMRs lower the barrier for both large and small enterprises to incrementally automate their operations without the need for specialty staff or a relayout of their existing workflow. This, combined with a fast return on investment, opens a vast new automation market. Following the path proven with Universal Robots, we expect to leverage Teradyne’s global capabilities to expand MiR’s reach.”
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MiR was profitable in 2017 with annual revenue of $12m, more than triple 2016 revenues and had Q1’18 sales of $5m. It was created in 2013. MiR CEO Thomas Visti added: “Joining Teradyne allows us to advance our engineering and development investments to provide greater value to our customers and further expand our market leadership in industrial autonomous mobile robots. Teradyne’s worldwide reach, world-class engineering and support capabilities, financial strength and proven model for leveraging those strengths will help us grow in new and existing markets worldwide.” CSO and founder of MiR Niels Jul Jacobsen also had a view about the deal: “My main focus is to get our mobile robots out to the entire world. With Teradyne as the owner, we will have strong backing to ensure MiR’s continued growth in the global market.” MiR has quickly established a global distribution network in more than 40 countries, with regional offices in New York, San Diego, Singapore, Dortmund, Barcelona and Shanghai. We caught up with Visti for this feature. The backdrop is that autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are among the fastest growing collaborative robots, being seamlessly implemented across warehouses worldwide to safely and efficiently transport materials while humans focus on more valuable tasks.
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He said: "Currently, the most advanced mobile robots can recognize obstacles in a 360 degree radius and either reroute or stop quickly to prevent damages or injuries to humans that might come into its path,. In the not-so-distant future, artificial intelligence will add to their capabilities, enabling the robots to learn what kind of obstacles may occur in front of them and react based on these expected obstacles for an even stronger autonomous navigation." Omron and Techman Robot form cobot alliance About the same time as the OnRobot merger was revealed, came news that Omron (Shimogyo-Ku, Kyoto) and Techman Robot (Taoyuan, Taiwan), the world’s leading company for collaborative arm robots that work together with people, had formed a strategic alliance. Starting in the second half of 2018, Omron will globally market and sell Techman’s TM series of collaborative robots via its worldwide distribution network under a co-branded logo Omron and Techman will also cooperate in developing the next generation of collaborative robots. These, said the two companies in a statement, will be easier to integrate with Omron’s other factory automation products in order to realize an innovative manufacturing environment where humans and machines work in harmony.
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RISE OF THE COBOT
THE TRADITIONAL INDUSTRIAL ROBOT HAS BEEN WITH US NOW FOR DECADES AND HAS BECOME WIDELY ACCEPTED AS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF VOLUME MANUFACTURING ACROSS ALMOST ALL INDUSTRY SECTORS
The companies added that factories worldwide are facing major challenges in having to manufacture a high mix low volume of products to meet their customer demands and shorter product life cycles while dealing with labor shortage issues. Manufacturing companies must maintain flexibility in quick changeovers and production line layout changes. Collaborative robots that can work safely in the same environment with people have an important role in enabling this kind of “flexible manufacturing.” In addition to the regular TM series of collaborative robots, Omron will start selling the new models which are “mobile compatible,” meaning that they can be easily integrated with Omron’s LD mobile robots. Omron’s mobile robots, which can move autonomously by avoiding people and obstacles, already work safely with humans by automating material handling operations all over the world. Mounted with a collaborative robot arm on top, they can not only transport material from one location to another, but will also be able to perform tasks, such as the pick and place of parts onto trays, in each of the locations. “Since the acquisition of Adept Technology in 2015, Omron has been putting great resources in the development of the robotics technologies and market,” said Seigo Kinugawa, Executive Officer and Senior General Manager of the Robotics Business Development Project at Omron’s Industrial Automation Company, adding, “The alliance with Techman is aimed to advance the collaboration between humans
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and robots in manufacturing environments. Omron’s entry into the collaborative arm robot market, in addition to the mobile robot market, will accelerate Omron’s “innovative-Automation!” initiative, the goal of which is to bring innovation to the factories through the collaboration of humans and machines.” “TM robots are smart, simple to use and safe,” said Ho ShiChi, Chairman of Techman Robot. “We endeavor to improve the life of humans based on innovation and our alliance with Omron will help us move a big step toward that goal.” The TM robots have the following features that, they say, stand out in this new field of human-robot collaboration. Smart: The TM robots have a built-in intelligent vision system that can be used for pattern recognition, object positioning and barcode identification. Simple: A complete pick and place application using vision can be taught in five minutes with its all-graphic, flow-based user interface, TMflow. Safe: The TM robots comply with the safety requirements for collaboration of humans and robots as specified in ISO 10218-1 and ISO/TS 15066. The TM robots include two series: TM5 (with a payload of up to 6kg) and the new TM12/ TM14 (with a payload up to 14kg). All TM robots have six degrees of freedom and a reach range of 700mm to 1300mm. The robot’s repeatability is ±0.05mm for the TM5 series and ±0.1mm for the TM12/TM14 series.
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CONTRIBUTED ARTICLES We have three leading articles from senior sector executives
BALANCING PERFORMANCE, PRODUCTIVITY AND SAFETY IN MAN-ROBOT COLLABORATION The topic of Collaborative Robots, how and where to deploy them, and their benefits to manufacturing processes, remains centre stage within the industry at present. There is little doubt that the current trend for the introduction of collaborative robots is set to continue, however there are a number of different levels of Man-Robot collaboration. In this article by Stäubli UK’s Laurence Wood, he explores each of 5 stages of Man-Robot collaboration, and discusses how the company’s new range of collaborative robots can deliver the optimum levels of performance and collaboration. The traditional industrial robot has been with us now for decades and has become widely accepted as an essential part of volume manufacturing across almost all industry sectors. Confirmation that the key attributes of these robots are as valid today as they have ever been, can be seen in Stäubli’s latest range of fast and precise TX2 collaborative robots, which represent the next generation of 6-axis robotic arms. This new range of robots redefines performance with an ideal combination of speed, rigidity, size and precision. These collaborative robots have unique features that make them adaptable to all industries, including sensitive and complex environments.
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Performance or Collaboration – Or do you need both? Stäubli has set out 5 stages of ManRobot collaboration. These range from stage 1, where the robot performs all of the tasks and hard guarding separates the robot from the operator, through to stage 5 where not only does the operator and the robot share the same workspace, but both perform the process simultaneously, with the operator actually manipulating the robot arm. Getting the balance right is essential if manufacturers are to benefit from the concept of Man-Robot collaboration, whilst still attaining performance and productivity levels that will meet production requirements and justify their investment in this technology. Clearly, in stage 1, when the robot is situated behind safety fencing and is performing all of the tasks, performance and productivity levels will be high, but there is little or nothing in the way of collaboration within the manufacturing process. Any interaction by an operator would see the robot enter a Safe Stop condition, with the arm still powered, but ready to restart again once the safety interlocks have been restored. A second level of collaboration would allow the operator to access the robot work area through the use of virtual safety guarding, such as a light-guard, to perform duties that may include removal of a full pallet, or replenishing parts feeders. Whilst
Stäubli’s fast and precise collaborative TX2 robots represent the next generation of 6-axis robotic arms performance and productivity levels will remain high, additional considerations will include validation of the safety level for the virtual fence, and distance calculations to ensure that the robot will stop safely before any possible contact with the operator. Any robot grippers in use also need to be assessed to ensure that no part can project beyond a pre-defined safe distance. Robots used in this scenario also need to have high level of safety (SIL3 PLe) and safety parameters must be setup independently of the robot program. Increasing the level of collaboration still further – stage 3 – would be applicable in instances where both the operator and the robot are required to be involved in the process. In this example, the operator would interact with the robot on a regular basis, perhaps preparing components ahead of the robot loading them
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to a machine. Virtual safety fences would be used here and as for the previous stage, this concept still allows for relatively high performance levels. A Safe Stop condition can be initiated when the safety fence is breached, with the arm still powered, ready for a quick re-start. In addition, the robot’s speed can be modified to mitigate against part projection risk on certain path trajectories, in areas where there are no physical fences. However, the robot may also be able to keep working at low speed in some areas when the operator approaches a Safe Zone. Removing all safety fencing between the operator and the robot allows for even greater levels of collaboration – Stäubli’s stage 4 - and once again, both the operator and the robot would be jointly involved in completing the manufacturing processes. The collaborative functionality of Stäubli’s new TX2 robots allows the robot to operate at high speed when the operator is away from the area and initiate Safe Speed dynamic speed reduction, up to 4 programmable speeds, in response to a signal from a sensor(s) when the operator is returning to the work area. The ability of the robot to operate at high speed under the appropriate conditions helps to maintain higher levels of performance and productivity. The robot can be fitted with additional sensors, such as a touch skin, to provide the highest levels of operator safety, and initiate a Safe Stop condition should there be contact with the operator. Stage 5 of Man-Robot collaboration has the operator manipulating the robot arm to complete the manufacturing processes. The robot assists the operator at low speed and can guide the operator when precision is required, for example in assembly operations. A Stop condition, with arm still powered, can be initiated when dead-man handles have been released, ensuring
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Touch Skin Sensors can be used to provide the highest levels of operator safety in collaborative man-robot applications operator safety and enabling a quick re-start when required. Stäubli’s TX2 collaborative robot range has been designed to meet the highest safety standards with Safe Speed, Safe Tool, Safe Stop and Safe Zone. All safety functions within the range meet the strict requirements of safety category SIL3-PLe, making it possible for the robots to be used at whichever level of collaboration is deemed necessary for a specific application. Also, as they are based upon a range of 6-axis robots that already have established their performance and reliability credentials, the TX2 collaborative range has the capability to operate in a wide range of industrial environments, offering users significant advantages over other collaborative robot types. ARE YOU COBOT READY – HOW TO MANAGE A MIXED TEAM OF HUMANS AND COLLABORATIVE ROBOTS Steve Jobs once said, “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” In the manufacturing industry, collaborative robots are joining the team to achieve even greater things. Here Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director of industrial obsolete parts supplier EU Automation, explains how to manage a mixed team of collaborative robots and humans.
Collaborative robots, commonly known as cobots, make up just three per cent of all robot sales worldwide, according to a report by the International Federation of Robotics and Loup Ventures. However, awareness of their benefits for manufacturers is increasing and it’s expected that, by 2025, the sales of cobots will have jumped to 34 per cent of all robot sales. Despite the benefits that manufacturers can obtain from implementing cobots, concerns are developing about their effect on worker safety, satisfaction and even job retention. To dispel these concerns, plant managers must know how to effectively manage a mixed team of humans and cobots. Safety Traditional industrial robots are often encased in a cage to keep human workers safe. This is not necessary with cobots because they are intended to work alongside humans. Instead, advanced technology is used to keep staff safe. For example, the safety-rated monitored stop function causes cobots to stop moving when they get close to a human. Also, power and force limiting functionalities ensure that if a cobot does directly contact a human, it reduces its force to avoid causing injury. If your cobot will be hand-guided by people,
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it’s advisable to purchase one with power and force limiting properties. The safety of your employees is not only down to you and the cobot. All staff must be trained on how to work with cobots safely, which requires an understanding of how they work, their benefits and their limitations. Introducing cobots Regardless of your cobots’ safety features and the amount of training your employees receive, the transition to a mixed team of humans and cobots must be gradual, so that the staff have time to adjust to the new technology. Begin with just one cobot and monitor the response of the workforce. Allow open communication with your employees, because questions will arise as they gain more experience with the technology. It’s also important to continue the staff training programme, so that any concerns can be addressed in a practical manner. Delegation Another important consideration is how to delegate tasks. Cobots, unlike humans, don’t tire, so can be given jobs that require repetitive, continuous actions. They also work with high accuracy and precision, so can be used to increase repeatability and product quality. On the other hand, jobs that require creativity are most effectively executed by humans. Likewise, empathy and adaptability are important for customer-facing roles and are traits that cobots are yet to master. When Steve Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976, he probably didn’t envision robots and humans working side by side in his manufacturing facilities across the world. However, his views on the power of teamwork suggest that he would have raised to the challenge of managing a mixed team of humans and robots. BEFORE YOU BUY A COBOT... Over 1.7m new industrial robots will be installed between 2017 and 2020. Collaborative robots (cobots), machines that
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work harmoniously alongside humans, account for 3% of this market, but will reach 34% by 2025. Here, Nigel Smith, CEO of TM Robotics, explains what manufacturers need to understand before they jump on the cobot bandwagon, as this investment may not be as low-risk as it first appears. As more companies are turning to robotic automation to get ahead, now is the time to take stock, assess the application and make informed business decisions. Automating manufacturing processes is a complex issue without a one-size-fits-all solution. Some processes call for cobots, a breed of robots designed to share a workspace with human workers, but some really are more suited to traditional industrial robots. Cobots The term cobot has been coined to represent an unguarded, easy to integrate collection of robots that typically carry out repetitive or unsafe tasks while the human workforce performs higher-value manual tasks up or downstream. The robotics industry does not acknowledge cobots as a separate entity, but instead defines industrial safety standards for when humans work collaboratively with robots on the same production floor. This is an important distinction, as new robotics implementers may assume that any cobot is automatically safe for use next to humans, when, in fact, this can only be determined by thorough risk assessment. Some plant managers may be also surprised to discover that they need expensive fencing if risk wasn't appropriately forecasted initially. As a result of risk assessment findings, added safety features can result in very low operating speeds or multiple stops for a cobot. Equally, these necessary safety additions aren't free, adding significantly to integrations costs. Both factors can have a detrimental impact on return on investment (RoI). Industrial robots Industrial robots are automatically controlled and are programmable in three or more axes and they can automate an extremely broad range of processes unattended. Multiple industrial robots can be integrated for
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a fully automated production line, meaning they can handle applications that are not conducive to humans at speed, removing operators from unsafe or unclean environments. Improvements in safety technology is now allowing industrial robots to be used in collaborative operations, providing many of the same benefits that a cobot brings, along with increased speed and accuracy. Of course, this collaboration can only be implemented after the appropriate risk assessment - but that is no different than when choosing a cobot. What many are unaware of is that almost any robot is capable of collaborative operation with the appropriate safety mechanisms in place. Cobot misconceptions Remember, it's the application that defines the ability for
human and machine to collaborate. While vendors are eager to claim the term 'collaborative robots', it isn't all black and white. In February 2016, the technical standard ISO/TS 15066 was published to provide safety guidelines for the use of robots in collaborative applications, including force guidelines, maximum allowable robot power and speed, without discriminating against a certain type of robot. Similarly, some manufacturers may buy their cobots assuming they will work without caging. However, they may find their risk assessment shows the need for a safety cage or force limiters to keep human workers safe. The additional charge of these safety features would render the total cost of the cobot similar to that of an industrial robot, but without the additional capabilities of
speed and accuracy. Suddenly, this initially low-cost, low-risk investment in cobots isn't turning out as planned. The huge growth in the cobot market represents the view that cobots can be an ideal first step towards automated processes. If the application doesn't require safety guarding, then the initial investment is low. However, as applications evolve, multiple cobots may soon be required for scalability, and the cost of the additional equipment and additional human workforce will soon exceed the cost of an industrial robot. It's imperative that business owners assess the application and the needs of their business' future carefully before making their decision and carefully consider one important question - is a cobot actually what you need?
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Robots can’t “see” or “think” on their own. That’s why experienced engineers choose to provide their factory robots with machine vision and motion guidance for flexible quality inspection, and the automation of key industrial applications like pick-and-place.
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visit www.factorysmart.com
ROBOPRO CHAT
ROBOPRO
CHAT A round-up of robo and AI news, comment and odd stories!
AI BRINGS BACK FORGOTTEN CORNER OF EUROPE Artificial intelligence has brought back to life a forgotten part of Europe. Researchers from the University of Bristol used artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to analyse 47,000 multilingual pages from newspapers dating back to 1873. The aim of the study, which has been published in Historical Methods, was to discover whether historical changes could be detected from the collective content of local newspapers from the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca. The findings revealed a series of political and cultural events which took place in a forgotten corner of the Austrian Empire that is now divided between Italy and Slovenia, some of which were unknown.
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A team of computer scientists and a historian digitised microfilms of old multilingual newspapers from the County between 1873 to 1914. The images were then converted to text. The patterns that emerged from the automated analysis of 47,000 pages revealed the individual stories of thousands of people, but also the collective trends of a population in the years leading up to WW1 and the final years of that Empire.
Professor Cristianini, Professor of Artificial Intelligence and lead author of the study, said: “Importantly, we get a glimpse in the last years of a world heading towards a new chapter in its history and during a period that transformed it beyond recognition. We see new technologies, new ideas, new economic opportunities, new cultural challenges and problems.�
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ROBOPRO CHAT
ROBO DOGS COULD BE FOR SALE NEXT YEAR Robo dogs that mimic real canines (they can open doors, and walk up and down stairs), could be on sale as early as next year. Marc Raibert, the CEO of Boston Dynamics which has developed the agile dogs, said that they are designed initially for commercial office environments and then for the home. The robo dogs navigate using sophisticated motion detection software, not ‘true’ artificial intelligence. One of the main problems with the dogs is that the battery life is a meagre 90 minutes. Meaning that Fido is going to have to take a large number of breaks throughout the day.
SHERPA PROJECT LAUNCH Representatives of 11 different organisations (from academia, industry, civil society, standards bodies and ethics committees) from six European countries met recently in Brussels to launch the EU-funded SHERPA project.
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The project will examine how smart information systems (SIS - the combination of artificial intelligence and big data analytics) impact ethics and human rights. “Artificial intelligence and big data analytics bring a variety of benefits to society, but at the same time have the potential to disrupt society, ethical
values and human rights, and life as we know it”, said Bernd Stahl, Director of the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, De Montfort University and co-ordinator of the SHERPA project. “The EU-funded SHERPA project examines these issues and is working to enhance the responsible development of such technologies.”
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ROBOT MARTY WORKS AT TENNESSEE GROCERY STORE The small US town of La Follette, Tennessee might not be the centre of the robotics universe, but one of its stores has taken on a robot helper called Marty. Developed in Lexington, Kentucky,
SELF-DRIVING MINIVAN
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Self-driving car accidents continue to hit the headlines.
serious in bodywork terms. Humans only received minor injuries.
Notable amongst the recent stories were a Google owned vehicle and a Tesla car.
But, there seems to be disagreement between whether the car was in manual, or autonomous mode.
First up was self-driving minivan, a Pacifica, which was involved in a crash in Arizona. The vehicle belongs to Waymo, Google’s selfdriving car unit, and the crash looked
Second was a Tesla car which allegedly hit a police car whilst using Autopilot mode. The driver suffered some minor injuries. When interviewed by police, the
by Badger Technologies, Marty operates in Food Lion, primarily doing runs around the store to check for out-of-stock products, making sure items are priced properly and keeping an eye-open for trip hazards.
driver apparently insisted that the car was using the auto-mode functions. The crash made Tesla issue a statement which included: “When using Autopilot, drivers are continuously reminded of their responsibility to keep their hands on the wheel." It’s unclear what mode the car was in when it crashed. Elon Musk may have a point when he laments that when an autonomous car crashes, its national news, but the fact that some thousands are killed in the US in manually driven cars barely gets a mention. He said in a recent tweet: "It's super messed up that a Tesla crash resulting in a broken ankle is front page news and the ~40,000 people who died in US auto accidents alone in past year get almost no coverage."
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ROBOPRO CHAT
DELIVERY BOTS ARE IN VOGUE walking robots are the answer; others that low-cost, basic machines are the better solution.
Delivery robots which handle the ‘last mile’ are all the vogue currently, with companies desperate to grab a piece of the action. The approach varies between companies. Many think that sophisticated machines such as
teams. One major use for the robots, which will eventually have arms, is to deliver parcels and goods to people’s homes.
Starship Technologies and latterly, Alibaba think the latter approach is the best. Agility Robotics, a start-up based in Oregon, believe that the sophisticated approach is the way forward. They build robots that can walk and run.
Interestingly, the technology for Agility grew out of research that co-founder and CTO Jonathan Hurst completed at the Dynamic Robotics Laboratory, located in Oregon State University. Agility was created in November 2015 and recently it raised $8m in venture funding from Playground Global, Sony Innovation Fund and Robotics Hub.
The company’s two-legged robot, which goes by the name of Cassie, is being sold to research and development
The battle for the last mile between simple and complex machines is likely to go on for some years.
IT GIANTS CHASING AI The IT giants are racing to invest-in and acquire cutting-edge artificial intelligence startups and scaleups. So says a new report from Hampleton Partners, the international technology M&A advisory firm.
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According to the latest Mergers & Acquisitions Market Report on Artificial Intelligence which has just been published, the world’s major IT players such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Facebook, Twitter and Salesforce are intent on acquiring AI assets.
The report reveals that the three key AI sub-sectors - machine data analysis, natural language processing and machine vision - have all shown impressive growth rates over the past 24 months, but it is the machine data analysis category that is attracting most buyers, with half of all deals (49%).
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UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES UPDATE PwC report says UAVs could add £42bn to UK GDP by 2030 UK GDP could benefit to the tune of £42bn by 2030 thanks to UAV technology. This 2% GDP uplift is the key finding of a new research report published by PwC. The report calculates that there will be more than 76,000 drones in use across UK skies by 2030 and many will be utilised by the public sector in areas such as defence, health and education. What’s more, although there are significant opportunities for economic gains across all sectors, the GDP uplift generated by drones is forecast to have the largest impact on the wholesale and retail trade sector with an increase of 2.5%, amounting to around £7.7bn. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), commonly known as drones, are made
up of a ground-based operator, the vehicle itself and a communications system linking the two. The report finds that UAV technology could help the UK achieve up to £16bn in net cost savings by 2030 through increased productivity. The technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sector stands to save the most by using UAVs, with a potential net saving of £4.8bn by 2030. Across the UK PwC estimates there will be 628,000 people working in the UAV economy by 2030. New types of jobs to develop, build, operate and regulate UAVs will be needed, as changes in productivity and consumer demand resulting from drone usage create jobs. Elaine Whyte, UK drones leader at PwC, commented: “Drones
Figure 1: GDP uplift generated by drones by sector
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Sector
Potential GDP increase
Percentage impact
Agriculture, Mining, Gas and Electricity
£1.1bn
1.1%
Construction and Manufacturing
£8.6bn
1.6%
Wholesale, Retail Trade, Accommodation and Food Services
£7.7bn
2.5%
Transport and Logistics
£1.2bn
1.5%
Technology, Media and Telecoms
£1.2bn
2.1%
Finance, Insurance, Professional Services and Administrative Services
£10.4bn
1.6%
Public Sector, Defence, Health, Education, and other services
£11.4bn
2.3%
have the potential to offer a powerful new perspective for businesses across a variety of industries, delivering both productivity benefits and increased value from the data they collect. The UK has the opportunity to be at the leading edge of exploiting this emerging technology, and now is the time for investments to be made in developing the use cases and trial projects needed to kickstart our drone industry. “I envisage that the advantages of drone technology will be well established within the decade - not only for business purposes, but also for helping to protect our society, for example, through being used by the emergency services. There is a need for current UK drone regulation to advance to see the estimations in our report become a reality, but it’s positive to see the Government already taking proactive steps to address this with the draft Drones Bill. “In order to realise the full potential from drones, the immediate focus must be on developing society’s confidence in the technology to help drive acceptance and increase adoption. While drones are often currently viewed as more of a toy, by combining this emerging technology with the right business understanding and human insight there is a huge opportunity to help solve some of business and society’s most important problems.” Baroness Sugg, Aviation Minister said: “PwC’s research demonstrates the significant economic benefits that drone technology can bring to the UK.
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“And they are already improving people’s lives – helping the emergency services and keeping key national infrastructure like rail lines and power stations safe.
chosen from 149 proposals put forward. Each project will run for between two and three years, and be evaluated by the organisers and the FAA.
“Excitingly this is just the beginning, which is why Government is doing everything possible to harness the huge future potential through our Industrial Strategy and Drones Bill.”
The projects include:
Jonathan Gillham, economics director at PwC, added: “Drones could spark significant improvements in the UK economy. The rise in GDP and job creation from drones uptake are expected to be substantial, but productivity is likely to see the greatest gains.”
US COMMERCIAL UAV TESTS GET THE GO AHEAD The US authorities are to allow certain UAV applications to be tested in its airspace. These includes UAVs which can deliver defibrillators and monitor crops. Tests will be carried out via ten commercial UAV projects which have been specially selected. The ten were
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• delivery of medical supplies via UAVs - The City of Reno, Nevada, with Flirty; • security UAVs for airports - Memphis County Airport and FedEx; • UAVs helping to control mosquito populations - government agency in Florida; •
UAVs delivering food fast food - in North Carolina;
• UAV out-of-sight test flights - the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma with CNN. A number of high profile companies are involved in the projects as partners, but those close to the study said that a proposal from Amazon to conduct deliveries via UAVs was not accepted. It’s reckoned that some 90,000 UAV pilots are registered with the FAA and strict rules are in
place to prevent misuse. For example, you need a permit to fly a UAV, night-time flying is prohibited and beyond line-ofsight flight is also forbidden. A specific programme is in place to help public safety. Called the The UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) Integration Pilot Program, it focuses on how to integrate UAVs into the country’s airspace.
UK USERS FACE RESTRICTIONS UAV users in the UK also face possible restrictions on the use of their UAVs. Legislation was recently introduced to the House of Commons which recommends that users have to pass online safety tests and that UAVs should not be flown within 1km of an airport boundary. Also, that those people who own drones over 250g will have to register them with the Civil Aviation Authority and that none will be allowed to fly above 121.9m. The proposals are the result of a number of near-misses between UAVs and aircraft.
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EU AUTOMATION
HOW ZOOMORPHISM CAN TEACH US TO MAKE BETTER ROBOTS
Zoomorphism is the literary term used to describe the attribution of animal characteristics to inanimate objects. But, have you ever considered its potential to change the way humans innovate in the robotic sciences? Here, Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director at obsolete equipment supplier EU Automation, explains what zoomorphism can teach us about making better industrial robots The nation was touched when the groundbreaking BBC documentary, Spy in the Wild broadcast a group of Indian langur monkeys mourning the apparent death of a baby robot monkey that they had accepted into their group. The robot monkey was filming the goings-on of the group when it fell from a height and was taken out of action. As it lay still, a hush spread through the group and, one by one, the monkeys began to hug and console each other in a show of grief. This is a touching story that helped scientists learn about group behaviour in a new and novel way and it also demonstrates how engineers can create a robot so natural in its movements and mannerisms that a group of relatively intelligent animals could not tell it apart from their own. While humans are yet to overcome the same uncanny valley for human androids, there
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is a lot we can learn from the development of robots that exhibit animal characteristics. Three areas that are particularly interesting are grippers, limbs and artificial intelligence software.
GRIPPERS One of the biggest barriers to the adoption of industrial robots in picking and packing lines has been the use of adequate grippers that can pick objects of varying size, shape and weight quickly and accurately without damaging or deforming the product. This is especially important in the food and beverage sector, such as supermarket fulfilment centres, where soft hand-like grippers with fingers covered in tiny suckers are used to pick and pack items of food such as heads of lettuce without damaging the product. At the same time, the grippers are durable enough to handle glass bottles and heavier metal cans of soup continuously.
LIMBS Although there is a tendency to create robots after our own image, why create robots with human limitations? Modelling the limb movements of robots after those of arthropods, insects and four-legged mammals, such as dogs and cheetahs, offers engineers the ability to create robots that can traverse rough terrain quickly and efficiently, recovering more easily from falls and setbacks. While this is particularly useful for military applications, it also offers opportunities for industrial use in factories and plants where such robots could provide use in a more diverse range of applications, replacing the need for single-use robots such as automated guided vehicles (AGVs), cranes and forklifts.
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EU AUTOMATION
SOFTWARE AND AI Creating hardware that is capable of mimicking animal movements is only half the battle. Creating the software and algorithms that can mimic the subtle nuances of human and animal interaction is another. Michael Mendelson, a curriculum developer at the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute was quoted in Autodesk's Redshift publication explaining that, "Without flexible algorithms, computers can only do what we tell them. Many tasks, especially those involving perception, can’t be translated into rule-based instructions. In a manufacturing context, some of the more immediately interesting applications will involve perception". Although high resolution machine vision optical sensors exist already, making sense of the high volumes of data in fractions of a second will
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continue to improve areas such as quality control. Imagine a robot capable of seeing microscopic defects in an integrated circuit board, or a collaborative robot (CoBot) that can stop an accident when working alongside a human being by catching a falling object or swerving to avoid a collision without having to bring the factory to a halt. There are already companies leading the way in zoomorphism-based research
and development. Companies such as German automation giant Festo and US robotics expert Boston Dynamics are already pushing the boundaries of what robots can do, having developed examples of birds, sea creatures and mammals in robot form. By learning the right lessons and embracing what the natural world offers, engineers can go beyond the ordinary and create robots that illicit a truly emotional response.
EU Automation stocks and sells new, used, refurbished and obsolete industrial automation spares. Its global network of preferred partner warehouses, and wholly owned distribution centers, enables it to offer a unique service within the automation industry, spanning the entire globe. It provides worldwide express delivery on all products meaning it can supply any part, to any destination, at very short notice
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ABB
GOING PLASTICFREE - EXPLORING THE WORLD OF SUSTAINABLE FOOD PACKAGING Following the news that a Dutch supermarket has opened the world’s first plastic-free food aisle, Robert Glass, ABB’s global food and beverage communications manager, explores the alternatives to plastic food packaging While there’s been extensive talk about the environmental considerations of food manufacturing and packaging in the last 20 years, these conversations often focused on the carbon emissions and energy usage of food plants. However, since 2016, the world has increasingly grown to realize the environmental impact of plastics. Recently, Dutch supermarket chain Ekoplaza opened the world’s first plastic-free aisle in one of its stores in Amsterdam. This sent ripples through the food packaging industry, with environmental campaign groups calling for more supermarkets to follow the lead. Sian Sutherland, co-founder of one such group, A Plastic Planet, stated that, “for decades shoppers have been sold the lie that we can't live without plastic in food and drink. A plasticfree aisle dispels all that". With that, the gauntlet has been thrown and more supermarkets will likely follow the plastic-free
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trend in the coming months and years. Food manufacturers will need to rethink their food packaging materials to maximize their product’s market penetration in years to come. Fortunately for food manufacturers, this will not change their existing processes too significantly as it’s simply the material that changes. After all, a nut processing plant that swaps out plastic packaging for biopolymer alternatives won’t find that their packing and palletizing robot stops handling the product because the material has changed. However, making the change to sustainable packaging isn’t quite as simple as it sounds. The problem with plastics isn’t a new realization in the materials industry, so there are various alternatives available. From chicken feather plastics to liquid wood, there are numerous experimental biodegradable alternatives to plastic, but which are we most likely to see in wide usage in the next few years?
GLASS Glass has been a staple of the bottling industry for years, but plastic bottles have risen in popularity in the past few decades. While the price difference was initially the main driver for many manufacturers considering switching to plastics, it’s likely we’ll see industry shift back to glass in the coming years. Glass is advantageous because it is endlessly recyclable, meaning that it can be used, recycled and recovered repeatedly without a loss in quality or purity. This is in stark contrast to plastics, where the material fibers shorten with repeated recycling and become ineffective and unusable. With glass bottles, there’s also an element of consumer appeal. When global beverage brand Coca Cola brought back its glass bottles in 2014, it enjoyed an increase in sales.
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ABB
ALUMINUM According to the labor force survey, one third of European households only have a single occupant. This isn’t specific to European nations either; the US has experienced an increase in single person households since the 1920s. That’s why single-serve portions and ready meals have grown in popularity, bringing with them a rise in microwaveable plastic packaging. As a replacement for these plastic trays, food manufacturers can instead turn to aluminum. Like glass, aluminum is endlessly recyclable and its sustainability means it has a low cost of legislative compliance. Effectively, swapping to aluminum allows food manufacturers to remain as competitive as they were with plastics. In addition to this, aluminum is also suitable for use with most microwave ovens. While there are some issues with models designed prior to 1960, modern appliances can safely heat products in aluminum containers as long as food is handled sensibly by consumers. Aluminum tray manufacturer ADVANTA includes a useful guide to microwaving aluminum on its website.
BIOPOLYMERS While aluminum and glass are effective alternatives, some manufacturers will still require the malleability of plastics for their packaging. That’s why materials scientists have been actively developing biopolymer alternatives to serve as sustainable and safely biodegradable plastics. Most of these originate in by-products of other industries. Liquid wood is derived from lignin, a waste product created in
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paper processing, while other bioplastics are known to use casein from dairy production, or keratin derived from chicken feathers from poultry farms. But by far the most popular are plant-based polymers, typically from sugarcane or potato starch. The latter produces a material known as polylactic acid (PLA), which has many of the same properties as plastic but degrades far faster when exposed to nature, sometimes in as little as six months. Since the starch replaces the petroleum in the PLA, it produces less harmful chemicals during degradation. The launch of a plasticfree aisle reflects a wider consumer appetite to reduce the footprint and environmental impact of their food. To remain competitive in the future, food and beverage manufacturers should consider the same things. ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization with two clear value propositions: bringing electricity from any power plant to any plug and automating industries from natural resources to finished products. As title partner of Formula E, the fully electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 135,000 employees.
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HEAT
WILL THERE BE A ROBOTAX?
Steve Preston, Managing Director of UK based HEAT, the professional Services, IT and engineering recruitment specialists, wonders if there will there be a robotax in answer to increasing AI and automation trends? It is a debate that continues to rage and one seems to be universally accepted as fact – the robots are coming and they will take over many jobs. While there is no doubt that automation will impact the way in which we work and the jobs we do, the extent to which this will happen is perhaps not as extreme as many in the media would have us believe. Much of the speculation (and fear) that is being touted is a response to some of the research that has come out in recent months. Indeed, last December, the McKinsey Global Insight report indicated that by their reckoning around onethird (30%) of all jobs will be lost to automation in the US by 2020 – over 800 million worldwide. Against this backdrop, it should come as no surprise to learn that many people are concerned over what the
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rise in the use of automation will have on their jobs. It is also the reason why there are growing calls for a so-called ‘robotax’ to be introduced – an income tax on robots. But will such a tax benefit workers and reduce the number of roles lost to automation? The short answer is no. We need to be real-world practical when it comes to the ‘will robots replace jobs’ debate. Automation will only come into being for those roles that are by-and-large labour intensive and often repetitive. It will only be adopted if – and only if – the task being performed is made more productive and profitable by replacing a human with a machine. The key word here is ‘productive’. Robots are tools that increase productivity. They also make everyone else around them more productive and, as history has taught us time and time again, when technology replaces old methods new job roles are created. As Deloitte rightly stated in the 2018 Global Human Capital Trends report published in March this year, “technologies are most effective when they complement humans, not replace them.”
Interestingly, while highlighting the fact that automation in the workplace is inevitable, the Deloitte report seemed to suggest that the appetite among organisations would seem to counter the findings made by McKinsey. It stated that while 72% of business leaders see automation as important, only 31% feel ready to address it. But change is happening, albeit at a slightly slower pace than some might suggest; the urgency for a robotax to be introduced would appear premature, for now at least. There are unquestionably a number of job functions that will greatly benefit from automation. However, rather than replacing those humans already performing these roles on a like-for-like basis, they will simply change the nature the skills that will be needed – a redesign and a reskilling of the existing workforce will take place. In doing so, jobs won’t necessarily be lost and a robotax will have little (if any) impact on the rise of automation in the workplace. Organisations will increasingly identify those skills that are needed to take advantage of the new technology being applied. Those who don’t will lose ground to their competitors that do. Supply will, in effect, create its own demand. Deloitte beautifully summed it up when they said that the “broader aim is not just to eliminate routine tasks and cut costs, but to create value for customers and meaningful work for people.” They were right. But what do you think?
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_Industrie 4.0 Prepare for transformation of the worlds of production In order to make new working environments both highly productive and ergonomically beneficial for the labor force, is developing central key technologies: collaborative robots, mobile assistance systems, autonomously controlled vehicles and intelligently networked automation solutions that support humans in the work setting, easing the workload in a variety of ways. In collaboration with experts from diverse sectors, is now already implementing highly flexible, digitized manufacturing processes that will open up new opportunities in a competitive environment and lastingly change the way we work and produce. The factory of the future is here. Are you ready? Call us today for a free no obligation consultation T: 0121 505 9970 E:sales@kuka-robotics.co.uk
CIMCORP
ROBOTS ENSURE MAXIMUM FRESHNESS FOR KROGER’S DENVER DAIRY
A Cimcorp Group white paper. Cimcorp is a leading global supplier of turnkey automation for intralogistics, using advanced robotics and software technologies, and part of Murata Machinery
Kroger’s dairy plant in Denver uses robotic handling systems from Cimcorp
A robotic handling solution from Cimcorp processes orders fully automatically at Kroger’s Mountain View Foods dairy production facility in Denver, Colorado, fulfilling Kroger’s objectives of faster picking, higher accuracy and greater reliability. Kroger built the new facility in Denver – its first new fluid milk plant in more than 20 years – in 2014 in order to deliver exceptional quality and freshness to its customers. As well as meeting the company’s environmental requirements in terms of zero-waste-to-landfill and energy efficiency, the new facility had to fulfill Kroger’s objective of minimizing exposure to workrelated strain for its employees.
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CIMCORP
data, while the ControlLogix PLC manages the conveyors, stacking equipment, palletizer and strapping system. Additionally, Cimcorp ensured inter-platform communications and messaging to oversee the entire system and inventory reporting.
Cimcorp designed an end-to-end automated warehouse solution for Kroger
Instead of installing a traditional in-floor ‘drag-chain’ style conveyor – which requires workers to use long-handled hooks to pull 250lb (113kg) stacks of dairy cases onto the system – Kroger opted for Cimcorp’s solution, based on robots that operate from overhead gantries. Cimcorp designed an end-to-end automated warehouse solution for the Denver site, with cases of product picked according to Kroger’s specified sequence at one end of the facility and then palletized for loading into delivery trucks at the other – allowing for significant storage buffering in between. The heart of the solution is Cimcorp’s MultiPick, a robotic storage, handling and order processing system. With four robots operating from overhead gantries, the MultiPick system at Kroger can store up to 36,000 crates and is able to pick 32,000 crates daily. The 215,000-squarefoot (almost 20,000m2) Mountain View Foods plant processes fresh conventional and organic milk in half-gallon and gallon containers, as well as packaging aseptically processed milk, creams and juices in quart-sized and smaller bottles. The MultiPick robots handle the products in plastic dairy crates – either singly or in stacks – moving the inventory to storage positions on the floor until required for order fulfillment. Orders are then picked by the robots, palletized and banded before being loaded into delivery vehicles.
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Cimcorp’s scope of supply also included case stackers, manual in-feed stations and inbound and outbound conveyor systems. All the hardware is seamlessly integrated with the complete suite of software needed to operate the facility and is controlled and monitored through Cimcorp’s warehouse management system (WMS). The WMS also controls order processing, gantry movements, stack transport and storage facility
Cimcorp’s robotic solution means faster material handling, resulting in shorter lead times, longer shelf life and maximum product freshness. Other benefits include precise control of the entire material flow, enhanced order accuracy, flexible use of space, easy cleaning and labor savings. The solution also enables the collection of vast amounts of data to help in the analysis of dispatch operations and production planning, as well as providing Kroger with 100% traceability, a crucial factor in the perishable products sector. Other brands in the food and beverage industry worldwide using Cimcorp’s robotic automation include Arla, Colruyt, Eroski, Fazer, Grupo Bimbo, Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe, Mercadona, Nortura, Olvi, Sinebrychoff (Carlsberg), The Glenmore Distillery, Tuko Logistics Cooperative and Valio.
Robotic handling means shorter lead times, longer shelf life and maximum product freshness
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ROBOPRO BUSINESS
BUSINESS SOFT ROBOTICS RAISES $20M IN OVERSUBSCRIBED FUNDING ROUND Soft Robotics (Cambridge, Mass) has raised $20m in an oversubscribed funding round. The new investors include Scale Venture Partners, Calibrate Ventures, Honeywell Ventures, Tekfen Ventures and Yamaha Motor Co, with Hyperplane Venture Capital leading the round.
ABB, a leader in robotics and industrial automation, sees the investment in Soft Robotics as part of ABB's overall strategy to shape the future of industrial digitalization and the automated warehouse.
Existing investors include Material Impact, ABB Technology Ventures, Taylor Farms Ventures and Haiyin Capital.
This funding round comes at a pivotal time in Soft Robotics' growth. Having proven the economic benefit and scalability of the technology, the company is today at a critical moment of accelerating its commercial penetration plans and new product roadmap.
Joining the Board of Directors will be Rory O’Driscoll from Scale Venture Partners and Kevin Dunlap from Calibrate Ventures. Soft Robotics unlocks robotic automation for large, meaningful markets and labor starved industries such as food and beverage, advanced manufacturing and e-commerce. Soft Robotics CEO Carl Vause said: “We’re proud of the team’s work to date to scale up the Soft Robotics’ technology platform and gain significant commercial traction across our customer verticals. We’ve been able to address some of our customers’ largest supply chain and automation challenges, from picking and packing fresh produce and raw proteins, to bin picking and retail order fulfillment.”
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with their agile gripper is a linchpin of the automated warehouse. In an era of increasingly high mix, low volume production cycles coupled with the need for pain-free automation configurability, we are also extremely excited about the direction Soft Robotics is taking their core technology with SuperPick, allowing ABB arms to do more with less training, greater accuracy and increasing autonomy."
Head of Ventures at ABB Group Grant Allen said: "We saw early on that the Soft Robotics solution is a paradigm shift in the way our machines interact with their environment, especially in their ability to grasp deformable, delicate, binned or otherwise complex items. As a leader in industrial manipulation with over 300,000 robots deployed, ABB sees a huge number of amplifying automation solutions but the intuitive control software Soft Robotics has created combined
Partner at Scale Venture Partners Rory O'Driscoll added: "As investors we aim to match innovative technologies with major, unmet market needs. The $40B industrial automation market is large and growing, but largely limited to industries like automotive and semiconductor. Existing rigid robotic technology just doesn't work for industries such as food and beverage or e-commerce, because of the variability of the product and the unstructured nature of the environment. With so many industries facing mounting pressure to automate, we aren't surprised that there has been such rapid adoption of Soft Robotics' technology."
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ROBOPRO BUSINESS
TERADYNE ACQUIRES MOBILE INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS FOR $148M CASH
Teradyne (NYSE:TER) has acquired Denmark-based Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) for €121m ($148m cash). A further €101m ($124m) will be payable if certain performance targets are met from now until 2020. MiR is a leading supplier of collaborative autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for industrial applications. Teradyne is a leading supplier of automation equipment for test and industrial applications. It already owns Universal Robots, a Danish manufacturer of smaller flexible industrial collaborative robot arms. The autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) market is an emerging category within the approximately $1.1bn logistics systems segment of the professional services robot market and is expected to grow rapidly in the years ahead.
enterprises to incrementally automate their operations without the need for specialty staff or a re-layout of their existing workflow. This, combined with a fast return on investment, opens a vast new automation market. Following the path proven with Universal Robots, we expect to leverage Teradyne’s global capabilities to expand MiR’s reach.”
MiR develops and markets some of the industry’s most advanced line of collaborative and safe autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that quickly, easily, and cost-effectively manage internal logistics, freeing employees for higher-value activities. Hundreds of mid-sized through large multinational manufacturers have installed MiR’s innovative robots.
MiR was profitable in 2017 with annual revenue of $12 million USD, more than triple 2016 revenues and had Q1’18 sales of $5 million.
It has quickly established a global distribution network in more than 40 countries, with regional offices in New York, San Diego, Singapore, Dortmund, Barcelona and Shanghai. MiR has grown quickly since its founding in 2013, with sales increasing fivefold from 2015 to 2016, and with a tripling in revenue from 2016 to 2017.
MiR CEO Thomas Visti said: “Joining Teradyne allows us to advance our engineering and development investments to provide greater value to our customers and further expand our market leadership in industrial autonomous mobile robots. Teradyne’s worldwide reach, world-class engineering and support capabilities, financial strength and proven model for leveraging those strengths will help us grow in new and existing markets worldwide.” CSO and founder of MiR Niels Jul Jacobsen said: “My main focus is to get our mobile robots out to the entire world. With Teradyne as the owner, we will have strong backing to ensure MiR’s continued growth in the global market.”
Teradyne Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) is used to test semiconductors, wireless products, data storage and complex electronic systems, which serve consumer, communications, industrial and government customers. Its Industrial Automation products include collaborative robots used by global manufacturing and light industrial customers to improve quality and increase manufacturing efficiency. In 2017, Teradyne had revenue of $2.14bn and currently employs approximately 4,500 people worldwide.
President and CEO of Teradyne Mark Jagiela said: “We are excited to have MiR join Teradyne’s widening portfolio of advanced, intelligent, automation products. MiR is the market leader in the nascent, but fast growing market for collaborative autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). Like Universal Robots’ collaborative robots, MiR collaborative AMRs lower the barrier for both large and small
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ROBOPRO BUSINESS
NEW FUNDING SERVICE FOR COMPANIES WAITING ON PENDING R&D TAX CLAIMS ArchOver, the P2P business lending platform, has launched a new service which will help provide finance for companies waiting for their UK R&D tax claims to be settled. The service, called The Research & Development Advance (RDA), is designed to help companies with funding advances of over £100,000. To qualify to get funding for their pending R&D tax credit, a company has had to have over two years of successful claims.
ArchOver explained that only 1.67 per cent of national income is currently being spent on R&D compared to an average of over 2 per cent across the EU. Government initiatives have been put in place to encourage further investment in innovation in the UK. Under the current system, UK businesses can claim cash repayments of up to 33 per cent of their R&D expenditure, but it can take up to six months to receive payment from HMRC.
Dent continued: “ArchOver is committed to unlocking access to capital while providing new opportunities for investors. With the RDA service, businesses no longer need to worry about having to wait for months to be reimbursed for R&D, which means they can start putting their investment plans into action immediately. That’s great news for individual businesses, and for the UK economy generally.”
This is the first kind of service from a P2P lender said ArchOver. Funds are raised via the ArchOver community of lenders. CEO of ArchOver Angus Dent: “Investment in research and development is crucial not only to individual businesses, but to the wider economy as well. While the government deserves praise for unlocking cash for R&D, the long wait for reimbursement puts this funding out of reach for many of the businesses that stand to benefit most.”
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AUTONOMOUS DRIVING
AUTONOMOUS DRIVING
- a book detailing a long drive ahead for humankind
Writing a book about technical change within a particular sector is fraught with difficulties, mainly because things move on with such speed, that you can quickly be behind the curve and your work reduced to a historical text.
The authors’ position on the subject is clear from the outset: “We...are euphoric and convinced of this technology’s potential. But we have doubts and concerns as well, which are also expressed in this book.”
So the authors of the just published Autonomous Driving (Emerald Publishing) make this point in their preface. Andreas Herrmann, Walter Brenner and Rupert Stadler righty say: “Writing a book about autonomous driving is quite a challenge, because new findings on the subject - often contradictory - are appearing every day.”
The book is made up of ten parts, ranging from evolutions and revolutions in mobility, through to the impact on companies and society, and what needs to be done. The latter section includes an agenda for the auto industry and a tenpoint plan for governments.
Subtitled How the Driverless Revolution will Change the World, this book is an attempt to illustrate the impact that driverless technology will have around the globe. The author’s are not saying if this will happen, but when.
RESONATES And at over 400 pages, it makes a good attempt to get to grips with what is a hugely important and complex subject. The backdrop to all this is based on a simple question: when will the world be ready for the idea of vehicles that can drive themselves, without the need for a human driver to be in-situ? The technology exists for this to happen. What we now need to see is whether the world’s governments can convince themselves that the benefits outweigh the risks.
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JUDGED Any book of this type has to be judged on how well it understands its subject matter and how well it engages its readers. On the subject matter is scores top marks - for anyone interested in this area, it’s recommended reading. On engagement, although it is slightly dry at times with a style suited to a doctoral thesis, it does manage to maintain the reader’s interest and raise the key issues with the help of leading industry, and academic experts. The Acknowledgements section takes up a good four pages.
The authors recognise this fact themselves with the admission that their book is “...more like the collected journals of an expedition that is not yet completed.” On a mischievous level, I would have also liked to have seen opinions from Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, the ex-Top Gear trio, who are car industry experts!
2040 But for any interested party, this is a must read book. It won’t keep you up at night, unable to put it down, but it will make you think, especially the book’s Epilogue which presents a view of the world in 2040 when “... Three types of autonomous vehicle are commonly found on City streets: robo-cars, buses and multi-purpose cars.” This small endpiece presents a possible scenario just over 20 years from now. Whether they have got it right, or wrong, won’t become evident for some years to come, but the authors are right about one thing, change is definitely coming.
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OMRON
OMRON TO INTRODUCE NEW i4 SCARA PRODUCT FAMILY Top of the line SCARA in speed and precision is designed for easy integration into the production line with predictive maintenance functions
Omron Corporation (Headquarters: Kyoto, Japan. President and CEO: Yoshihito Yamada), a global leader in automation technology, announced at Automatica, the leading exhibition for smart automation and robotics, that it will be introducing a new line of SCARA robots, boasting sleek design and enhanced performance. Named the “i4,” the new generation of SCARA robot will save space during installation, and allow easier configuration into existing production lines. The i4 is fast, repeatable, easy to operate and flexible for multiple configurations and applications. Manufacturers around the world are facing major challenges in having to produce a high mix low volume of products and shorter product life cycles while dealing with labor shortage issues. Therefore, manufacturing companies must maintain flexibility in quick changeovers and production line layout changes. They are also challenged by sudden
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stops, and more than ever need to meet the demands of high accuracy and speed during assembly processes. To meet these challenges, the i4 line features better communication through EtherCAT, enabling synchronization between other automation devices. This facilitates advanced assembly, inserting and mounting processes that require high accuracy and demanding throughput, as well as ensured quality control with vision integration. Also, i4 visualizes working data and supervises its status with the world’s first built-in signals for preventive maintenance, allowing users to mitigate unplanned downtime. In keeping with Omron’s mission to innovate based on social need like the above, the features of the i4 makes it possible for this new SCARA line to meet the demands of mass customization, allowing manufacturers to produce high mixes of products at low volume to offer a wider array of goods to people.
Main Features 1. Fast and Easy Installation The compact controller (iCS) is fully integrated into a stylized base, minimizing footprint and less wiring with no flyover cable, and making the i4 effortless to install. The i4 also has the world’s first design of EtherCAT module, connected directly on the robot controller and arm, which allows users more flexibility in configuring the equipment. The i4 series will run on interactive software that will make it easier to users to program and use the robots. 2. No Unpredicted Downtime The i4 is the world’s first SCARA robot with a builtin display designed to simplify troubleshooting and predictive maintenance. The i4 communicates with users to reduce unscheduled downtime, using a light ring and display embedded into the base that indicates the right operations to perform at the right times. The light rings serve as the world’s first robot “health” lighting indicator, informing users of its current mode, such as, “warranty update required.” With the new i4, manual checks and maintenance plans are no longer necessary, which can save opportunity loss.
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OMRON
3. High-speed and High-accuracy Omron’s new i4 has EtherCAT connectivity, which allows the i4 robots to easily communicate with other equipment in the production line. By synchronizing the i4 with Omron’s devices such as controllers, vision sensors and servo motors, customers will benefit by establishing the most optimal production line with advanced speed and accuracy. This will enable complex assembly tasks that were not possible before. 4. Satisfying Flexibility Needs The i4 SCARA family will meet various customer needs, optimizing the machine cost and overall performance and enable more flexible line expansions. In spring 2019, Omron will introduce the first three models: the i4-650, i4750 and i4-850, which have an arm reach of 650mm, 750mm and 850mm, respectively.
The payload can hold up to 15kg, which is three times heavier than before. Customers also have a choice of two different Z-axis strokes (210mm and 410mm) for each robot. Special models will include the IP65, Clean Room ISO 4 (Class 10), ESD and models that use H1 grease – meeting the specific needs of various industries and applications. The i4 will also come with an inverted model with the same sophisticated design.
initiative, which aims to innovate the manufacturing environment. By introducing the new SCARA family, Omron continues to pursue remarkable enhancements in laborsaving and productivity for the manufacturing industry. industrial.omron.eu.
The launch of the i4 series is part of a larger Omron strategic concept called the “innovative-Automation!”
THE i4 IS THE WORLD’S FIRST SCARA ROBOT WITH A BUILT-IN DISPLAY DESIGNED TO SIMPLIFY TROUBLESHOOTING AND PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE.
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WEST OF ENGL AND ROBOTICS NETWORK
WEST OF ENGLAND ROBOTICS NETWORK LAUNCHED The West of England Robotics Network has just been officially launched
It sets out to be an open access, community network for everyone interested in researching, developing and using robotics technologies, products and services. The Network is also hoping that members will help shape and enable future opportunities, and ensure activities are highly relevant and responsive to the needs of of the group. Recent events included the Joint Industry and Robotics Doctoral Training Symposium which took place on Tuesday 5th June. It was organised by Bristol Robotics Laboratory’s EPSRC funded Farscope Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT), along with the other two ESPRC Centres for Doctoral Training in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (AIMS, University of Oxford and the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics). Attendees heard two-minute pitches from 60+ PhD students about of their research. Also a Robotics Network meeting, in association with EEF - The Manufacturers’ Organisation) took place on Wednesday 20th June at Engineers House, Clifton Down, Bristol. The focus of the meeting was Design for Manufacture and the main speaker was Sebastian Conran (internationally renowned designer and Co-
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founder & CEO of Bristol based Consequential Robotics). Other speakers included Alison Wilmot (West of England Robotics Network Co-ordinator) and Jim Davidson (South West Regional Director, EEF). The West of England Robotics Network is also supporting an event on Wednesday 25th July at M-Shed, Bristol (18.00 – 19.30), as part of the 19th Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems (TAROS) Conference, which is being organised by Bristol Robotics Laboratory.
The keynote speaker will be Dr Brian Scassellati, Professor of Computer Science, Cognitive Science, and Mechanical Engineering & Director, NSF Expedition on Socially Assistive Robotics, Yale University. Other speakers include Dr Praminda Caleb-Solly and Prof Manuel Guiliani. In addition, the Network has been working with Marie Emerson, Knowledge Transfer Manager for Robotics at the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) to host an information day and drop-in session for start-ups and local businesses to introduce wwInnovate UK and KTN robotics initiatives. This event will take place on Wednesday 5th September at Bristol Robotics Laboratory (10.00 – 15.00). Further West of England Robotics Network events are planned for: 19th September (Autonomous Vehicles), 24th October (Robot Ethics), 21st November (Assisted Living), and 19th December (Christmas drinks). Anyone interested in hosting a network meeting or site visit should speak to Alison Wilmot, West of England Robotics Network Co-ordinator.
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TM ROBOTICS
COBOTS AND INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS Choose the Right Robot for the Job
Automating manufacturing processes is a complex issue, with no one-size-fits-all solution. Robots range from insect-like micro-robots to industrial robots powerful enough to move automotive chassis or airplanes. Toward the lower end of the spectrum is a class of robots whose manufacturers have coined the term “collaborative robots” (or “cobots”) because the robots are designed to share a workspace with human workers. For many small and mid-sized companies, these cobots have helped bring the entry point for automation within range, allowing them to finally gain some of the competitive advantages of automation that had previously only been achievable for larger manufacturers. While cobots can’t offer all the benefits of full industrial automation, they can be an effective first step. Manufacturers need to explore all of their robotic options, however, and understand the pros and cons of different types of automation in order to make the best long-term decision. As with any major business decision, even equipment that appears to be low-risk and low-
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cost can become expensive when it doesn’t perform as expected. Cobots and Industrial Robots Compared The term cobot has gained extensive visibility, but it is important to recognize that the industry as a whole does not acknowledge the concept of collaborative robots. Instead, the industry has established an industrial safety standard that defines collaborative applications using robots. This is an important distinction, as new robotics implementers may assume that any cobot is automatically safe for use beside humans, but that can only be determined by a risk assessment. (For the sake of clarity in this document, the term “cobot” will be used to reduce confusion in comparing these smaller devices to industrial robots.) Cobots Cobots are designed to be used within a defined collaborative workspace with human workers, and typically have some built-in safety mechanisms to support this use. Cobots typically fulfil repetitive or injury-prone tasks
such as machine tending or palletizing while the human worker performs higher-value upstream or downstream manual tasks. Cobots mimic human actions and carry out tasks at similar or slower speeds, with payload and reach that are also similar to a human’s. Industrial Robots Industrial robots are automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulators that are programmable in three or more axes, and that may be fixed in place or mobile. They can automate an extremely broad range of processes. Multiple robots can be integrated for fully automated production lines that remove human operators entirely from unsafe environments and provide significant ROI for high-volume processes. Improvements in safety technologies are now allowing industrial robots to be used in collaborative operations, providing many of the same benefits as a cobot along with an increase in payload and speed and reduction in cost for traditional automation. New programming interfaces are highly intuitive and simple to learn and use.
Cobot Pros
Cobot Cons
Can typically share a workspace with employees
Risk assessment is required to define need for safety measures, and customers can be surprised by the need for expensive fencing if not prepared in advance
If no safety cell is required, initial cost of integration and production floor disruption are reduced
Safety precautions can result in very low operating speeds or multiple stops if human is detected in work cell. Other required safety precautions can significantly increase integration costs
Relatively simple to program and integrate
Limited reach, payload, speed and accuracy
ROI typically in less than a year
Collaborative work cells mean operators are still required
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TM ROBOTICS
Industrial Robot Pros
Industrial Robot Cons
Much faster and more accurate than a human, even with high payload
High speeds and throughput may not be appropriate for low-volume processes
Fully automated production lines can handle applications that are not conducive to humans at speed, removing operators from unsafe or unclean environments
Fixed work cells may require changes to production floor layout
Programming is intuitive and powerful, with extensive integration options
More difficult to change processes, which can add costs if outside resources are required
ROI is defined and usually achieved in 12-18 months
May require specialized personnel or outside resources to set up, program and maintain
Can be implemented in collaborative applications with appropriate risk assessment
Robot can be similar in initial cost to cobot, but if a safety cell is required, it adds system integration costs
Three Collaborative Robot Misconceptions Collaborative robots have captured excitement based on their promised advantages, but those can also be based on common misconceptions that are important to understand. 1. Cobots are the only collaborative robots. While vendors are eager to claim the term “collaborative robots,” the robots themselves aren’t collaborative; it’s the application that defines the ability for human and machine to collaborate. Almost any robot is capable of collaborative operation with the appropriate safety mechanisms in place. In February 2016, the technical standard ISO/TS 15066 was published to provide safety guidelines for the use of robots in collaborative applications. The standard explains collaborative techniques and provides force guidelines, maximum allowable robot power and speed, and design criteria for robot and robot tool manufacturers. 2. Cobots can always work without safety caging. Every automated application where humans are present requires a risk assessment, and collaborative applications require a range of safety mechanisms to keep human workers safe. Cobot customers are often unhappily surprised to find that their application requires a safety cage, which can make the cobot cost similar to an industrial robot without
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the additional capabilities. Some applications require force limiters or reduced robot speed, which limits the robot’s capabilities and output. Still others use sensors, cameras or light curtains to sense when a human enters the robot’s workspace, with safety software that stops or slows the robot until the human moves safely out of range and restarts the robot. All of these requirements add cost and reduce output on what was initially intended to be a low-cost, low-risk cobot investment. If an accurate safety assessment is made up front, buyers can more effectively choose the robotic capabilities that are most important for their application—and often save time and money while better meeting their automation requirements. 3. Cobots operate faster and are more productive than human workers. Because cobots are intended to work safely alongside humans, they are designed to manage processes at the same or slower speeds than human workers, with about the same throughput. Beyond safety, another reason for slower operation is the programming approach that most cobots use, in which an operator moves the robot arm in human-like motions and enters way points for each stop or action. The programming is simple, but it incorporates inefficient motion into the program. In contrast, industrial robots calculate all movement internally for, offering higher speeds and smoother, more efficient motion. Where cobots
may increase output over manual processes is by running for longer shifts. However, because they’re designed to be collaborative, they typically don’t eliminate the need for human workers in those additional shifts, unlike industrial robots which can run full processes in lights-out operation without human workers. Sample Application: Injection Molding Injection molding machine tending is a common application for robotics. In this example, a collaborative robot is used much like a human would be to load or unload an injection molding machine in a repetitive process. The robot takes care of the repetitive part of the operation, leaving the operator to handle the complex part of the operation (in automation terms), such as inspection. The robot’s function is humanoid, even to the point of opening machine doors and pressing the same buttons a human operator would, so speeds and payloads are low. For a manufacturer of low-volume, highly changeable parts, the cobot can be an ideal automation solution, using a small injection molding machine for low production volumes of a few parts per minute. At a reasonably low cost, the manufacturer gains the advantages of highly repeatable processes and consistent output. And at low speeds, a risk assessment is likely to allow for close collaboration with human workers on upstream or downstream processes without expensive safety guarding. ROI is dependent on how much of a
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TM ROBOTICS
human worker’s processes can be taken on by the cobot. It's not uncommon for a cobot to replace the equivalent of half a worker through a couple of workers. The challenge for the manufacturer is when production volumes increase for a successful product line, requiring a significant increase in speed and accuracy and potentially interaction with other automated processes, or when high rigidity is required, such as with heavier payloads. For highvolume production, an industrial robot would be integrated into an injection molding line with an emphasis on productivity and cost-efficiency. A mediumsized six-axis or Cartesian robot unloads the molding machine to a conveyor or single-axis Cartesian, which passes the part onto a SCARA or six-axis robot to carry out another function such as quality control or assembly. A fully guarded system would allow significantly higher cycle times of up to 120 parts per minute, for an output of more
than 63 million parts per year running three mostly unattended shifts. ROI in this case becomes much more defined, even before taking into account safety, work environment, and quality and consistency of the final product. Examine the Options and Choose the Right Robot for the Job For the manufacturer, it may be that a cobot is an ideal first step towards automated processes. If the risk assessment doesn’t require safety guarding, the initial investment is low and employees gain experience and familiarity with robotic systems. But the approach must take into account the likelihood of the application growing past the cobot’s abilities. If multiple cobots are required, the cost of the equipment (and the additional human workers) will quickly exceed the cost of an industrial robot—without the additional advantages of speed and unattended production. While cobots tout a low entry
cost, making manufacturers feel like they can’t make a wrong decision, not having all the facts can cause expensive missteps. Questions to Ask before Automating •
What is your automation goal (reduce employees on production lines, increase output, improve quality, etc.)?
•
Is your environment a safe and desirable place for human workers?
•
Are your processes fixed or highly changeable?
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Do you want to support manual processes or automate a complete manufacturing line?
•
How much space do you have for automation equipment?
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What are your scalability requirements to support long-term growth?
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What are your payload, reach, accuracy, and cycle time requirements?
TM Robotics MU J-A 2018.qxp_MU 14/06/2018 16:47 Page 1
SCARA & 6-AXIS ROBOTS FROM
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T: (+44) 01707 290 370 E: sales@tmrobotics.co.uk
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Next Generation Robotics Fast. Open. Intuitive. Safe.
Our Automatica highlights: www.keba.com/automatica
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One control for all robots… KeMotion FlexCore – open, customizable, high-powered A powerful open control system for individualists.
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A safe wireless handheld terminal with intuitive teach-in.
KEBA AG Headquarter Gewerbepark Urfahr, 4041 Linz/Austria Phone: +43 732 7090-23399, Fax: +43 732 730910 gsb@keba.com
www.keba.com/automatica
A compact turnkey controller is the complete solution for all robot types.
ROBOPRO IN FOCUS
ROBOPRO SPOTLIGHT We bring a selection of featured companies into the spotlight for you
Cone Drive Tel: 1-888-994-2663 Technical Support: ae@conedrive.com Customer Service: orders@conedrive.com Web: www.conedrive.com
Cone Drive is a world leader in precision motion control technology. We work with our customers every step of the way - from design specifications to the final solution - to create highly precise and specific products that keep our customers' technology at the forefront of their industry. Cone Drive offers dedicated engineering support, unique solutions, and innovative technology across a breadth of industries and products to drive your company forward. Cone Drive Harmonic Solutions (also known as strain wave gearing) offer the ultimate in precision motion control technology. Our product range includes gearheads and component sets designed to exceed the most demanding motion control applications. Cone Drive delivers customer value with fast lead-times, dedicated global support, ability to effectively deliver engineered specials and product ratings that meet or exceed the competition. Cone Drive looks forward to enabling your company to meet and exceed your growth plans.
ABB Robotics offers a wide range of robotic solutions, integrated with the latest advances in robotic technology, for the entire scope of the manufacturing industry. From automotive and aerospace through to food and plastics production, all sectors can benefit from the added value that a robotic solution brings to the shop floor. Coupled with forward-thinking business initiatives and incremental adoption of digitalisation, the factories of today can become the smart factories of tomorrow.
ABB Robotics Tel: +44(0)1908 350300 Email: robotics@gb.abb.com Web: www.abb.com/robotics
A global race to achieve advanced automation has begun. Robots are at the centre of this race and support both large-scale OEMs and global enterprises through to mid-sized suppliers and micro-sized local start- ups. Whatever the business size or location, our robots can bring the same benefits of reliable production, greater productivity, improved precision and flexibility. Our robotic solutions span from large-scale high payload robots suitable for loading and unloading heavy parts, through to smaller collaborative robots which can be easily integrated to assemble components safely alongside skilled workers. We also support manufacturers wishing to fully embrace the digital revolution with our cross-industry digital capability ABB Ability™. This includes Connected Services which, via the MyRobotApp, unlocks a world of possibilities in predictive, proactive and immediate robot support.
LMI Technologies Tel: +1 604 636 1011 Email: contact@lmi3d.com
At LMI Technologies we work to advance 3D measurement with smart sensor technology. Our award-winning, FactorySmartŽ sensors improve the quality and efficiency of factory production by providing fast, accurate, reliable inspection solutions that leverage smart 3D technologies. Unlike contact based measurement or 2D vision, our product removes complexity and dramatically reduces implementation cost. To learn more about how LMI’s inspection solutions can benefit your business, we invite you to contact us at contact@lmi3d.com or visit us at www.lmi3d.com to explore the possibilities of smart 3D technology.
Web: www.lmi3d.com
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ROBOPRO IN FOCUS
Stäubli UK Ltd W: www.staubli.com/en-us
Xilinx W: www.xilinx.com
Maxon Precision Motor Tel: +1 508-677-0520 Email: info@maxonmotorusa.com Web: www.maxonmotorusa.com Adress: maxon precision motors, inc.
The emergence of Industry 4.0 and the related upswing in automation have both had a decisive impact on the industrial sector and its applications. To anticipate industry needs, Stäubli designs a unique range of industrial and collaborative robots that offer a host of advantages: compact size, broad work envelopes, high speed, precision, ability to withstand all types of environments, and above all, the flexibility to adapt to a wide variety of tasks. Our fast and precise TX2 robots are the next generation of 6-axis robotic arms. This new line of robots is redefining performance with an ideal combination of speed, rigidity, size and precision. These collaborative robots have unique features that make them adaptable to all industries, including sensitive and complex environments; functions like Safe Speed, Safe Stop, and Safe Zone pave the way for this new era in robotics. With TX2, nothing stands in the way of man-machine collaboration.
Xilinx is the leading provider of All Programmable semiconductor products, including FPGAs, SoCs, MPSoCs, RFSoCs, and 3D ICs. Xilinx uniquely enables applications that are both software-defined and hardware optimized – powering industry advancements in Cloud Computing, 5G Wireless, Embedded Vision, and Industrial IoT. Rising demand for multi-axis, vision-guided, safe, secure, and intelligent robotics are driving interest in scalable embedded systems. Xilinx All Programmable SoCs and MPSoCs enable parallel, deterministic control guided by real-time analytics that offload the processors from computationally intensive and time-critical operations leaving bandwidth for other tasks. This distinctive capability offers designers of robotic systems more degrees of freedom than traditional approaches and creates a flexible, complementary division of labour between previously disconnected hardware and software domains.
Maxon motor develops and builds precision drive systems. Our DC motors with ironless windings are among the best in the world. They are used wherever requirements are demanding and engineers cannot afford compromise: maxon motors drive NASA's Mars rovers and are found in countless applications around the globe. They’re in medical technology, robotics, aerospace & defense, test and measurement, Industrial automation and assembly. maxon not only provides DC brush and brushless motors, gearheads, encoders and controllers but with over 50 years of experience in drive technology, we offer our extensive know-how and work closely with engineers to help create the right system solution for their high-tech innovations. Whatever your requirements may be, we are happy to be of assistance with our global sales network, six production sites, and more than 2000 employees worldwide.
101 Waldron Road, Fall River, MA 02720 USA
Keba Tel: +43 732 7090- 23399 Email: gsb@keba.com Web: www.keba.com Adress: KEBA AG Headquarters, Gewerbepark Urfahr, 4041 Linz/Austria
Founded in 1968, KEBA AG is an internationally successful electronics company based in Linz/Austria with subsidiaries around the world. In line with its credo, “Automation by innovation”, KEBA has been developing and producing inventive, topquality automation solutions for industrial, banking, services and energy automation branches. Indeed, as a result of competence, experience and courage, KEBA is the technology and innovation leader in its market segments. Extensive development and production expertise represents a guarantee for the highest quality. Robotics of the next generation: The KEBA portfolio in the area of robotics ranges from turnkey robotics (KeMotion) and safety solutions (KeSafe) to innovative mobile operating solutions (KeTop) and an open control platform (KeMotion FlexCore), depending on the requirements of the customer. KeDrive for Motion is the fast, scalable and compact all-in-one-system. The basis for KEBA robotics solutions is more than 50 years of experience on the market and profound application knowhow. 100 % of development and production takes place in house at KEBA. If you would like to know more about how KEBA can help you with smart, innovative and flexible robotics solutions, please contact us.
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LMI TECHNOLOGIES
SUMMARY: EDGE COMPUTING AND 3D SMART SENSORS FOR IIoT LMI Technologies (Vancouver, Canada), a leading developer of 3D scanning and inspection solutions, explains how 3D smart sensors play a vital role in delivering edge capability to interconnected factory systems In today’s lean manufacturing processes, 3D smart sensors are increasingly being used to perform computing at the “edge” of the factory network. “Edge computing” is a fundamental driver of smart factories that can operate seamlessly within the interconnected systems of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Edge devices such as 3D smart sensors reduce data loads and report meaningful, high-level results that supply e-commerce systems with realtime information. This approach allows industrial organizations to analyze essential data faster by processing machine-based data closer to the source.
BENEFITS FOR INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION Leaner Manufacturing Edge computing dramatically reduces system complexity by providing customization of production modes. As a result, small-quantity and multi-batch modes can replace high-volume manufacturing. Multi-model and batch methods are leaner and yield higher quality
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products, with fewer errors, less downtime due to cell and tooling changeover, as well as reduced waste. Also, flexible adjustments to production plans and rapid deployment of new processes and models offer significant cost benefits to smart manufacturers. Energy and Cost Efficiency Edge computing decreases energy consumption and maintenance costs while increasing system reliability.
THE ROLE OF 3D SMART SENSORS IN EDGE COMPUTING Smart sensors are a vital component of edge systems, providing a range of abilities that improve productivity in the factory. Here are some of the ways these sensors are helping drive IIoT today. Smaller Form Factor Production systems now require smaller and more autonomous edge devices (i.e., smart) that can run for extended periods of continuous use at the perimeter of the network, where diagnostic and monitoring resources are scarce. Solely from a hardware perspective, compact smart sensors increase ease of system integration and
device usage––both beneficial to edge system deployment. Network Connectivity On top of being compact and ruggedly constructed, edge devices need to be network aware. Smart sensors address this need by having an IP address and support network communication protocols that enable direct communication with other factory equipment such as robots and PLCs, or for the transfer of measurement data to factory databases. In a network-enabled smart sensor that digitizes and measures a target object, smaller packets of high-level data are communicated to the cloud at select intervals–– rather than transferring raw scan data continuously for processing elsewhere. This capability alleviates pressure on network connectivity and minimizes latency and bottlenecking, all by providing distributed processing on the edge of the factory network. Software Configuration and maintenance of many production systems leveraging smart sensor technologies can lead to network management challenges. This challenge is why edge computing requires all devices in the network
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LMI TECHNOLOGIES
CLOUD VS. EDGE COMPUTING To illustrate the difference between cloud and edge systems, consider the example in Fig. 1. In the cloud paradigm (left), a camera sends a photo of a vehicle with a license plate to a server, and the server then reads the plate number. The server is responsible for data processing. In the edge paradigm (right), the camera reads the license plate number, then sends only the plate number to the server for identification. The camera is processing the data at the edge.
be handled in a uniform manner––ideally as a fully automated process controlled with built-in software. In a smart paradigm, the edge device (in this case a sensor) cannot only acquire data but process data and communicate control decisions to factory equipment––directly from the edge, without having to send data back to a centralized location or local computer racks. The software allows smart sensors to carry out computing and storage onboard so that select applications can be executed locally at very high speeds. Distributed and Scalable Network Architecture Edge computing relies on the seamless cooperation of distributed peers. There is no centralized controller anymore; instead, a collection of devices acting independently yet communicating cooperatively. Smart sensor networks built on a distributed architecture (Fig. 3) facilitate scalability and empower process engineers to develop specific measurement and control solutions for each manufacturing cell. Applications are implemented by using “snippets” of code that can securely run edge devices, requiring minimum interaction with coordinating elements. This prevents unnecessary or undesired uploads to servers in headquartered data centers. Security and Privacy
Fig. 1 In the edge computing paradigm data is processed locally.
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In today’s factory, proprietary information can easily be leaked through
Fig. 3 Edge devices act both independently and as part of a network.
any connected device, platform, or even the network itself. Consequently, manufacturers are becoming more and more concerned about the exposure risk to their proprietary data. In addition to the technical challenges introduced by a large number of devices running in a factory, there is now another demand for smart sensors to support security such as user profiles (eg., technician vs. administrator), encrypted firmware and settings, and secure protocols to exchange data with cloud storage.
CONCLUSION Edge computing improves time-to-action and reduces latencies down to milliseconds while minimizing network bandwidth. In combination with cloud computing and powered by smart sensor technology, these edge systems can have a profound impact on industrial system performance and ultimately increase productivity and profit for manufacturers.
Author: Terry Arden, CEO, LMI Technologies
WWW.LMI3D.COM
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Let’s work together!
CR-35iA
CR-15iA
CR-7iA CR-4iA CR-7iAL
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SAFETY-CERTIFIED ALL-ROUND PROTECTION
4, 7, 15 OR 35 KG PAYLOAD
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Make your process more efficient than ever
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The CR family of reliable collaborative robots opens up a wide variety of automation possibilities. Eliminating the need for safety fences, CR family robots are designed to work with or alongside human operators and stop safely on contact with humans. Programming them is easy thanks to the new R-30iB Plus controller’s iHMI interface. For easy lead-through teaching and handling they can be equipped with hand guidance functionality. Proven FANUC technology and a standard FANUC interface allow for quick and easy setup.
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