Robotics and Automation: Shaping the Future of Industry

Table of Content

• The essence of Industrial Automation & Robotics
  
• Robotic Sensors: the Nervous System of Today's Machine
  
• Assembly Robots and Manufacturing's Metamorphosis
  
• Robotic Automation Companies and Autonomous Robot Innovators
• Factory Automation Robots and the Future of Production
• Robot Automation at the Factory and in Future Production
• Conclusion
• FAQs

Robotics and automation no longer exist merely on the factory floor. It has evolved from a single robotic arm for welding in the 1960's to a complex and dynamic, sensorized and software intelligent and flexible universe pervading nearly our entire economy. From surgery to the warehouse, robotics and automation are what define industry, defining how work is done and how goods and services are delivered. Robotics is no longer a cutting-edge differentiator among the few leading corporations in each industry - instead, it is rapidly evolving into the expected, standard operating procedure among companies of all sizes.

The difference from other waves of automation now is that today’s automation and robotics can integrate much deeper. Today’s intelligent robotic and automation systems are not simply performing repetitive work, but can actually learn, adapt, communicate with other systems, and react to changing conditions and information. Coupled with other Internet-enabled systems, such as advanced sensors, modern automation can actually self-diagnose itself, predict failure, and work around the clock with no need for human intervention.

The essence of Industrial Automation & Robotics

Industrial Automation & Robotics describes applying control systems, mechanical machines, and software in automating tasks that a human worker performed. What distinguishes automation from robotics is the aspect of adaptability, whereas typical automated machinery performs a predefined procedure – for instance, a conveyor belt moves at a specified rate or a drill plunges at a particular depth, robots are programmable machines and are programmable, reusable, and capable of making their own decisions.

Present-day industrial robotics and automation are integrated systems involving various technologies:

●     PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) – these are industrial computers, with extreme durability, used to control machinery within a production factory. They receive inputs from various sensors and activate motors, alarms, valves, and so on as output.

●     HMIs (Human Machine Interface) – touch screen systems that enable monitoring & control of the automated machinery by operators.

●     SCADA (Supervisory control and data acquisition) – this is a higher level of automated control that monitors an entire plant or production process through a cluster of approximately 50 to 100 machines at one time.

●     Cobots (Collaborative Robots) – industrial automation robots that were not caged off from human workers but designed to work hand in hand with people, with their own adapted force and speed controls.

Through the integration of hardware and software, the manufacturing world is now achieving the required levels of precision, which a human worker cannot match at scale.

Robotic Sensors: the Nervous System of Today's Machine

A robot with no sensors would be a blind, single-purpose machine responding only to static instructions. In a world of dynamic, real-world environments, robotic sensors give machines the ability to sense, understand, and interact with the world around them. The sophistication and diversity of sensors aboard a robot are inextricably linked to its capability and reliability.

Vision Sensors and Cameras

Perhaps the most prevalent type of robotic sensor, machine vision, is implemented across numerous industries. Standard 2D cameras used for surface inspection, barcode reading, or assembly checks essentially perform the task of capturing an image of the working space. 3D cameras and depth sensors allow for robotic vision to work out both the position and the orientation of an object in 3-D space, something which must be achieved by a robot required to bin pick. These vision systems are a core component of industrial automation and robotics, enabling machines to interpret their surroundings with a level of accuracy that fixed sensors alone cannot provide.

Force and Torque Sensors

A robot could use force and torque sensors to determine how much force is being applied when it comes into contact with something. In assembly tasks, a force sensor could allow a robot to feel when a component is in position, ensuring that it has not been over-tightened. In shared robotics, where the robot will interact with humans, force sensors can also provide a way for the robot to feel when it is in unintended contact with the operator.

LiDAR and Proximity Sensors

LiDAR, or light detection and ranging, sensors are ubiquitous for AMRs and self-driving cars, building real-time maps of the surrounding environment, and detecting obstacles at high speeds. Simple proximity sensors, simply checking to see if something is within a certain range, are found on countless systems, from conveyor lines to assembly stations to packaging machines.

Temperature and Environmental Sensors

In manufacturing processes of food processing, pharmaceutical, electronics assembly, etc. Sensors for temperature, humidity, and pressure data are read by a control system so that the process is maintained.

Assembly Robots and Manufacturing's Metamorphosis

Perhaps the machines you're most familiar with seeing in a factory are assembly robots. In general, there are two things assembly robots do better than humans: consistency and reliability. The part that is picked up and placed in the robot can be put in the exact same place one thousand times per shift. Paired with IoT enabled technologies, there is no variation from fatigue, from mental lapse, or from other human distractions.

What Assembly Robots Are Doing Today

The definition of an assembly robot is changing dramatically. It's not a question of the tightening of a single bolt in an automobile plant. They are performing welding, painting, putting in the glass, sealing, and running wiring. In electronics manufacturing, they are placing components onto circuit boards at speeds and with accuracy unattainable by the human hand. They are building things as diverse as toothbrushes and home appliances.

Key capabilities in today's assembly robots are these:

●     Six-Axis Movement Modern robot arms can operate along six axes, meaning that they can place the part anywhere and at virtually any angle within their work cell.

●     Tool Changers assembly robots can change tools, for example, switching between grippers, a welder, and a dispenser, within a single production run.

●     Vision Guided Assembly Combined with a machine vision system, an assembly robot can identify a part and place it, even if it isn't perfectly in position, responding to real-time changes in part position.

●     Force Control of Insertion The force-control features of a robot can detect resistance, such as is required when pushing a fragile part into an assembly or pressing a bearing into a housing.

●     The economics of assembly robots have also changed significantly. Whereas it once took highly skilled engineers and weeks of development time to program a robot, it is now common for robot work cells to be rapidly deployable by an operator at floor level using simple, menu-driven programming software.

Robotic Automation Companies and Autonomous Robot Innovators

The robotics and automation market on the world stage is a vast, highly competitive, fast-moving environment. Industrial robotics has been and still is dominated by big names such as FANUC, KUKA, ABB, and Yaskawa, producing the big articulated arms and complex integrated automation systems that facilitate the production of such goods as cars, etc.  These pioneers continue to update their product ranges, and most have begun incorporating 'cobots' (collaborative robots) and AI-powered vision systems.

In logistics and warehousing, we see the emergence of a new breed of autonomous robots from companies like Boston Dynamics, Locus Robotics, Berkshire Grey, and Agility Robotics. These robots are designed to function outside of a fixed facility infrastructure, maneuvering their way around warehouse or factory environments while handling irregularly shaped and sized items alongside humans and boosting the number of items that can be processed in a given shift in a fulfillment center by more than ten times.

There are several features that can differentiate a leading automation and robotics company from the others:

●     Software ecosystem. A sophisticated piece of hardware is not enough; the best automation & robotics companies have a wide array of fleet management software, simulators, and intelligent programming platforms.

●     Integration support. An automated solution will never be adopted if it is not seamlessly integrated with the existing factory process. The strongest autonomous robot companies offer a range of engineering services alongside their robots.

●     Scalability. A cell design that can be replicated throughout the factory without major system redevelopment is an important characteristic.

Factory Automation Robots and the Future of Production

Factory automation robots no longer remain exclusive to big automotive facilities. The declining costs of robotic systems in the past ten years have made factory automation achievable even for mid-size manufacturers and even for low-volume production runs. A small fabrication shop can implement a collaborative robot to weld or to tend a CNC machine, for a fraction of the cost required just five years ago.

Automation robotics engineering-the discipline of designing, programming, and maintaining automation systems-is also evolving. Engineers of today work with mechanics, software engineers, machine vision, and systems integrators. The engineers are required to know both physical robots and their software counterparts, and education in robotics and automation engineering is expanding all over the world to meet the demand for these skills.

 The effects of factory automation robots on production are numerous:

●     Shortened lead time

Automated facilities may run three shifts without overtime pay, which decreases the lead time between customer order and shipment.

●     Lower defect rates

Repetitive motion and consistent execution by robots eliminates process variations and reduces scraps and rework.

●     Production Flexibility

A robot can be easily reprogrammed to change products without long changeovers in modern facilities.

●     Safer workplace

Heavy lifting, repeated motions, and handling of hazardous materials can be managed by robots, which decreases workplace injuries.

Robot Automation at the Factory and in Future Production

Robot automation has finally broken free of large auto plants. Falling prices of robotic systems have made factory automation more available for small to mid-sized factories and also available for small-volume production jobs during the past 10 years. Small fabrication shops can employ a collaborative robot to weld or to tend a CNC machine for a considerably smaller amount of money compared to only five years ago.

 Automation robotics engineering, which involves designing, programming, and maintaining automation systems, is also in transition. Engineers are collaborating more and more closely with mechanical engineers, software engineers, machine vision systems, and system integrators. The engineers need both the physical side of robots as well as the software associated with it, and courses in automation robotics engineering are now proliferating across the globe to help meet this demand.

 Some impacts of factory automation robotics on production are:

Lead Time Reduction. Automated systems can run 24/7 without additional costs such as overtime for their employees, and this shortens the lead time from customer order to shipment.

Reduced Defects. Robots eliminate human error because they execute repetitive processes in the exact same way, which reduces scraps and rework.

Production Flexibility. Robots are easily reprogrammed for various jobs, and in modern plants, changeovers take less time.

Safer Workplace. Automation robotics is capable of handling repetitive tasks, heavy lifting, and dangerous materials, reducing injury to the workers.

Conclusion

Robotics and automation are not a thing of the future; in fact, they are present as we speak in the running of industries and businesses in the global market. Robots performing extremely detailed assembly tasks in electronics manufacturing factories are being replaced by intelligent, IoT-driven systems, which can preempt mechanical breakdowns before they occur. The effect of the application of these systems has brought a definitive change to the economic implications and abilities in logistics, manufacturing, and even the service industry.

As robotics and automation, and autonomous robot company marketplaces grow in value, it's clear this is not something we will be seeing slowed down anytime soon. Any business looking into its future is going to need to determine not if but how quickly they can successfully implement automation and robotics, and to what advantage they will be positioned to do so. Clarity and intent of strategy are to be the benchmark companies by which other businesses will be measured; those that fall behind now will never catch up.

FAQs

1. What is the difference between robotics and automation?

Automation is a general term for any use of a machine or control system to execute a task with reduced human intervention. Robotics, however, is a specialized branch of automation that is particularly concerned with programmable mechanical systems that can execute various tasks. Thus, all robotics is automation, but not all automation is robotics.

2. How are IoT technologies applied to industrial automation?

IoT-based technology connects machines, sensors, and software across a manufacturing plant in a way that data can be exchanged between these components in real time. IoT technologies applied to industrial automation can allow predictive maintenance to be performed, enable monitoring of operations remotely, facilitate adaptive control systems for improving quality, and can optimize energy use. All of these processes are used to maximize efficiency and minimize idle time in an industrial plant.

3. Which type of sectors use the most assembly robots?

High volume assembly sectors include the automobile industry, electronics manufacturing industry, the aerospace industry, food and drink production, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods production. Essentially, any industry requiring the automation of a high volume of simple and repetitive tasks could employ assembly robots.

4. How does the area of development for an autonomous robot company differs to that of a traditional robotics firm?

The area of interest in traditional robotics is fixed-mounted arm robots, which operate in structured environments like factory floors, whereas that of the autonomous robot company is self-navigating mobile robots that operate in unstructured environments such as hospitals, warehouses, and open spaces.

5. Which skills are required for a role in automation robotics engineering are?

Automation robotics engineering involves the disciplines of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science and systems integration, and technical areas that engineers will work with include programmable logic controllers, machine vision, motion control, robotic programming languages and, to an increasing extent, machine learning for advanced systems.