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Robots
And Robot of the Year Goes To...
Posted by Mark Wilson at 12:59 AM on January 25, 2008
Every year Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) distinguishes the top achievements in robotics. So who/what won 2007? Fanuc's industrial robot system. Two arms are driven by advanced visual tracking to, well, just watch the clip. What you see is not automated movement, but a series of real-time decisions allowing 120 items to be picked up per minute. Plus, the arms can function 24 hours a day and are constructed from a plastic that requires no grease. Since their launch in 2006, around 150 units have been sold worldwide—hopefully none to Cyberdyne Systems...yet. [pinktentacle via botjunkie]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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yelraf
Posted 2:12 AM 25/1/08
@strider:
The Lucy/chocolate assembly line was the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw this. Good call.
yelraf
jdunns4
Posted 2:12 AM 25/1/08
man this is by FAR the most efficient yet redundant yellow-sticker-on-piece-of-paper factory i've ever seen.
easily.
jdunns4
pliSkiNAKE
Posted 2:12 AM 25/1/08
GO CONVEYER BELT!
pliSkiNAKE
rtwod2
Posted 2:12 AM 25/1/08
Hey Strider_mt2k, that was the funnies thing I have read all week. Thanks!
rtwod2
Schweppes
Posted 2:12 AM 25/1/08
I got to tour Fanuc's assembly plant in Michigan last year, and they had a number of demo robots set up to show off their machine vision (2D and 3D) with part location, tracking, and decision making, amongst other features. There are a whole lot of other configurations that these and similar robots can be set up in, for example using shape recognition to find parts in 3D in a pile, locate to obtain them, and then locate again to dispense or to install onto an assembly using pressure sensing and force feedback controls to work with the cameras and make sure that everything works correctly.
Schweppes
hanbush
Posted 2:12 AM 25/1/08
righty has a shorter distance to travel, it's an uphill battle for lefty
GO LEFTY
hanbush
strider_mt2k
Posted 2:12 AM 25/1/08
So much for that Lucille Ball 'bot I was going to build for the chocolate factory...
strider_mt2k
homerjay
Posted 2:12 AM 25/1/08
RIghty's winning. I wonder if he gets a bonus for efficiency. :)
homerjay
rubu
Posted 2:12 AM 25/1/08
Better that asimo?
rubu
sansovino
Posted 3:12 AM 25/1/08
With youtube's big ass play button in the way I couldn't see all of the preview image and I thought "some sick bastard made a robot goatse simulator."
Thankfully, I'm the one with the sick imagination.
sansovino
Erzengel
Posted 4:12 AM 25/1/08
@sansovino: robot goatse simulator? i can see a market in there!!! thanks for the idea!!!
Erzengel
Out2gtcha
Posted 12:23 PM 24/1/08
Go Go gadget Robot Arms!!
Out2gtcha
tchangtx
Posted 12:13 PM 24/1/08
Whoever is laying down those yellow thingies should be replaced by a robot. They're all jacked up.
tchangtx
cgiddings
Posted 1:37 PM 24/1/08
Hahaha, Cyberdyne... that takes me back to wonderful episodes of "Hand Maid Mei". :-D
cgiddings
archetype94306
Posted 1:31 PM 24/1/08
I find this kind of hypnotic to watch. Like I'm just expecting one of them to loose it and start throwing shit everywhere.
I would like to see the test video where they cranked the belt to a speed where the robot fails. I bet it gets all flustered, throws up its arms, then flips you off with its finger.
archetype94306