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Robotizing, Unified Control and Clouds Ahead for Robots

Written by Abumessi Journey on 1:10 PM

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Industrial robots and growth seem made for each other.

But the growth will be narrowly focused, predicts Erik Nieves.

Robotizing whats already automated is one way, says the
technology director for supplier Motoman Robotics
(www.motoman.com), Waukegan, Ill., a division of Yaskawa
America Inc. While that provides flexibility, effectively, youre
just making an improvement, though probably not in reliability.
Youre leveraging the flexibility that robotics affords, he
observes. Whatever changes, though, robotizing of already
automated functions is not going to be the sea change in our
industry.
Another trend he sees, unified control, could be part of such
change. In this control infrastructure, especially in emerging
markets that havent existed long enough to assume separate controls is correct, you make a decision about
whos responsible for everything, Nieves explains. Can I program not just the robot with the robot controller but
all the peripherals? If so, there wont be a programmable logic controller (PLC) involved, he continues. This
control unification for robots hasnt yet hit the factory floor, he says, but its coming.
What Nieves considers the real sea change is dual-armed robots. These perform tasks with the dexterity
previously possible only with humans, he comments. The big leap was not from a single-arm to a dual-arm robot,
though, he asserts. That was natural. The leap was from six to seven axes. Once you have a seven-axis arm and
you have all this dexterity, then it is very organic to apply two seven-axis arms to a common torso. And that,
Nieves states, was how the dual-arm robot was born.
The seven-axis arm allows movement without affecting position and orientation, he adds. And such dual-arm
robots provide gains in productivity. But these robots, which are in their infancy, will never be dominant, Nieves
predicts. You will always have tasks that six-axis robots are suitable for, such as tried-and-true applications such
as spot welding.
Besides more mechanical functionality, robotics growth also focuses more on interconnectivity and traceability,
suggests Rush LaSelle, global sales and marketing director for vendor Adept Technology Inc. (www.adept.com),
Pleasanton, Calif. One pathway is through information-technology clouds. This technology implies that the
computing resources exist somewhere else, out there, and, as necessary, that users will connect. The benefit of
processing and its interrelationship with the cloud is in its relative infancy throughout manufacturing and, certainly,
within the context of robotics. But, says LaSelle, cloud or resource sharing has been used in the automation
industry for as long as there have been networks.
Cloud coverage
Another real-world cloud example he provides is inventory control, in which robots palletize and handle products
in warehouses and distribution centers. Inventory information is largely managed in the cloud and the addition of
intelligent robotic automation acts as a vehicle to reconcile whats expected in the digital worldthat is, what is
captured in databases throughout planning and financeand what actually exists in the physical worldthat is,
pallets of products in warehouse racks, LaSelle explains.

Besides clouds, end-users will benefit from being freed of having to program robots. Our team is evaluating
technologies and developing methodologies so that users will be able to teach, not program, robots, LaSelle
states. Options he mentions include gesture-based teaching and other human-machine interfaces beyond the
traditional interface on a teach pendant, programmable logic controller or personal computer.
Sensory inputs comprise another growth area of value-add focus. Portion control and product grading for the
handling of primary foods, especially those in the protein category (e.g. meat, fish and poultry), are active areas of
development, LaSelle notes. What could the net benefit be? Robots will not only locate, pick and place products
into packaging, he says, but will determine size of the products. Thats so the robot can place the correct weight of
products into a package and conduct real-time quality control.
C. Kenna Amos is an Automation World Contributing Editor.
Motoman Robotics
www.motoman.com
Adept Technology Inc.
www.adept.com

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