A new collaborative robot (cobot) should support maintenance workers in the future when performing work on automation systems. The robot is being developed by the SecondHands project, which involves several European universities. The project recently presented its first prototype of the cobot: the ARMAR-6. This prototype will be tested at UK online supermarket Ocado in the near future.
Maintenance work and repairs on automation systems are traditionally performed by human workers. The cobot being worked on within the SecondHands project is intended to support these employees in carrying out their work. Here, the robot literally functions as an extra pair of hands, something that is also reflected in the name of the project: SecondHands.
Making work more efficient and enjoyable
The cobot is intended to enable maintenance workers to do their jobs more efficiently and support them in demanding activities. For example, the cobot can perform tasks that require more accuracy or strength than a human worker can provide. In addition, the robot should make the work of maintenance workers more pleasant by taking tasks off their hands. The robot can learn from its human colleagues by observing them, using vision technology, among other things.
The cobot is a humanoid, a type of robot whose body structure resembles that of a human. Thus, the robot has a head, arms, hands and a torso, giving it a human appearance. Legs are missing, however; the robot is placed on a platform with wheels that allow it to move around production facilities and warehouses.
Test at Ocado
The SecondHands robot prototype is called ARMAR-6 and was recently presented by the SecondHands proejct. This prototype will be used to conduct experiments in warehouses of UK online supermarket Ocado in the near future. That the robot is being tested at Ocado is no coincidence; Ocado's Robotics Project Team is closely involved in the SecondHands project.
The project is further implemented by:
- the Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory at the Swiss Technical University of Lausanne;
- the Humanoid Robotics Systems - High Performance Humanoid Technologies Lab and the Interactive Systems Lab of the German Karlsruhe Institute of Technology;
- the Vision, Perception and Learning Robotics Lab at Italy's Sapienza University Rome;
- British University College London's Vision and Imaging Science Group.
Video
The video below shows the prototype in action and also explains the role of the various parties involved.
SecondHands is a project receiving funding from the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme, which aims to boost research and innovation. The programme started on 1 January 2014 and is the successor to the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Horizon 2020 has a budget of around €80 billion available to fund projects for the period 2014-2020.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Ocado (photo)
Source: SecondHands project
Source: Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland
