A new generation of sophisticated robots may help to ease the transition to an aging industrial workforce.
Robots have been used in heavy industry,
especially in automobile manufacture, since the early 1960s. However,
the fact that these machines have always been very heavy and lacking in
maneuverability means that up to now they have always been used behind
safety barriers, very often inside a protective cage to separate them
from the human workforce, thus sacrificing some productivity. Moreover
the robots were systematically confined to precisely-programmed tasks,
usually limited to doing heavy jobs.Now a number of robot manufacturers
have been working, inter alia with auto-maker BMW, to develop a new
generation of robots which are more versatile and responsive and able to
carry out more complex tasks in close collaboration with human workers.
These new helpers will not be replacing the workforce any time soon,
but will be able to provide physical support to supplement their human
workmates’ know-how and so help to extend the working lives of older
employees.
More responsive, cooperative robots
In the BMW plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, which turns out
1,000 cars a day and employs 7,000 workers, slow-moving robots from
Danish company
Universal Robots help
human workers with precise, meticulous tasks directly on the production
line. BMW is now seeking to push the potential for human-robot
collaboration and is working to get even more sophisticated machines up
and running, which will be able to work directly and closely alongside
people out at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence, providing
immediate assistance without being given any orders. Recent improvements
in command software and safety levels mean that robots can be built to
work in close proximity with humans without compromising on either
safety or efficiency. The objective is to maintain or even increase
current security levels while making the robot more versatile. At the
moment alert systems at most factories will shut the robot down
completely and thus bring the entire production line to a halt, with
consequent loss of productivity. Clearly what is needed is a monitoring
and control system better suited to the layout of the factory and the
SafetyEYE system,
made by German company Pilz, provides a solution here. SafetyEYE is
basically a multi-camera system that can be used to enable a robot to
detect the arrival of a human being within its area of operations and
so, if necessary, slow down without stopping completely.
Coping efficiently with an aging workforce
In order to integrate robots into human worker teams, BMW plans to
bring into service safe robots which can move and work autonomously
alongside humans. This type of robot will help to ease the transition to
an aging factory workforce, assisting and supporting older workers who
nevertheless retain a high capability and have at their disposal all the
know-how built up over the years. BMW’s Head of Innovation Stefan
Bartscher explains: “Our workers are getting older (…). We actually need
something to compensate and keep our workforce healthy, and keep them
in labor for a long time. We want to get the robots to support the
humans.” In line with these needs, Boston-based
Rethink Roboticshas developed
Baxter,
a human-looking robot which can memorize and learn tasks through simple
movement pattern recognition and is currently in use in many small
factories to move heavy objects. This is the sort of robot that will now
increasingly be sent to work on large-scale production lines such as
those at the BMW plant. And in the longer term, these new cooperative
robots might well move out of the factory and take on jobs helping out
in our schools and homes.
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