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Wouldn't it be cool if you drew something on your iPad and then a swarm of robots diligently copied that? Well here you go.
Keisuke Uto built the hardware and software for an idea contest at his company in Japan. He says the most difficult part was to get the camera to recognize the bar codes on all the robots accurately. And to build everything within a tight budget.
Also he says that he didn't have the time to build an anticollision system, but actually it looks cuter when the robots bump into each other trying to get to the right configuration.
Here's how he made the system (although it's in Japanese). (The instructions below are in English now!) Could be used as a great attraction at events. Thank you Uto-san!
FANUC's M-2000iA can now lift 1.35 tons, which makes it the world's largest robot in terms of payload.
The robot uses FANUC's patented iRVision technology to handle objects that do not need to be precisely placed. This is done by combining the data from the 2D sensor on the robot's hand and a 3D sensor which is situated nearby apart from the robot.
This giant robot has another interesting "power regeneration function" shown below. Due to this technology, it is able to use 30% less energy.
The robot can be used to lift cars in auto manufacturing plants. One of the markets that FANUC is focusing on is the energy market. The company is hoping that the robot will be used to construct new hydraulic plants and wind plants worldwide.
One of the coolest demos at IREX was the humanoid industrial robot NEXTAGE by Kawada Industries. NEXTAGE, which made its debut during IREX two years ago, was designed specifically to work side by side with humans in the assembly line. Since then, about 10 Japanese companies have already implemented this robot in their manufacturing facilities, according to Takakatsu Isozumi, General Manager of the Mechatronics Systems Division at Kawada. So for workers at these companies, the future is already here.
Two of these companies have made public that they are indeed using NEXTAGE to manufacture their products. One is Hitachi, which implemented NEXTAGE into its hard disk manufacturing line. The other is Glory, where NEXTAGE is busy assembling modules for ATM machines. NEXTAGE takes responsibility for repetitive tasks while humans focus on work that need frequent adjustments.
The video below taken by science writer Kazumichi Moriyama shows NEXTAGE showing off at IREX many of its skills that it learned in the past two years, answering to the various requests from real customers. The fact that NEXTAGE is a real product being used in real life made it stand out from the other humanoids at IREX which are still in the research phase. The basic model of NEXTAGE costs about 7.5 million yen and typically it will cost around 10 to 12 million yen per unit with customized software and peripherals.
One of the keywords in humanoid robotics these days is Co-X: Developing robots to become Co-Workers, Co-Inhabitants, Co-Defenders, etc. NEXTAGE is one of the first products that realizes this goal.
So far, Kawada is focusing on the Japanese market, but eventually they are planning to sell NEXTAGE abroad too.
Industrial robot giant Yaskawa Electric also announced its new version of the service robot SmartPal. Can't find the press release of the new robot as of now, but it's slimmer and smarter than SmartPal 5. (SmartPal 6 never made its debut in public since it was strictly for research.)
At IREX 2011, it was being controlled using Kinect. The scenario is to place the robot hundreds of kilometers away at your elderly mother's house and you can help her remotely via the robot.
Photo below is SmartPal 7 being controlled remotely and picking up a toy from the floor.
Remember Yaskawa-kun, the bubbly singing robot that can make you an ice cream cone? Well, like any other worker that needs to continue to build up his resume to keep up with the economy, he has a new skill. He can decorate your smartphone with rhinestones!
With the precision and tireless character of an industrial robot, which he is under his cute head, he will complete a decoration that may take a human hours, in a matter of minutes. Glue, paste, glue, paste, glue, paste........
Ice cream man Yaskawa-kun was highly popular in Japan, but there was always the extra hurdle and precaution to put it to use at events because he was dealing with food. So now he doesn't have to worry about that. And look at his nice work!
