Marco Hernandez
Robotics and automation are designed to make work easier and more efficient, especially useful when productivity needs a boost or the work is dull, repetitive, or dangerous
While the development of talking humanoids may be years away, industrial robots are already helping to increase efficiency and productivity in many industries
Robotics through time
1959
With the ability to lift a two-tonne weight and the accuracy to place it within 1/10,000 of an inch of its target, the robotic arm developed by George Devol and Joseph Engelberger was the first industrial robot ever registered
1961
General Motors installed the first assembly line production robot to stack hot pieces of diecast metal. The robot was controlled by commands stored in a magnetic drum
1967
Metallverken, a company in Sweden, installed the first industrial robot in Europe
1969
Hitachi of Japan developed the first vision-based automated robot to assemble objects directly from plan drawings
1971
For the first time, hydraulic robots were installed in a production line at the Mercedes Benz assembly plant in Sindelfingen, Germany
1972
Automakers Fiat in Italy, and Nissan in Japan installed spot welding robots on some of their production lines
1973
The first robot with six electromagnetically driven axes was introduced by Kuka Robotics Corporation of Germany. Each axis defines the robot’s ability to move in a certain way
1974
Richard Hohn of Cincinnati Milacron Corporation introduced the first commercial minicomputer-controlled industrial robot
1976
For the first time, robots were used in space. The Viking 1 spacecraft included a robotic arm to collect samples on Mars
1979
Nachi Fujikoshi Corporation of Japan developed the first motor-driven robot to replace hydraulic robots
1982
IBM developed the AML, a software language for robotic applications in manufacturing, spurring the development of other application programmes
1996
Kuka launched the first personal computer-based robot that allowed for real-time control of movements
1999
Reis Robotics patented a system that guided a robot’s movements using a laser integrated into its arm
2003
Kuka introduced the robocoaster, a robotic arm that whirled passengers in the air, one of the first robotic applications for the entertainment sector
2011
The first humanoid robot in history, known as R2B, was launched onto the International Space Station
1959
2011
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Today, many tasks in manufacturing, testing or development are conducted by robots. The automotive and electronics industries have embraced robots as essential components for gaining a competitive edge
The industrial family
According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the following are the most common robots today iin automation
SCARA ROBOT
This robot has two parallel rotary joints that allow it to move in a single plane
CARTESIAN ROBOT
A cartesian robot has three joints, with their range of motion defined by the cartesian coordinate system
ARTICULATED ROBOT
This robot’s arm has at least three rotary joints
PARALLEL ROBOT
The arm of this robot has both a prismatic, or sliding, joint and a rotary joint
CYLINDRICAL ROBOT
The allowable range of motion on this robot is based on a cylindrical coordinate system
AUTONOMUS LOADERS
Excluded from the IFR classifications, this remote-controlled robot is becoming popular in the warehousing industry as it replaces the lift trucks operated by humans
China’s robot-makers want to dominate their domestic market, aiming to supply 50 per cent of local demand by 2020, rising to 70 per cent by 2025
IFR defines robot density as the number of industrial robots per 10,000 industrial workers. South Korea operated eight times more robots than China in 2017, but the IFR forecasts a rapid escalation in the number of robots deployed in China
has robots per 10,000 industrial workers
and ranks as the in the index of robots in relation to human workers. Explore the robot density in other markets:
#1 South Korea
units
#
#41 India
Dipping into the robotic world
Various branches of engineering are dedicated to designing, programming and developing “custom” robots for specific tasks and disciplines
Robots need custom software to operate; the more complex the robot’s task, or tasks, the more intricate the software. The software can link them to an external computer, other robots, or if stored in an internal processor, even make them autonomous
To save design time and increase workplace safety, robots first must be tested and configured in a simulated environment before becoming fully operational
Testing robots in simulated spaces
Drop the instructions in the queue, then test your robot
#1
Set all the instructions
The interactive graphic simulates how robots are coded, reflecting how five simple instructions can be arranged in different combinations, only one of which produces the correct production procedure
That’s the point of virtual testing and adjustment in robots before they start real-world operations.The correct sequence of commands is as follows:
go_right
perforate
drill_up
go_left
origin
In plain English, the commands in the correct sequence instruct the robot to do the following:
Move to the right and find the box using the scanner
Drill a hole in the box, then let the box continue on the conveyor belt
Turn off and retract the drill
Move to the left
Return to the initial position to repeat the sequence
A visual representation of the correct code sequence
An articulated arm performs a series of instructions stored in its memory. These actions can be as simple as welding parts on an assembly line. They can also involve complex processes such as the chemical experiments conducted by the Curiosity Rover on the surface of Mars, which received instructions from Earth
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