The robots are coming...

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Nigel Hyland Commercial manager, Comau

According to data released by the International Federation of Robotics, the application of intelligent robots is steadily increasing. There are 517,385 new robots installed globally, a growth rate of 31% year-on-year, bringing the number of robots in operation in factories worldwide to more than 3.5 million.

In six years, annual robot installations have more than doubled. Growth has been recorded in all sectors including logistics. The main demands for robotics and automation in the logistics sector relate to solutions that ensure greater collaboration and relieve operators from the most tiring or dangerous tasks, in order to assign them tasks with higher added value.

In the logistics sector, anthropomorphic robots are becoming increasingly popular thanks to developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and vision systems, which enable them to perform tasks that were unthinkable just a few years ago. In the field of depalletising and logistics, this type of robot is gaining the ability to pick up boxes of different sizes or move mixed parts.

Comau has developed a family of vision systems, called Mi.Ra, which, for example, allows the machine to understand which is the correct box to move without a predefined sequence being set. It is a step that seems trivial, but which is the result of years of work in the field of AI and which goes precisely in the direction desired by companies.

Exoskeletons are also widely used. These are passive devices, ie without a motor, which serve to help human beings perform certain functions with less fatigue or without harmful overloads. Comau’s MATE-XT, made for the upper limbs, facilitates operations where the arms have to be held at a high level for a long time.

To give an idea of the benefits, numerous usage data collected directly in the field have shown that this exoskeleton can reduce muscle activity and perceived exertion at shoulder level by up to 30%. The exoskeleton can also help increase working precision by 27% and improve productivity by around 10%, with a reduction in cycle times of at least 5%.

In addition, Comau’s digital in.Grid platform makes it possible to collect data from different parts of the automation and use it to monitor how the automation is being used, its quality and performance, and to provide additional information such as remote maintenance.

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