At the International Robot Exhibition 2017 held in Tokyo, Japan, 612 companies from 14 countries and regions participated in the exhibition, setting a record high. The products and R&D directions demonstrated by robot manufacturers, including human-machine collaboration, intelligence, Internet of things, and deep learning, all add more imagination to the “Future Factoryâ€.
Robot giants will not miss such a good new product release opportunity.
From November 29th to December 2nd, International Robot Exhibition 2017 (iREX2017) was held at Tokyo International Exhibition Center in Japan. As one of the four major robot exhibitions in the world, iREX2017 has 612 companies from 14 countries and regions participating in the show, setting a record high.
Robot giants bring the latest products, and cool industrial robots come up with their own housekeeping skills. The commentators of the top participating companies continued to respond to on-site consultation questions. Industrial manufacturers sought to find feasible solutions for factory automation. The “cooperative discussion areas†of large companies were filled with intended customers.
The lively scene of the exhibition also reflected the current hot market of the robot market. Many manufacturers said that orders were incessant and their production capacity could not keep up. The products and R&D directions demonstrated by robot manufacturers, including human-machine collaboration, intelligence, Internet of things, and deep learning, all add more imagination to the “Future Factoryâ€.
Man-machine friendly cooperation into a selling point
For robot giants, this is an excellent product show, some held new product launches, while others used the “latest†and “next generation†logo to introduce new products.
ABB, FANUC, Yaskawa Electric, KUKA, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Fujikyu, Mitsubishi Electric and other robot manufacturers all rented large sites to showcase the latest robot products. Among these new products, human-machine collaboration has become an important selling point.
On November 29th, ABB released Yumi single-arm human-robot collaboration robot at the exhibition. The Yumi series introduced its robotic man-machine collaboration robots in 2015, mainly for the assembly of small parts. The new one-armed Yumi is expected to be available in 2018. It is a 7-axis robot. The load-bearing capacity and flexibility of the Yumi are much higher than those of the arms.
"Yumi series applications exceeded our expectations. We originally designed our arms. Yumi is mainly used for the assembly of small parts. However, our customers' practical application areas are much broader. With both arms, Yumi can play Rubik's Cube, sushi, and gifts. The coffee can also be directed by the band. The development of the new one-armed Yumi is actually based on customer needs,†said An Shiming, president of the robotics and motion control division of ABB Group, at a new product launch.
According to Ni Side, global president of abb robotics business, ABB will continue to develop human-robot collaboration robotics products. The new human-robot collaboration robots are a good example of the “future factoryâ€. Human-robot collaboration robots help enterprises to increase production efficiency and can better adapt to the current large-scale production needs of “personality customizationâ€.
The Yumi series human-robot collaboration robots can achieve friendly cooperation between humans and machines. Unlike traditional robots, which require a fence frame to be set within a given area, lead-through programming can achieve simpler operations.
"Now the electronic products are rapidly changing. Many manufacturers will have some customized production requirements. It is only necessary to change Yumi's programming and use different (arm) clamping jaws for production on different production lines." Zhang Xiaoxuan, a collaborative robot product manager of ABB robotics department, told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter.
In the robot giant's exhibition area, human-robot collaboration robots occupy an important position. A series of new human-robot collaboration robots launched by FANUC marked the words “no safety fence†and “assistance for human work†in prominent positions. Workers and robots can achieve harmonious coexistence and robots can better assist workers. operation.
"As far as each company's production application is concerned, it is necessary to reprogram the robot, reprogramming it, and changing the grip of the arm. The robot itself is more expensive and we are considering whether to purchase it." An AGV from China (Automated guided transport) The car maker told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the company is considering the purchase of robots that can realize the assembly of components. The weight of the robotic arm has become an important indicator.
Will robots replace humans and pose a threat to humans? Robot giants obviously do not agree with this statement. In Yaskawa's collaborative robot area, robots are easy to operate, freeing humans from heavy labor, eliminating laboratory infections, and demonstrating human-computer coordination and friendship.
Smart, IoT leads development direction
Many robot giants have drawn large areas in the exhibition area to demonstrate the vision of “future factory†and “smart factoryâ€. Multiple robots cooperate with each other to achieve highly automated production of all processes such as parts assembly, inspection, inspection, packaging, and transportation. Among them, some require a small amount of human resources, and some can achieve full-scale factory automation.
In addition to the whole process of automated production and intelligent operation, the further intelligence and physical connection of individual robots are also the focus of development.
FANUC launched new products such as “Pre-Process Preparation System using 3D Vision Sensors†and “Stack Pickup Based on Deep Learningâ€. The robot can detect the workpieces accumulated in the workpiece box through the 3D vision sensor, and can be neatly arranged on the workpiece supply device after being taken out. Can also be detected through the 3D wide-area sensor scattered piles of cylindrical workpieces, and through deep learning, the workpiece in accordance with the difficulty of picking automatically sort and so on.
Wang Dong, a researcher at the FANUC Robotics Development Division, told the 21st Century Business Herald that FANUC’s traditional strengths lie in machine tools, motors, and robots. This deep learning robot is developed jointly with partners, and the deep learning algorithm consists of Partner offers. FANUC is also investing in artificial intelligence and deep learning.
ABB's “Painting Machine with Internet of Things†is part of the Internet of Things. Ding Xianhe, an ABB robotics and motion control division evaluation and overseas sales team member, told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the new coating machine, in addition to its basic functions, also added its own design. Chips were installed inside the screw cup and air motor. It is possible to read the production date, model number, and application status of the rotary cup and air motor to ensure that these key parts can be replaced promptly.
In addition, the front of this painting robot arm is equipped with multiple sensors, which can real-timely read whether the air motor bearing operation deviates too much, the operating environment temperature of the machine, and other key data. It can also upload data through networking to achieve remote monitoring of the machine and improve the quality of machine operation.
FANUC's "zero downtime" factory solutions are also within the scope of the Internet of Things. Every robot in the factory can link through the Internet of Things, upload information and data to the cloud, and remotely monitor the robot's operation status and maintenance status.
Mitsubishi Electric also demonstrated several technologies that are still in the lab, such as "Automatic adjustment of 3D vision sensors for demonstrators and AI." The algorithm can be used to analyze the hypothetical space and reproduce the parts supply. Without the expertise of robots and 3D vision sensors, anyone can easily make adjustments.
Wang Ruizhi, product and R&D director of Aung Hua (Shanghai) Automation Engineering Co., Ltd., told 21st Century Business Herald that iREX2017 not only promoted the existing robotic products, but also demonstrated the development trend of future robotics applications, such as human-computer interaction and 3D vision. , deep learning, smart grippers, etc. are very inspiring for robot development companies.
Market demand rapidly expands
At the iREX2017 exhibition site, not only the traditional robot giants gathered a large number of audiences, but some entrepreneurial robotics companies are also very popular.
Mujin is a typical example. This entrepreneurial company established in 2011 already has the status of a first-line robotic company.
“Our production capacity is limited, and a large number of robot orders will be pushed out every year.†Ye Xutao, a visual developer at Mujin, told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter.
This start-up company, which started with a control system, has largely depended on traditional robot companies for its production of robot arms. This also reflects the strong market demand for robots to some extent.
Yoshitaka Sakai, a producer of aluminum castings in the Kanto region of Japan, said that his factory may introduce robots in the near future because of the shortage of labor in Japan.
An Shiming, president of ABB Group's robotics and motion control division, said that the robotic market is booming and will continue to grow in the future. Because both Europe and Asia, there is an aging population, and workers are looking forward to being boring and dirty. , free from harmful and healthy working environment.
In recent years, the rise of demand in the Chinese robot market has contributed many new orders. Fan Dong researcher Wang Dong said that demand for the robot market has grown rapidly this year. FANUC's orders from China last year averaged more than 4,000 units per month, and orders increased to over 9,000 units this year. FANUC now has the problem of insufficient production, and its production capacity cannot meet the rapidly expanding market demand.
Guangzhou Taiwei Machinery Co., Ltd., as a partner of Fujitsu, participated in the product display of iREX2017. Liang Lichen, a staff member of Taiwei Business Department, told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the automation demand of Chinese factories has grown rapidly in recent years, especially large enterprises in South China and East China. The continuous increase in manpower cost, and robot production can improve product quality, are all important reasons why companies change machines.
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