Thanks to the Internet and all of the digital paraphernalia it connects, the modern office worker is no longer confined to the cubicle – and productivity has soared as a result. But what about those workers whose days are spent in large factories, plants and warehouses?
While perhaps a little reticent at first, many of them are learning their new workplace technology – robots – are also more friend than foe.
Greater pressures on businesses such as rising labor costs, tighter regulations and increased global competition are driving an increase in demand for more efficient operations, and engineers are heeding the call. In many cases, the solution is delivered as a new fleet of robots. But rather than being replaced by these specialized machines, today’s hands-on workers are finding they can actually collaborate with robots to do better, faster and safer work.
Breaking down barriers
To prevent injuries (and lawsuits), assembly-line robots are often fenced off from employees as they perform high-powered tasks. But the fences are beginning to come down as engineers are equipping the bots with accident-preventing faculties and safety features.
Industrial robotics and automation firm FANUC has unveiled the CR-35iA, which the company claims is the only collaborative robot in the world that can lift objects that weigh up to 77 lbs. Designed for use on production lines, these green machines have a soft, sensitive shell that will shut down the robot when it touches a human. They can also be fitted with a FANUC vision system that will allow the robot to sense what it’s picking up.
Likewise, moving stacks of merchandise-filled shelves are no problem for Amazon’s Kiva robots, which can lift stacks as heavy as 750 lbs. (Their ability to sneak beneath the shelves first is like the robot equivalent of lifting with our legs.) Amazon has said there are more than 15,000 robots working in concert with Amazon employees, who no longer have to spend hours roaming the fulfillment centers to find the right products.
When employees work alongside the FANUC CR-35iA and Amazon Kiva robots, they can focus on the tasks that require human intelligence, creativity and dexterity while allowing the robots to literally do the heavy lifting.
The metal collar
In June 2015, another engineering innovation brought man and machine even closer together.
The Robo-Mate, funded by the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration, is described as an “intelligent exoskeleton based on human-robot interaction for manipulation of heavy goods in Europe's factories of the future.”
Touted as a solution for workers to do their jobs more safely and effectively, the Robo-Mate – currently only a prototype – could potentially be customized to serve specific industries and perform certain tasks. Workers will receive back support as they handle goods that weigh up to 33 lbs. and use an augmented-reality interface to interact with their environment, reducing the risk of injury while increasing their efficiency.
Image Credit: Robo-Mate
As factories, plants and warehouses across the world look to appease new regulations while remaining competitive, it’s more beneficial to combine the skills of humans and machines to optimize operations rather than choosing one over the other. For many hands-on workers performing labor-intensive work, the robots come in peace.