Nice story, Ann. Yes, working with humans is tough for robots because humans are so unpredictable. Developers of autonomous cars refer to human-driven vehicles as "rogue vehicles." Some suggest that autonomous vehicles could take over the roads today if not for those unpredictable rogues.
Interesting research. There is significant work being done pursuing robots working with humans, and we've featured robots being used as "robotic assistants" in surgery. For use in the factory, I'm sure there are major challenges with safety and other concerns. Thanks.
I imagine this kind of technology would be particularly useful and important in medical applications where the mindmeld, so to speak, between a robotic surgical tool and the actual human surgeon would ensure the best outcome from a patient standpoint.
Ann, this is a very interesting use of robots. It is encouraging that this research is looking at ways for robots to cooperate with humans. Machines are meant to be an extension of ourselves, enabling us to do more in the same amount of time.
A new battery design, which replaces lithium with abundant and low-cost elemental sulfur, is still in its nascent stages but shows real promise for giving batteries more energy potential.
PTC will offer a virtual desktop environment for its Creo product design applications, potentially freeing engineers to run them from remote desktops on a variety of operating systems and mobile devices.
The push to achieving more intelligent, integrated manufacturing is putting a strong focus on networking and connectivity as key enabling technologies.
Now that solar and wind harvesting technologies are a thriving market, researchers are seeking other environmentally related energy sources for which they can create harvesting devices.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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