As one of the largest integrators in the nation, JR Automation sees nearly every type of request for automation. Because of that, we have gained a unique perspective on what cobot features end consumers are actually asking for and are willing to spend money on.
This presentation focuses on where cobots are being applied, where they can bring the most value to a business, and how their value can be fully realized.
Re-Evaluating the Value and Market Positioning of Industrial Cobots
1. Re-Evaluating the
Value and Market
Positioning of
Industrial Cobots
Tim Kelch, JR Automation Technologies
Sept 29th, 2016
2. TINA Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2016 10:12 AM
I am about to set up a [collaborative robot] do you have a simple vision solution to
“clock” the above part?
MARK Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2016 12:52 PM
With robot and the controller, we do not have a dedicated vision solution. The platform
is very open, so you can use the Java language to interface to the smart camera of your
choice for this. I think that would be the most effective solution.
TINA Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2016 1:53 PM
No dedicated vision solution for [robot]
BILL Sent: Tuesday, August 9, 2016 8:44 PM
Is that true of their other robots? That would be different than what they were touting
for using the 3D camera.
Bill
Sent from my iPhone
(Robot Rep)
(JR Customer)
(JR Customer)
(JR Engineer)
3. TIM Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2016 7:30 AM
Bill/Tina,
We deployed the [collaborative robot] on a customer cell two years ago and have
developed some pretty substantial applications since then.
Could we setup a call this morning to discuss the [robot] and your application?
What’s causing this rapid push?
TINA Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2016 8:26 AM
[…]The need for a collaborative robot is being driven by a VP visiting the plant. The
application would be fine as fenceless with a standard robot but that is not acceptable
politically.
(Me)
(JR Customer)
4. Fully-staffed
R&D and
Software Eng
Cross Industry
Experience
FANUC, ABB,
Kuka, etc.
Experienced
Robot Integrator
30% CAGR
Since 2009
Annual Sales
$250,000,000+
30% Degreed
Engineers
Employees
850+ ISO 9001:2008
RIA Certified
Integrator
Certifications
9 bldg. across
the U.S.
Facilities
625,000+ sq. ft.
JR Automation Overview
6. Industrial vs Standard
Collaborative System
• ~6 DoF Arms
• Single or Dual Arm
• Ruggedized
• Industrial Comm
Protocols
• Autonomy
• Better YouTube Videos
• Intelligent
10. The Middle Market
Number of variants
Lot Size
Flexibility
Productivity
High Value
Low
High
High Low
High
HighLow
Low
Automatic
Assembly
Manual
Assembly
Hybrid
Assembly
24. Easy to learn
1 Do you want someone
untrained managing
safety?
25. Easy to learn
1
Do you want an intuitive
user interface?
2
Do you want someone
untrained managing
safety?
26. Easy to learn
Is a good UX/UI one that is
consistent for decades or
learned in minutes?
3
Do you want someone
untrained managing
safety?
1
Do you want an intuitive
user interface?
2
27. Collaborative Robot Claims
Adapts to real-world variability
and rapid deployment
2 Easy to learn and quick to
teach
31 Fast to program points
29. Collaborative Robot Claims
4
Adapts to real-world variability
and rapid deployment
2 Easy to learn and quick to
teach
31 Fast to program points
Safe for humans to work
nearby
30. Picking your Cobot
1. Will you
need Force
Based
Guidance?
2. Is your goal
to reduce
floorspace?
3. Will the
human
need to
routinely
interact?
4. Will it need
to be
routinely
trained for
new parts?
31. Picking your Cobot
1. Will you
need Force
Based
Guidance?
2. Is your goal
to reduce
floorspace?
3. Will the
human
need to
routinely
interact?
4. Will it need
to be
routinely
trained for
new parts?
Yes = 1
Maybe = .5
No = 0
32. RIA Styles of Collaborative
Applications
Guided
Assembly
Interface
Window
Assembly,
handling
Collaborative
Workspace
Un/loading,
testing, service
Hand over
Window
HRC, hand-
teaching
Hand-guiding
Inspection,
teaching
Inspection
33. Collaborative Robot Claims
4
Adapts to real-world variability
and rapid deployment
2 Easy to learn and quick to
teach
31 Fast to program points
Safe for humans to work
nearby
37. How did we get these
expectations?
Cobots have been
marketed like technology1
38. How did we get these
expectations?
2
Cobots have been
marketed like technology
Expectations of timelines
1
39. How did we get these
expectations?
Easy to explain,
articulate, and grasp
2
Cobots have been
marketed like technology
3
Expectations of timelines
1
43. Introspection
Automatically improving internal processes by
analyzing past performance
• Preventative Maintenance - Cloud
connectivity for adaptive PM routines
• Path Optimization - Optimizing movements
on the fly, allowing the process to improve
over time
44. Perception and Sensing
Image Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5WYLnOcggY
Seeing, understanding and reacting
to what is taking place in the real world
• Wireless Wires – A concept enabling vision/sound to
trigger actions rather than hard-wired connections
• Externally Based Guidance – Adapting a path based on
external feedback (ex. force sensor, camera input,
profilometer peak)
• Path Planning – Improving ability to execute complex
motions to do a task
46. Improving a robots ability to execute
complex motions to do a task
• Object Avoidance – Avoiding objects and
creating poses/paths around them
• In-Line Path Generation – Creating
robot paths on the fly (Scan-N-Plan)
• Naturalize Actions – Add more natural
capacities when doing a task
Path Planning
Image Source: chriswalkertechblog.blogspot.com
47. Enabling the robot to understand what it
needs to do and where it fits within the overall system
• Virtualized Robot – Allowing robot setups and
configurations to be stored in the cloud, so robots
and robot programs can be interchangeable
• Load Balancing – Sharing tasks between different
robots
• De / Centralization – Making some decisions at the
robot and others in a centralized system
Tribal Knowledge
48. Simplifying the teaching interface, so
adaptive systems can quickly be taught and
deployed
• VR/AR Teaching – Teaching the robot from a
rapidly modeled environment
• Systems Teaching – Creating better interfaces to
program complex systems (machine + robot)
either inline or offline
• (ability to add PLC logic or simulate the real world)
Teaching Interfaces
49. Improving the easy of being able to
mechanically pick up a diverse range of parts
• Tactile Feedback – Combining both vision
and tactile intelligence to grab an object
• Options/Changeover and TCP – Allowing
different tools to be used for different processes
and easily adjusting TCP
• Human Interactive – Buttons on grippers and
naturally compliant
Gripper Technology
Image Source: CoRo Lab
50. Making robots intrinsically safe
• Collision Avoidance – Making it so a collision
doesn’t need to happen
• Increased Safety/Awareness – Making it easier to
integrate safety into the robot and enabling the
system to generate its own safety based on seen
patterns
• Natural Human Interfaces – Natural language
processing and future need prediction
Human-Robot Collaboration
52. Enabling robots to autonomously move
between different tasks
• Robot/Vehicle Integration - Turning the “world”
into a single accurate coordinate system
• Automatic Calibration – Enabling the robot to
get near a position and further localize itself
• Movement-on-the-fly – Allowing the robot to
move while the cart is moving
Mobility
Image Source: kuka-robotics.com
56. Right now, collaborative robots are
not only bringing HRC -
They are expanding the industrial
market and adding new potential
57. Next-Wave Robots
Gap in capabilities is closing – but
still present
Industrial space will be disrupted by fast
moving tech that cobots are bringing
Recognize the opportunity that HRC is only one
element of the growing advanced robotics market