SITUATION:
Robots at Ford’s Van Dyke Transmission Plant are practical working machines.
Robots performing tasks at Ford point to future of automation & hopes of saving money.
With laser scanners mounted on backs of Robots collect plant data to aid manufacturing.
Rival robot then delivers packages out the commercial Ford Van
SIGNIFICANCE:
Robots become better suited to tasks like picking things up or operating controls.
But problems remain and improvements are needed.
However the gait and function of the new breed of bot is striking & working.
New generation of robots being developed keep building capabilities of machines.
SOLUTIONS:
Robots can both climb stairs & work in hard-to-reach areas during build.
Are cutting build time required by half & complete the job for fraction of the cost.
Evolution of robotics in manufacturing vans lead by Boston Dynamics technology.
Rival Agility Inc’s robot, Digi, is then delivering packages out of a Ford van.
Distributing and delivering goods is likely to be an important application for walking robots,
SAYS:
“We can make robots walk really well now,” – Aaron Ames, a robotics expert at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
“But once we get there, we are going to have millions of walking robots in human environments,” – Jonathan Hurst, co-founder of Agility Robotics, a firm based in Albany, Oregon
SOURCES: August 25th Edition of The Economist;
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Walking with robots”“WALKING WITH ROBOTS”
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/08/25/robots-that-can-walk-are-now-striding-to-market
How a robot called Fluffy is helping Ford engineers upgrade factories”- https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/engineers-robot-helping-ford-retool-plants/
Agility Robotics Introduces Digi, the Robot; Working with Ford on the Last Mile for Delivery” – https://dronelife.com/2020/01/16/agility-robotics-introduces-digi-the-robot-working-with-ford-on-the-last-mile-for-delivery/“WALKING WITH ROBOTS”
