The five most important robotics trends of 2012, like the top five of 2011, will enable volume manufacturing and greater integration of robotics with machine vision and automated systems. Some trends discussed in the slideshow below outline very targeted applications. Yet, once again, the developments in each are relevant to other, often very different types of applications, which concern robot design and the design of the systems in which they work.
Click the image below to start the slideshow:
Two-Armed Robots
Just like people, robots do things better with two hands. More dexterous robots will be valuable in several applications, from surgery to materials handling, or even picking up samples as they walk across the surface of Mars. A step -- perhaps a grasp -- in the right direction is the small robot with two arms, two hands, and opposable thumbs described in Dual-Armed Robot Making In-Roads.
At Automate 2011, the SDA5D lifted spherical objects from a nearby table. It's being adopted in industrial applications from logistics and palletizing to automated assembly and distribution. A larger model is deployed in automotive assembly plants and by the National Aeronautics and Space Administrtion (NASA) for space simulation operations.
Chuck, the only places I know for sure where two-armed robots are being used are automotive assembly plants and in aerospace by NASA for space simulation operations. The company says their two-armed SDA5D is being adopted in all kinds of industrial applications, from automated assembly and distribution to logistics and palletizing. A larger model is deployed in and by the National Aeronautics and Space Administrtion (NASA) for space simulation operations. I'll bet surgery might be a big app, too.
Yes, Ann, I remember that article, including the bit about software for non programmers. I'm seeing that more and more with sensors and other devices in automation. The complex programming is pre-packaged and all the control staff had to do is point and click. Maybe it's not quite that simple, but original programming is not longer a must.
The most interesting part of the application of two armed robots will undoubtedly be the programming, even moreso if they are programmed point-by-point from a pendant in the manner of one armed robots. Synchronizing the motions of two arms will add a whole additional dimension to the task. OF course, there may be programming methods available that take that into acount, which would be a valuable addition. I certainly hope that robot programming has advanced past the manual point by point path entry that I had to use, which was "a few years back". I have not seen any description of other programming methods mentioned in any detail in any Design News writeups, so I wonder what does exist currently. Are there any responses?
The most interesting part of the application of two armed robots will undoubtedly be the programming, even moreso if they are programmed point-by-point from a pendant in the manner of one armed robots. Synchronizing the motions of two arms will add a whole additional dimension to the task. OF course, there may be programming methods available that take that into acount, which would be a valuable addition. I certainly hope that robot programming has advanced past the manual point by point path entry that I had to use, which was "a few years back". I have not seen any description of other programming methods mentioned in any detail in any Design News writeups, so I wonder what does exist currently.
Good point, Chuck. It's interesting to observe that two-armed robots are in a way a mashup of industrial robots and the newer humanoid robots you explored so well in your piece, "Humanoid Robots Take Shape."
I wonder if we are starting to see more applications for two-armed robots. I know that single-armed robots can't do some simple operations, such as lifting and manipulating non-rigid objects. Is the manufacturing world starting to find applications for these two-armed units?
Thanks, Rob. For industrial use, whether it's welding or assembly, or some other function, robots have to be programmed, since their complex movements must interact with other machines in 4-D. That said, the programming itself can either be hands on code crunching, or a simpler, point and click GUI, which is one of the big changes in the ABB story I gave the link to below.
Nice slide show, Ann. I love to look at pictures of robots. As for the software, I was under the impression there are fewer and fewer instances where robots need to be programmed by hand. Maybe I'm wrong about this, but I thought more of the robots were now plug and play -- or at least as plug-and-play as possible.
In comments on an earlier robotics article, one engineer told us that programming by hand was excruciating. So the point and click interface described in that article I gave the link to definitely was an improvement. But the big problem it solved, along with the entire package, was making it easier to program smaller robots in smaller cells doing fewer, lower-volume jobs.
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For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
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