EMERGING USE OF

ROBOTS IN
MANUFACTURING

11/14/2016
Transformation in Manufacturing Sector with
introduction of robotics
Industrial robots are on the verge of revolutionizing manufacturing. As they become
smarter, faster and cheaper, theyre being called upon to do more. Theyre taking
on more human capabilities and traits such as sensing, dexterity, memory and
trainability. As a result, theyre taking on more jobs - such as picking and
packaging, testing or inspecting products, or assembling minute electronics. Also, a
new generation of collaborative robots ushers in an era of shepherding robots out
of their cages and literally hand-in-hand with human workers who train them
through physical demonstration. Especially for small and mid-sized manufacturers,
a question is arising sooner than most probably expected: If prices keep declining
and capabilities of robotic technologies keep expanding, is now the time to hire
some automated help?
 Emerging use of robots in manufacturing

Emerging use of robots in

manufacturing
T R A N S F O R M AT I O N IN M A N U FAC T U R I N G SECTOR WITH
INTRODUCTION OF ROBOTICS

CONTENTS
CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................... 1
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................... 1
ROBOTIC AUTOMATION IN MANUFACTURING ................................................................. 2
THE RISE OF ROBOTS IN MODERN TIMES ........................................................................... 5
PEOPLE & ROBOTS: CREATING A NEW KIND OF MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE .......... 6
ROBOTS IN NEW INDUSTRIES .............................................................................................. 6
FUTURE OF ROBOTICS ........................................................................................................ 7
CHALLENGES AHEAD .......................................................................................................... 8

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Robots are an indispensable part of today's large manufacturing industries. These intelligent machines have
taken over many of the tasks requiring high precision, speed and endurance. They are becoming increasingly
smarter, more flexible and more autonomous, with the capability to make decisions and work independently
of humans. Before we dwell into the leaps we have taken in involving robots in manufacturing and the future
of this domain we need to have look at the progress made thus far.
Since the beginning of the industrial era the engineers have tried to automate industrial processes to improve
productivity, efficiency and quality of the output. Introduction of robotics on the plant floor was a step in this
direction. Though we might feel that the development in this domain have been fairly recent but the progress
we find today is built of years of improvisation.
Early industrial robots had limited "intelligence", autonomy and operational degrees of freedom. They were
mostly designed to perform one or two sets of repetitive tasks in a highly controlled environment.
Some notable early robots were:

Page 1
Emerging use of robots in manufacturing
.
The first industrial robot was designed by George Devol.
This robot was capable of transferring objects from one point to another within a distance of about a dozen feet.
1954

Devon founded a company called Unimation to manufacture the robot.

1956

UNIMATE, manufactured by Unimation, was the first industrial robot to be used by a major manufacturer. It was
installed by General Motors in its New Jersey plant in 1962.
1962

Famulus, developed by German robotics company KUKA, had six electromechanically-driven axes
1973
The Silver Arm, developed by Prof. Victor Scheinman was capable of performing small-parts assembly jobs using
feedback from touch and pressure sensors. Its industrial version, manufactured by Vicarm Inc, founded by
1974 Scheinman, was controlled by a minicomputer.

ASEA IRB, built by a European company called ASEA, was the world's first fully electrically driven robot. It was also
the first microprocessor-controlled robot and used Intel's first chipset.
1975

Motoman L10, the first robot developed by Yaskawa America Inc., had five axes and was able to move 10kg of
weight with its gripper.
1977

PUMA, a robot arm designed by Prof. Victor Scheinman and developed by Vicarm, Unimation with support from
General Motors, was used in assembly lines and is still used by researchers today.
1978

ROBOTIC AUTOMATION IN MANUFACTURING

Robots bear the potential to be involved in all domains of hard automation in fact with the artificial
intelligence robots are also being used for soft automation pertaining to their capability to receive and
record external stimulus. Robots find their first application in automating and compacting the transfer lines.
A transfer line is a manufacturing system which consists of a predetermined sequence of machines connected
by an automated material handling system and designed for working on a very small family of parts. Parts
can be moved singularly because theres no need for batching when carrying parts between process stations
(as opposed to a job shop for example). The line can synchronous, meaning that all parts advance with the
same speed, or asynchronous, meaning buffers exist between stations where parts wait to be processed.
The transfer line has become more compact and multifunctional with the introduction of robotics. The
components which have replaced the traditional job shop model are:
1. A tool holder equipped with thrustforce and torque sensors (i.e. smart tool holder), capable of
continuously monitoring the machining operation.

Page 2
 Emerging use of robots in manufacturing
2. In-line inspection and identification of parts with various shapes, and inspection and rejection of
defective parts.
3. Use of cameras to provide positional input to a robot relative to the work piece.
4. An adjustable-force clamping system which senses the clamping force using a strain gage, and
automatically adjusts this force.
5. Guides to ensure that parts are properly oriented for automated assembly.

Page 3
Emerging use of robots in manufacturing

Figure 1: Evolution of transfer line

Page 4
 Emerging use of robots in manufacturing

THE RISE OF ROBOTS IN MODERN TIMES

India is an upcoming potential market for industrial robotics industry with a worldwide market share of
approximately 15 per cent. With suitable stimulation and investment in the key underlying technologies, a
broad range of robotics activities can be enabled. Key to this is the identification of first-wave technologies
that will drive early markets. Industrial robots form an essential part of the current manufacturing sector of
India. Without the use of robotics technologies or cost-effective production, a pillar of emerging Indian wealth
would not be possible. Furthermore, robot-based production increases product quality, improves work
conditions and leads to an optimized use of resources. The miniaturization of robotic technologies and newly
developed sensing capabilities mean that these benefits are becoming applicable to an even wider range of
manufacturing industries, including those with small and varying lot sizes, materials and product geometries.
Robots are required everywhere to improve productivity. The automation industry is a big consumer of
Robotic technology. Using such technology, the quality of products and processes improve considerably.
Industries across a range of sectors such as automotive, atomic energy, defense, space, metals, textiles and
manufacturing use Robotic technologies very extensively. Robots are also being used in operation theatres
and rehabilitation centres to augment the quality of life. Developed countries like Japan and America have
been using robots to clean rooms, entertain etc. Robotics has opened up a plethora of opportunities for both
entrepreneurs and students. Therefore, it is an ever growing field and many avenues have opened up in
recent past. Therefore, students who have the required skill sets will be favoured by such industries.
There are a number of people, institutes/universities and industries working in the field of robotics. The Indian
Underwater Robotics Society or IURS (registered as Intelligent Unmanned Robotics Society) is India's first and
only non-profit research organization for the advancement of low-cost robotics and intelligent systems
research in developing countries. Ever since its inception in 2004, IURS has made many contributions towards
furthering robotics education and research in India through involvement with government, universities and local
and international organizations. IURS also imparts education in it is focus areas to improve understanding of
and representation in intelligent systems research within developing countries. IURS has held the distinction of
being the first Indian team to design India's first operational AUV to compete at the AUVSI's International
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition.
Robotics Society of India is an academic society founded on July 10, 2011 aimed at promoting Indian
robotics and automation activities. The society hopes to serve as a bridge between researchers in institutes,
government research centers and industry. Robotics has established an attractive place in almost all student
technical events all over the country. There is an Indian Institute of Robotics in the country and is run by young
engineers who are equipped with latest technological advancements in the field of robotics and automation
industry.
Besides, almost all top notch technological institutes/colleges in the country have laboratories especially
dedicated to robotics and many departments are particularly related to the branch of robotics or it is an
integral part of other disciplines like mechanical, electrical, electronics and computer science and
engineering. Many new projects on robotics are being displayed by the students of all level in such activities
throughout the country. There are good efforts in IITs and other engineering colleges being funded and
supported by many institutes and government science and technology departments to work on robotic related
projects which shall provide the spark for home grown entrepreneurs.
In industries, most of the tasks are being considered as dull, dirty and dangerous for human beings and as
such utilizing Robotics and automation in these sectors would improve productivity, safety as well as the

Page 5
Emerging use of robots in manufacturing
quality of the end product. Human operators can then take up more value added roles in the industry.
Robotics and automation has the potential to revolutionize the industrial scenario. It promises to bring the same
result as computer systems have brought in services and other sectors. However, many developing nations
including India are still to adopt robotics and automation in a big way. Considering the gap and opportunity,
industries are rapidly going for automation with its different advantages and thus have given a great stress
on robotics as an integral part of their innovation centers in the industries itself. They are investing huge
amount on the design and development technologies associated with robotics. Industries like Thinklabs,
robosoftsystems, iRobot, PARI robotics and many more are actively pursuing the innovation, developments and
implementation projects in the field of robotics.

PEOPLE & ROBOTS: CREATING A NEW KIND OF MANUFACTURING

WORKFORCE
As legions of robots and other automation
technologies find their ways into production
facilities and distribution centers - as well as
through supply chains - manufacturers will
grapple with an advanced level of commingling
of human and machine. Indeed, manufacturers
could be looking at an awkward period of
systemic human-resource change as they introduce
robots to more varied manufacturing tasks, and
as they call for greater human-machine
collaboration. Theyll also prepare for the
implications of displacing human workers with
robots through so-called botsourcing.
According to a PwC survey of US manufacturers,
FIGURE 2 IMPACT OF JOBS over one-third of manufacturers said that the
biggest impact robots will have on the manufacturing workforce in the next three years is that they will lead
to new job opportunities to engineer advanced robots and robotic operating systems.

ROBOTS IN NEW INDUSTRIES

For decades, advanced industrial robotics

have been chiefly pioneered and
deployed by the automotive industry,
particularly Japanese carmakers,
followed closely in their wake by
European and North American
counterparts. Enabling technologies are
making robots smarter at a rapid clip:
these include greater computing power,
sensor technology to enable vision
recognition, more sophisticated sound and

Page 6
 Emerging use of robots in manufacturing
movement detection, tactile, force and torque control sensing (giving robots the ability, for example, to sense
when they are bumped and give to prevent hurting humans or sense when a human in nearby).

In 2005, 69% of all industrial robot orders in North America were made by automotive original
equipment manufacturers of automotive components companies, according to data from Robotic
Industries Association. By 2014, that figure had eroded to 56%, offset by increasing shares by other
industries including the food and beverage, and consumer goods industries.
A PwC survey of US manufacturers found the most common task was assembly (25%) followed by
machining (21%), with the least common tasks being warehousing and performing dangerous tasks
(both 6.5%).

FUTURE OF ROBOTICS

There is no denying that Robotic technologies are all set to change the way things are done in the industries in
which they are being implemented. All the entrepreneurs are clearly optimistic about the use of Robotics in
various industrial segments and its future in India. Robotics will capture industries like manufacturing,
pharmaceutical, packaging and inspection. A bit of Robotics would also be seen in the healthcare sector
primarily in the form of assistive and skill development technologies. The other promising sectors are defense
and education. Robotics has opened the burgeoning opportunities but there are still many challenges that this
field faces in an Indian scenario. In India, need is to come up with a world class product in the Robotics
industry with deep specialization in server engineering, electrical, embedded programming and mechanical
engineering (with focus on design, manufacturing and materials).
Someone wishing to get into the Robotics industry must have a wide variety of skills and a thorough
understanding of system control along with system integration and those who are passionate about Robotics
from any field of engineering can be a part of a team working on a particular Robotics project. Talking
about the sectors that are best suited for the adoption of Robotics are those with large volumes, frequent
demand spikes or are prone to frequent audits/quality checks. Also industries where the volumes are huge
enough to occupy large real estate are also prime candidates for Robotics.
This makes automation ideal for sectors like retail, pharma, e-commerce, automobile spares and engineering
tools. Having said that, Robotics is applicable in almost all sectors that need to store, assemble and transport
physical products. DIY robots and UAV research platforms are the need of the hour to make robotics more
popular in India. Forecasting the adoption of Robotics in India in the future, due to globalization and high
industrialization, Robotics in India is poised for a bright future. Considering that India is already a
manufacturing hub catering to the whole world, the use of robots in every aspect of manufacturing will
provide the necessary edge to companies. In turn this will propel the requirement of skilled manpower for this
technology. Modern robotics engineers are confronted with the task of developing machines that interact with
their creators in modes of increasing compatibility.

Page 7
Emerging use of robots in manufacturing

CHALLENGES AHEAD

A good way to illustrate the state of robotics

in India would be to say that we are today
where China was 4 years ago and Europe
approximately 10 years ago. The use of
robotics in developed countries has grown
even in the domain of autonomous robots and
service robots but in India even industrial
robots are still to really come of age. Despite
having numerous challenges, the robotics
industry in India is confident of higher growth
with States like Gujarat, Haryana and
Maharashtra are attracting more
investments from the automotive industry.
Among the many challenges that plague the Robotics field in India, the primary ones among them have to do
with the high cost of adoption, availability of skilled talent and procurement of hardware components. The
cost of adopting Robotic technology is very high due to the cost of procuring imported hardware components
as well as training personnel. As Robotics is a multidisciplinary field, acquiring and retaining quality talent is a
big issue. The capital-intensive nature of Robotics adoption when compared to the low cost of human labour
clearly tips the scale in favour of the latter. From an academic perspective, some of the challenges coming in
the way of Robotics in an Indian scenario are as:
1. As Robotics is multidisciplinary in nature, barring students in the top schools in India, the others lack the
knowledge required in four to five engineering disciplines to become an expert in this field. Also most of the
students develop projects that already exist in the public domain.
2. Scarcity of good faculty to teach the subject
3. Barring a few regions and technological/engineering institutes in India, Robotics as a subject is not taught
well to the engineering students
4. There is the absence of hardware companies that can cater to the industry and the dependence on
countries like China, USA and Europe to procure the necessary components is a major stumbling block.

Page 8