D Design World Robotics Handbook 2022

www.therobotreport.
com
November 2022
2022
Robotics
Handbook
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11 • 2022 • therobotreport.com
Contents
DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT COBOTS
08_ Robotics experts weigh in on Tesla Optimus 50 _ Plasma cutting and MiG welding cobots
humanoid yield heavy-duty results
14 _ Overcoming autonomous farming MOTION CONTROL

misconceptions in California
54 _ How motion engineering helps develop
next-gen surgical robots
20 _ 6 keys to selecting a contract manufacturer
24 _ NASA’s Terrain Relative Navigation: from 58 _ How terrain semantics help quadruped
learn to walk
ideation to commercialization
END EFFECTORS
MOBILE ROBOTS
30 _ How the cloud can improve human-robot 62 _ Developing a multifunctional,

long-arm gripper
interaction
36 _ Mobile manipulator lends a hand at Wuhan 66 _ Harvard researchers create soft,

tentacle-like robot gripper
Institute of Shipbuilding Technology
SENSING
SOFTWARE
70 _ Sensor breakdown: how robot
40 _ Linux embracing Rust will boost robotics vacuums navigate
community
44 _ Inside Viam’s cloud-based robotics

development platform
2 November 2022 www.therobotreport.com THE ROBOT REPORT
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Editor’s Note
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No,
autonomous
vehicles
aren’t dead Steve Crowe | Editorial Director, The Robot Report
The hot-take artists wasted no time aer the recent Argo AI shutdown. This Cruise and Waymo have had well-
was an unexpected move by Ford and Volkswagen, which were the two largest financial documented hiccups with their robotaxi
backers of the once-promising autonomous driving startup. But shortly aer the news services. But anyone who calls what
broke, many “experts” already signed the death certificate for the entire autonomous these companies are doing simply “flashy
vehicle industry. demos” is either being disingenuous or
However, some of the industry’s leading players have incredible momentum at the hasn’t experienced the technology
time of Argo AI’s demise. Cruise recently expanded its public robotaxi service in San first-hand.
Francisco, announced it’s bringing robotaxi services to Austin and Phoenix in the coming I understand Waymo and Cruise
months, started testing its Origin ridesharing autonomous vehicle in California and have been in San Francisco for years,
started making autonomous deliveries for Walmart in two Arizona locations. meticulously mapping and training their
While I was writing this, Waymo, which has been running a robotaxi service in a limited autonomous driving stack in geofenced
area of Arizona, expanded its service in downtown Phoenix to include pickups and drop- areas of the city. But San Francisco is an
offs at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Waymo also recently announced it’s incredibly challenging city to drive in.
expanding to Los Angeles and continues to test its robotaxi service in San Francisco. They should be able to take what they’ve
Mobileye went public aer spinning out of Intel. And the autonomous vehicle market learned in San Francisco and more quickly
in China has several major players doing great work, too. launch similar robotaxi services elsewhere
I’ve been fortunate enough to ride in several different robotaxis over the years, most in less chaotic areas.
recently with Waymo in San Francisco prior to our RoboBusiness event. It was a roughly This is not to say the industry doesn’t
9-mile ride that took just under 30 minutes. Because I’m not a Waymo employee, there have major challenges. Questions about
was a human safety driver behind the wheel. reliability, revenue and scalability abound.
The route we took had a myriad of obstacles, including multiple unprotected le turns, But declaring the entire industry dead is
pedestrians crossing streets and sidewalks, bicyclists, narrow streets, double-parked foolish. New technologies rarely develop
Amazon delivery trucks and construction vehicles cutting us off. As you would hope, the the way many expect. And the earliest
trip was flawless and uneventful. Actually, it was quite boring. players oen don’t win out.
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I rode in
this Waymo
robotaxi for
4 AXIS SERVO from
about
30 minutes
around
San Francisco.
2.25”
| Steve Crowe
- brushed or bldc motors

- 5 amps per axis
During the five-plus years that Ford owned why the technology is needed.
the majority of Argo AI, it spent nearly $2.7 “Over 40,000 people died in car crashes - 16 analog inputs
billion on R&D. During that same time, Ford last year, up 10% om the previous year. - 16 on/off drivers
also generated about $850 billion in sales, $43 Trucking is an over $700 billion business,
billion in operating profit and spent about $39 moving over 72% of the nation’s eight by
- home and limit in
billion on both capital outlays and R&D. weight, but we just don’t have enough drivers - live tech support
Ford said the plan is to shi its focus away to move it all. It’s also dangerous—there are - made in the USA
om funding Argo AI’s development of Level 4 almost half a million accidents involving
autonomous driving technology and towards trucks a year,” Urmson said.
creating its own Level 2 and Level 3 driving Urmson, of course, is biased since he has See the
systems. “We’re optimistic about a future a major stake in this game. So, of course, he’s
for L4 advanced driver assist systems, but going to say positive things aer a negative EZQUAD SERVO
profitable, fully autonomous vehicles at scale situation. And there are rumors that Aurora
are a long way off, and we won’t necessarily is running out of money and is looking to be in action!
have to create that technology ourselves,” acquired. But I think he’s right.
Farley said. Just because Argo AI failed doesn’t mean
Certainly, the consolidation will continue. every other company will suffer the same
But other companies will stay the course. fate. Ford might have simply had a change of
Waymo, for example, could have multiple
revenue streams thanks to its robotaxis and
heart with its strategy, but it’s also OK to say
Argo AI fell behind the competition in recent
WWW.ALLMOTION.COM
autonomous trucking business. And despite years. Did the team get the technology as far
less confidence om venture capitalists,
new players will come to market with new
strategies and technologies.
as it could? We’ll learn more in the coming
days and months.
Albeit slower than originally expected,
(510) 471-4000
Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of there are autonomous vehicle companies
Aurora, a self-driving company that has making tremendous strides. Argo AI’s 30097 Ahern Avenue
partnerships with Toyota and Uber, shared shutdown doesn’t signal the end of the Union City, CA 94587
his thoughts about Argo AI shutting down. industry. It just reiterates that this technology Te c h n i c a l S u p p o r t
He said the industry has never been closer is difficult to develop. And the path to fully (408) 460-1345
to delivering on the promise of self-driving driverless vehicles is being re-routed yet
vehicles. And he shared a couple of reasons again. RR
DESIGN WORLD www.therobotreport.com November 2022 5
EdNote_RR_11-22_Vs2.indd 5 11/4/22 9:50 AM

DESIGN WORLD
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I T ’ S W H AT ’ S O N T H E I N S I D E T H AT C O U N T S
®
E L E C T R O N I C S C O R P.
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Robotics
experts
weigh in on
Tesla Optimus humanoid
Elon Musk and Tesla showcased a working prototype of
the Optimus humanoid robot, and the robotics industry
was quick to react.
Steve Crowe • Editorial Director, The Robot Report
Elon Musk recently unveiled at Tesla AI Day the company’s much-anticipated Optimus
humanoid robot. Last year, of course, the “robot” was simply a human dressed in a robot
suit. This time, Tesla briefly demoed a working prototype that walked, waved, and danced on
stage. Tesla also played videos that showcased the Optimus prototype doing different tasks,
such as picking up boxes in a warehouse and watering a plant in an office.
Musk claimed Tesla will be able to leapog other humanoid developers, such as Agility
Robotics and Boston Dynamics, in part because Optimus uses the same neural networks as
Tesla’s Autopilot technology. Musk predicted Optimus’ price will be less than $20,000 when
it’s commercialized.
Of course, the robotics industry was watching Tesla AI Day in earnest to see exactly what
Optimus would be this time around. Many experts om the robotics industry shared their
thoughts on social media during and immediately aer the event ended. We have collected
some of those thoughts below.
| AdobeStock
Tesla Optimus_11-22_Vs2.indd 8 11/4/22 9:23 AM

Tesla CEO Elon Musk
unveiled the Optimus
humanoid robot at Tesla
Ryan Gariepy, CTO, Clearpath
AI Day on September 30.
Robotics & OTTO Motors
Great credit to the engineering team who Optimus briefly walked,
pulled it off, of course, but I’m not seeing waved, and danced on
anything particularly impressive here stage. | Tesla
which we can attribute specifically to
Elon or Tesla.
Specifically, there were lots of
arguments ahead of the unveil that one
or more of the “Tesla FSD stack/data/
EV experience” was going to let them
leapfrog all of the other companies in the
space, and I didn’t see any of that.
There’s also lots of credit going to Elon for
saying that “it’s going to cost 20K,” which
reminds me of all the 3D lidar companies
that have been saying “our lidar will only Keerthana Gopalakrishnan, control/planning when it’s been around
cost [US] $100 ... if you pre-order 100K+ Roboticist, Google Brain for a while.
units.” Optimus reveal: Mind blown with the
In short, I’d bet that any decent velocity of the team and the very sleek Dennis Hong, Professor, UCLA
university or corporate robotics lab with hardware design elements. Yet to see The energy and excitement at AI Day
a similar budget and an active PR team autonomy. Surprised Tesla went full 2 was amazing. “AI Day” is actually a
would be able to pull this off. Boston Dynamics mode with classical recruitment event, and in that sense, I
THE ROBOT REPORT

www.therobotreport.com November 2022 9

Development
Boston Dynamics’ Atlas
is widely recognized as
the most sophisticated
humanoid robot ever built.
Boston Dynamics uses Atlas
as a research platform to
push the limits of whole-
body mobility for robots.
| Boston Dynamics
Playing with a drive, it’s not inherently

very transparent—you certainly wouldn’t
get a free swinging knee or hip joint. All
the actuators look like they need and
use active force loops. This looks nasty to
believe the event was a big success. Georgia Chalvatzaki, assistant me: It will complicate the control, reduce
I am aware of critics who say that the professor at Technische Universität efficiency, and raise complexity. If they
prototype had nothing new that they Darmstadt really want to get to [US] $20,000 a unit,
hadn’t seen elsewhere, and that there Looking at the Tesla bot as a roboticist, this is not the way to go.
are other, more impressive humanoids. I am impressed by what the engineers Hands: One novel feature here is a
There are also people who have doubts achieved for this prototype in a year. clutch on the finger flex/extend. Playing
about the aggressive timeline Elon However, the behaviors demonstrated with an actual hand, it felt like it worked
had proposed, and I do not necessarily are less impressive than that of Honda’s quite nicely to decouple the finger from
disagree with them. Asimo from 20 years ago. What excites the drive; this will have advantages. The
That being said, I am a true believer me is the idea of cheap and accessible design of the hands leaves very little
of the future with humanoid robots and hardware. room for a compliant (soft) layer, and
their eventual applications; that they bare metal hands are a terrible idea—try
will be used in our everyday lives “one Will Jackson, founder and CEO, picking up a glass of water with two
day” and make our lives better. And Engineered Arts metal spoons and you will know what I
for that to happen, we need to start I was fortunate enough to have been at mean. No finger ab/adduction, only two
somewhere, and project Optimus is just the Optimus unveil in Palo Alto. Had a DOFs in the thumb—no chance of doing
that. chance to check out the design and talk anything human-level dexterous here.
What was most impressive to me with many of the engineers involved. [Tesla has] a large team of highly
was what the Optimus team was able It’s generally an old-school series chain capable engineers and will iterate quickly
to accomplish in such a short period of actuators, excepting wrists and ankles, to better designs—if they can find a
of time. If you are in this field, you which are differential roll/pitch. Nothing leader for the mechanical architecture
would agree, too. The prototype they novel in the kinematics. No mechanical with better ideas than they are currently
have created will serve as an excellent energy storage, parallel springs, etc.—it’s showing.
beginning platform for them to learn not going to be efficient unless they The elephant in the room is the
from and to build upon. change that. application ideas, which are frankly
I would say this is their good first Two main classes [of actuators]: rotary ridiculous. I am amazed that Musk can
step towards something big—if Tesla and linear. Rotary is an integrated strain address an audience so rapturously
truly commits to put its resources, wave gear reduction (harmonic drive). enamored with the idea of a humanoid
time, and efforts into it long term. The Linear actuators are more interesting, and totally fail to recognize that their
company has great engineers, and with integrated inverted roller screw drive. desire to interact with a robot is the
the newly recruited talents, I am even
more excited to see what they’ll be able
to accomplish next.
The energy and excitement at AI Day 2 was amazing.
“AI Day” is actually a recruitment event, and in that
sense, I believe the event was a big success.
— Dennis Hong, Professor, UCLA


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Development
killer application. Did he think they were nope. They did not. The tech isn’t there
applauding because finally the world will for anyone. And that’s why the more
have a humanoid robot that can lift a generous takes some of us try to make
pipe in a car factory? for the sake of the engineering team are
“you did as well as you could and you’re
Summary: An extraordinarily brave live figuring out the state of the art quickly.”
demonstration of a herculean effort that It’s not that team’s fault. There was no
sadly lacks novelty and imagination. way to achieve an impossible goal.
Hopefully we will see a course correction Here’s the thing: What humanoid
by the time of next year’s event. robotics needs is a realistic vision. A
“here is exactly where this, a humanoid
Mikell Taylor, principal technical form factor, is needed instead of literally
program manager, Amazon Robotics anything else” vision that acknowledges
There is no “doing it first” with an all- the realities of the technology. But that’s
purpose humanoid robot that can 1:1 not what it was. It was “today we have
replace people. That’s simply not where this, in a year we’ll have sci-fi.” And that’s
the tech is now and it’s not where it’s just not going to happen. Frankly, it’s
going to be in the next 10 years, I will say disappointingly un-visionary. “Everyone
with complete confidence. else just hasn’t engineered hard enough”
Those of us in the industry were is not a vision. It’s ignorance. RR
watching to see if Tesla somehow
knew something we didn’t know. And …
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Overcoming
autonomous
farming misconceptions
in California
Monarch Tractor’s recent petition
to Cal/OSHA may have been
denied, but this outcome is not
the setback many fear.
Karli Petrovic
On June 16, 2022, Cal/OSHA’s 4-3 opinion to deny petition 596 was the decision
heard around the agricultural world. Filed by Monarch Tractor on December 15 of
the previous year, petition 596 sought to clari the state of California’s agricultural
equipment regulations as they relate to modern self-driving tractors.
Monarch Tractor — the company behind a fully electric, driver-optional tractor —
argued that the current regulations, which were draed in the 1970s, fail to account
for the many ways tractors and other farming equipment have advanced in the 21st
century. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board staff agreed
with Monarch Tractor that the language that appears in Title 8, section 3441(b) may be
outdated, this opinion was not enough to convince Cal/OSHA to approve the petition.
Current regulations unchanged
Many industry experts lamented this decision as a step backward for California
agriculture. Without a quicker way to introduce the latest technologies on the farm,
they argued, the largest agricultural state in the U.S. would surely be le behind.
Autonomous tractors and other ag robotics are, aer all, a necessary part of feeding a
growing population in the face of labor shortages, rising input costs, fewer resources and
increasing environmental concerns.
Autonomous Tractors_11-22_Vs1.indd 14 11/4/22 9:05 AM

Full-scale production of
Monarch Tractor’s MK-V
all-electric, autonomous
tractor is scheduled to
begin in Q1 2023.
| Monarch Tractor
While it is true that advancing farm easier, faster, and with less paperwork various companies rolling out autonomous
technologies provide solutions for farmers.” agriculture equipment. Despite the ruling, Cal/
to many of these problems, the Although Monarch Tractor brought a OSHA and Monarch Tractor continue to work
decision to deny Monarch Tractor’s strong case to the Board and hoped that its closely under the temporary experimental
petition does not extend the timeline petition would be approved, this decision did variance to clari the regulations, as well as
for bringing new autonomous not negatively impact the ways the company establish safety processes with key milestones
equipment into the field. Quite the and Cal/OSHA are collaborating at present. for other tech providers to follow specifically
opposite. When Monarch Tractor filed This includes the temporary experimental in farm environments where autonomous
the petition, the company sought to variance that’s been in effect since the equipment is expected to work in close
speed things up. The Board’s opinion summer of 2021. Through this variance, proximity to farm workers.”
merely maintains the status quo. Monarch Tractor works with Cal/OSHA and Safety has long been a priority for
Monarch Tractor’s CEO Praveen Wente and Crocker & Starr vineyards to Monarch Tractor, as the company has shared
Penmetsa noted, “The decision does gather data in support of the conclusion information and collaborated with Cal/OSHA
not change current regulations. that autonomous tractors provide the for the last three years. At the time of the
There are already autonomous same level of safety as tractors managed by petition, Monarch Tractor revealed that its
technologies operating on farms human operators. technology has “operated 760 hours with
across the country. Monarch Tractor’s According to Penmetsa, “Monarch Tractor zero incidents of any kind.” This provides a
petition aimed to make the adoption is the only company operating under this stark contrast to the labor statistics Monarch
of autonomous technologies on the type of variance in the ag sector, despite Tractor included in the petition:
THE ROBOT REPORT www.therobotreport.com November 2022 15

Development
John Deere launched in 2022 its 8R fully autonomous
tractor. The 8R has six pairs of stereo cameras that
use a deep neural network to classify each pixel in
approximately 100 milliseconds and determine if the
tractor continues to move or stops. | John Deere
“According to the Bureau of Labor accounting for about one-third of Latest technologies
Statistics, agriculture is the deadliest farm fatalities annually. The majority of Monarch Tractor has outfitted its
profession in the United States and in tractor fatalities are om side or rear equipment with the latest sensors and
the State of California with roughly 40% rollovers that can occur due to a range camera technologies. The company
more deaths per 100,000 workers than of factors including improper weight referenced these advances when
any other industry [Fatal Occupational distribution, user error, and bad terrain comparing the outdated language in Title
Injuries in California 2013-2019 (CFOI) conditions. Rollovers can happen to any 8, section 3441 (b) to what autonomous
Report. Pg, 18]. Tractor accidents are operator; roughly 80% of fatalities involve tractors can do now. Monarch Tractor’s
a leading cause of serious injury, experienced operators [NASD Tractor petition argued that the technology in
Overturn Information].” self-propelled tractors available today
A letter to Cal/OSHA
Stephanie See, director of state government relations for the Benefits of autonomous equipment
Association of Equipment Manufacturing (AEM), wrote a letter to Agricultural use of autonomous equipment promotes the
Cal/OSHA in support of updating the regulations. That letter is reduction of worker exposure to a variety of hazards:
reprinted in its entirety here: • Driverless sprayers reduce incidents where employees are
AEM is the North American-based international trade group exposed to pesticides during their application.
representing off-road equipment manufacturers and suppliers, with • The undistracted nature of onboard sensors can
more than 1,000 companies and more than 200 product lines in the provide an excellent level of detection for monitoring the
agriculture and construction-related industry sectors worldwide. The environment to prevent incidents.
equipment manufacturing industry supports 2.8 million jobs in the • The use of autonomous tractors can remove workers om
U.S. Equipment manufacturers also contribute $288 billion a year to environmental health and safety hazards such as dust, heat,
the U.S. economy. and vibration, keeping workers healthier.
We appreciate the opportunity to express our support for • Autonomous machines can perform physically demanding
amending California Title 8, Section 3441 (b) to promulgate labor such as hauling heavy loads om fields, or shaking
appropriate safety regulations for the use of autonomous farm nuts om trees, thus lessening the wear and tear on a
equipment. worker’s body.
Off-road autonomous equipment is here and destined to play
an increasing role in agriculture. The governing regulations were last Autonomous uit pickers can keep laborers om ladders,
reviewed in 1985, long before the technology was developed to create reducing fall hazards. Furthermore, the diversity and
autonomous farm equipment. Within the next five-to-ten years, inclusion benefits of off-road autonomy should not be
autonomous tractors will be widely available on the market, thus the overlooked. The nature of many employment opportunities
time is right to begin examining the regulatory amework that would on California farms restricts who can apply based upon the
allow this equipment to operate safely. applicant’s physical abilities. Together, AEM and Cal/OSHA

can enable off-road autonomy to pioneer farming operations may participate in the process, allowing all viewpoints and
that create employment opportunities for workers om an comments to be addressed before the standards are finalized
expanded range of physical abilities, including disabilities, and and published.
professional backgrounds who otherwise cannot be “reasonably The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
accommodated.” addresses highly automated agricultural machines (HAAM) in
ISO 18497 Agricultural Machinery and Agricultural Machines –
Safety data
Safety of Highly Automated Agricultural Machines – Principles
Due to the emerging nature of this equipment, we do not have
for Design (First Edition, 2018). ISO 18497 is a performance-
extensive data on the safe usage of autonomous farm equipment,
based standard that specifies the principles in the design of
however, our industry can draw on the previous experiences
self-driving tractors to achieve safe operation. To be compliant
of related industries and is currently studying the safety of
with ISO 18497, self-driving tractors must contain, at the
autonomous farm equipment through a partnership with Cal/
minimum, all of the following features into their design:
OSHA.
Since 1994, over 900 Caterpillar and Komatsu mining trucks
• A perception system capable of detecting and locating
persons or other obstacles relative to the machine
outfitted with autonomous systems have hauled 8 billion tons
of material across 90 million miles with zero system-related lost
• A perception system capable of locating and positioning
the equipment to prevent unintended excursions beyond the
time injuries incurred. Employees deployed at these work sites
boundary of the working area
operate in cooperation with the autonomous machines, resulting
in a demonstratively safer environment that reduces human
• Be able to ensure that there is no obstacle in the hazard zone
prior to moving
exposure to hazards.
Monarch Tractor, an AEM member company, is currently
• Give audible or visual alarms and enter its defined safe state
when an obstacle is detected, or an obstacle enters its hazard
conducting research through an experimental variance period,
zone
granted by Cal/OSHA in August 2021 that will evaluate the
safety of autonomous tractors through various conditions over
• Have the means to enable a local or remote operator to stop
or start highly automated operation
several years. Once complete, this data will allow stakeholders
to accurately adjudicate the safety of this technology in the
• Allow for adequate supervision by a local or remote operator
environment in which it will be used.
ISO 18497 is currently undergoing revision, which we anticipate
will be complete by the end of 2023. The technical committee
We also encourage the Board to review other data points with
will meet at AEM’s headquarters office in Milwaukee, WI in the
similar equipment operating in similar environments:
fall. We invite you to join us for this meeting.
• Through their seeding, spraying and spreading operations, We would also like to invite you to attend FIRA, USA in
Raven Applied Technology has accumulated 8,000+ hours of
Fresno, Oct. 18-20. FIRA, USA is the leading industry event in
operational time, covering 69,000 acres with 18 machines.
ag robotics, and will host in-field robot demos at the California
• According to its website, Blue-White Robotics, an autonomous State University, Fresno campus farm. Attendees will have
agriculture equipment manufacturer, has 10,000+ hours of safe
the opportunity to watch dozens of robots working in real
operation.
conditions. By bringing this academic community together
• KeyBanc Capital Markets published its first Autonomous Truck face-to-face in Fresno, FIRA USA aims to set priorities and
Technology Dashboard. As of March 1, 2022, KeyBanc counted 147
focus on solving some pain points.
autonomy-equipped trucks, traveling an estimated 4.1 million
miles. KeyBanc reports no unsafe driver violations resulting om Conclusion
40 roadside inspections in February. AEM is strongly in agreement that updating this regulation is
• Schnuck’s Markets announced that it is rolling out artificial needed for California to continue to be a world leader in both
intelligence-powered robots to all 111 of its stores in Illinois, agriculture and the innovations that support it. AEM looks
Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin. These robots will be interacting forward to collaborating with Cal/OSHA to develop a forward-
with customers that have had no special training to interact with looking and effective regulation that ensures California workers
autonomous machines. have the safe workplace they are entitled to while preparing for
• Because the technology used in autonomy has proven its the inevitable future that off-road autonomy is ushering in.
reliability, the 27 countries of the European Union are considering
allowing the self-certification of autonomous agricultural
vehicles.
Design and operation prescribed by international standards
Autonomous agricultural equipment is designed and tested to
international standards that are developed under an open and
balanced consensus process. Any materially interested party

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Development
functions as an operator, which means

the vehicle performs safely without an
operator inside the tractor. Instead, the
operator would manage the autonomous
tractor’s work om a distance.
“Monarch has incorporated several
additional safety features with direct
input om Cal/OSHA,” Penmetsa says.
“Tractors are speed limited in autonomy
mode to 3mph and feature digital
safety guardrails that deploy whenever
a human is within 10m (33) of the
vehicle. Monarch Tractor also enables
360-degree cameras to help protect
the driver, surrounding people, livestock,
implements, and crops near the tractor
om crashes. The tractor actively
addresses power take-off (PTO)-related
injuries on the farm by utilizing a camera
above the hitch that will stop the tractor
and cut off power to PTO if an object or
person comes in close proximity to the
tractor.”
Gathering data
With the temporary experimental
variance in place until August 2026,
Monarch Tractor, Cal/OSHA and Wente
and Crocker & Starr vineyards will
continue gathering data. When the
variance ends, the data will be used to
evaluate whether the current regulations
should be changed or updated. Many
hope that this information will help make
the case for quicker, easier adoption of
autonomous farm technologies without
sacrificing worker, bystander or animal
safety. Penmetsa is committed to
continuing this important work.
“Monarch Tractor continues to partner
with other agricultural groups and
California agencies on clarification of the
regulations applicable to autonomous
operations in agriculture,” he said.
“Monarch Tractor will also continue to
work with Cal/OSHA under the current
variance to provide the data requested
for evaluation under the variance as the
leader in global farm autonomy.” RR
THE ROBOT REPORT November 2022 19

Development
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•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
6 keys
to selecting a
contract manufacturer
Jim McCall • director of manufacturing, Cirtronics
Trust, values, goals, and complementary skill sets

are a strong foundation for long-term, successful
commercialization relationships.
Your manufacturer should feel like an extension of your business.

Manufacturing relationships are just that – relationships. Since your contract manufacturer
(CM) will be working alongside you, actively learning about your robotic system and the
requirements specific to your company and application, your partnering decision needs to be
deliberate and extend beyond bottom-line cost comparisons.
The following key considerations are shared as a guide in supporting your selection of a
manufacturer who will co-create a path – tailored to you and your robotic system – toward
successful commercialization. Each step om onboarding to production should feel like it was
made just for you, your priorities, and your product.
So, what are the considerations for choosing a partner who feels like an extension of your
business? And what kinds of engagement and interactions will support a win-win relationship?
1: Your capabilities
Start by assessing your company’s unique capabilities and strengths. Then when you look for
trusted partners, seek organizations whose areas of competence and qualifications complement
yours. By collaborating with well-aligned external resources, your team can focus on your
Contract Manufacturer_11-22_Vs1.indd 20 11/4/22 8:20 AM

A Cirtronics team is
seen here building
telepresence robots from
Ava Robotics, which
also develops robots for
company’s core competencies – the multiple validated sources for critical disinfection and security
engineering and innovative expertise components. applications.
that brought your robotic system to
3: Manufacturing handoff || Cirtronics
manufacturing readiness.
Documentation and optimization of
2: Reliable supply chain build procedures are required for a
Trust your partner’s expertise. If you’ve successful handoff to production. Active
been building prototypes or low and open knowledge transfer with your
quantities inside your organization manufacturer is critical. Cooperative
or with a prototype fabricator, or building (co-building) is one example of
even if you’ve been working with best practices. Co-building is building
another manufacturer, your new CM a product directly alongside your
should expertly audit your bill of manufacturing company’s engineers.
materials against known or forecasted Processes are validated, any changes that
uncertainties in material availability. are required to increase build efficiency
By working with you, they can identify or improve ease of assembly can be
supply chain strategies that provide a made, and the final process is fully
balance of stability and flexibility for the documented.
parts you need to build your product at The result is the complete set of
scale, over time, within the specifications experience-based documentation
required. Sourcing strategies could required to manufacture and test
include pre-buys/bulk buys, binding the product. This validation process,
forecasts, and the identification of documentation creation, and hands-on
THE ROBOT REPORT


Development
American Robotics
became the first
company approved by
the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA)
to operate automated
aerial drones without
humans on site.
Cirtronics is building
the ScoutBase, a
weatherproof charging
and data processing
station, for American
Robotics’ Scout drones.
| Cirtronics
experience will accelerate your product’s 5. Communication
ramp to full-scale manufacturing. And Communication with your manufacturer
the process of building products together is critical to your successful partnership.
builds the relationship as well. It fosters The intention of all communication –
trust, collaboration, and transparent from both sides – should be proactivity,
communication between your company honesty, and transparency. You should company’s vision. Shared values enable
and your manufacturer. be able to access information about any mutual trust. Trust is necessary for
aspect of the manufacturing process of creating and maintaining a strong and
4: A path to scale
your product that you would like to know, successful relationship between your two
Ensure that your partner has the
including part sourcing, product build companies.
right capabilities and adaptability for
status, and delivery status.
successful commercialization at scale. Conclusion
Manufacturing partners should provide a 6. Company culture Selecting a partner is not a one-size-fits-
path to scale to meet increasing demand You might be thinking, “culture? all approach. It takes time and energy to
for your product. If you have units in What does the culture of my contract find the right manufacturing relationship.
the field, do they have the capacity manufacturer have to do with building The manufacturing partner you choose is
to meet forecasted demand? If you’re my product? “ key to the successful commercialization
transitioning into your first production Authentic culture is not a tagline. of your product. Leveraging insourcing
run, does your CM have the capacity to It’s more than just a mindset. It is a way as a model, they will act as an extension
scale with you? Can they creatively adapt of being and acting in the workplace of your business. Your partner’s process,
to fluctuations in demand? Depending and with customers and partners. A style of work, and communication must
on your needs, can they handle managing strong culture creates an atmosphere of be aligned with yours. Trust, values, goals,
and manufacturing multiple models service, where excellence and integrity and complementary skill sets are a strong
(SKUs), drop-ship to customers, or even begin within the company, and are foundation for long-term, successful
provide direct delivery? reflected in every interaction with you commercialization relationships. RR
and in every action taken on your behalf.
It’s vital that the culture and values
of your manufacturer align with your


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Development
•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
NASA’s
Terrain Relative
Navigation:
from ideation to
commercialization
Terrain Relative Navigation facilitates increased landing accuracy
and helps spacecraft avoid surface hazards. It allows the exploration
of other worlds, like Mars and various moons, in areas previously
considered too difficult for spacecraft to land.
NASA
Jezero Crater on Mars is full of hazards such as rocky hills and Having proven the value of TRN’s
smaller craters, making it a challenge to land in – until NASA’s Mars precision landing capability, researchers
2020 mission with the agency’s Perseverance rover did just that with are now combining TRN into several
the help of improved navigation technology. other entry, descent, and landing (EDL)
Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN), a technology developed by NASA, and hazard detection technologies for
facilitates increased landing accuracy and helps spacecra avoid missions to the Moon and beyond.
surface hazards. It allows the exploration of other worlds, like Mars and During the Apollo missions,
various moons, in areas that were previously considered too difficult astronauts looked out the windows of
for the spacecra to land. TRN uses a camera to correlate visible terrain the spacecra to identi landmarks
features to onboard maps, calculating relative positions and altitudes to determine their estimated position
during descent within seconds. Furthermore, TRN can autonomously and manually choose a landing spot
navigate spacecra away om medium to large hazards within a away om hazards, such as craters,
target landing zone to ensure a safe landing for a successful mission. dunes, and rock fields. For safe and
Terrain Relative Navigation_11-22_Vs2.indd 24 11/4/22 8:11 AM

A diagram of the
key steps in the
Mars 2020 mission’s entry,
descent and landing on
Feb. 18, 2021.
| NASA/JPL-Caltech
successful robotic and eventual crewed geological sampling, so missions without spacecraft position, like GPS, all within 10
Mars missions, spacecraft require a more high-precision landing capabilities must seconds. For the Mars 2020 mission, TRN
accurate and autonomous system. choose safer landing sites over sites with improved the location estimate accuracy
A “high-precision” landing is one the potential for enlightening discoveries. from 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) to 0.025 miles
where the spacecraft can touch down (40 meters) or better.
Advantages of TRN
within about 160 feet (50 meters) of its
“If we didn’t have TRN, the probability of Multi-Point Landing: With the addition of
target. Before TRN, high-precision landing
landing safely at Jezero Crater was about TRN, a spacecraft has options for landing sites.
capabilities did not exist. Mars 2020
80 to 85%. With TRN, the probability After the position estimates are calculated,
was the first robotic mission to Mars to
increased to 99%,” said Swati Mohan, TRN can choose the safest landing position
use vision-based navigation for a safe
guidance, navigation, and control within its target landing zone and use the
and precise landing. In previous rover
operations lead for NASA’s Perseverance small amount of fuel left onboard to divert,
missions, the location was estimated
rover at JPL. avoiding medium to large-size hazards. With
through data provided by the Deep
more fuel, the spacecraft could perform larger
Space Network, NASA’s international High Precision Position Estimation: As
adjustments to provide other landing options.
array of giant radio antennas, with an high as 2.6 miles (4.2 kilometers) above
With multi-point landing capabilities, instead
estimated error of up to nearly 1.25 the surface, the Mars 2020 TRN system’s
of arriving at a safe location and driving to the
miles (2 kilometers). Harsher terrain – onboard camera started taking real-
science site, a rover can land directly at the
like that found within Jezero Crater on time photos of the terrain and matching
target destination.
Mars – provides opportunities for diverse landmarks to preloaded maps to provide
THE ROBOT REPORT


Development
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover snapped this view
of a hill in Mars’ Jezero Crater called “Santa Cruz”
on April 29, 2021, the 68th Martian day, or sol, of
the mission. | NASA/JPL-Caltech
Simple Design: TRN’s simple, cost- takeoff, vertical landing rocket in the Astrobotic Technology and Blue Origin to
effective design is advantageous for Mojave Desert. During descent, TRN develop TRN solutions for lunar missions.
missions, not only in functionality but successfully navigated Xombie’s course 2019-2021: Technology Demonstration:
also volume and power. TRN only has two by recognizing terrain features and STMD’s Technology Demonstration
main compact components, a camera, providing relative position to the target Missions (TDM) supported further
and a computer. Although the computer landing site. maturation of TRN, including several
needs to calculate position estimates 2015-2017: Technology Maturation design reviews, an additional helicopter
and recommendations in addition to and Growth: STMD’s Game Changing demonstration in 2019 in Death Valley
processing and storing images, it uses Development (GCD) program advanced National Park, and integration of the
relatively low power. This allows greater TRN as part of the Intelligent Landing software, algorithms, and sensors into
allocation of power to other science System, improving capabilities for safe a single system before the Mars 2020
payloads and functional systems. landing for a potential future mission to launch.
land on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. As TRN evolved, it was also
Technology Development
In 2017, TRN was demonstrated again implemented for other projects. GCD’s
Pre-2014: Inception and Early
on Masten Space Systems’ Xodiac rocket Safe & Precise Landing – Integrated
Development: As scientists narrowed
as part of STMD’s CoOperative Blending Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) project
down the list of target locations on Mars
of Autonomous Landing Technologies included TRN in its suite of technologies
to collect precious samples, many of the
(COBALT) project. around precision landing and hazard
most interesting sites had hazardous
2018: Commercialization: STMD avoidance. In 2019, the SPLICE TRN was
terrain where it would be difficult to land
awarded two TRN-related Tipping Point tested onboard Masten’s Xodiac rocket
a rover. NASA JPL recognized the critical
technology development award to as a critical step toward follow-on
need for precision landing capabilities
and came up with the concept of TRN.
TRN was advanced over years with
multiple funding sources through various
NASA programs.
2013-2014: Flight Demonstration: In
2014, through two suborbital flights
funded by STMD’s Flight Opportunities
program, TRN was tested as part of
the Autonomous Descent and Ascent
Powered-flight Testbed (ADAPT) aboard
Masten Space Systems’ Xombie vertical
NASA’s Perseverance rover was able to use its new

Terrain-Relative Navigation technology to avoid
hazards and find a safe place to land in Jezero
Crater on Mars. | NASA/JPL-Caltech


flight testing in 2020 and 2021 through a GCD
and Flight Opportunities-supported suborbital
flight demonstration aboard Blue Origin’s New
Shepard rocket.STMD’s GCD is funding a Lunar
PLANETARY
Digital Elevation Maps, Mapping, Modeling,
and Validation effort for improving lunar digital
elevation maps for TRN and hazard detection
systems. In 2020, Intuitive Machines was awarded
an STMD Tipping Point related to TRN image and
map processing. Brushless DC Gearmotors
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Mars Exploration Infusion: TRN fulfilled a
mission-critical capability for Mars 2020,
enabling a safe landing at the preferred
science location to meet mission objectives.
Perseverance’s main goals are to study the
geological environment of the landing area,
seek signs of ancient microbial life, and collect
precious Martian samples for possible return to
Earth. Studying Martian terrain and habitability
will further prepare NASA for future crewed Mars
missions. At least 13 other STMD-supported
technologies are also onboard the Perseverance
Rover, including MOXIE, MEDLI2, Motiv Robotic
Arm, and more.
Lunar Exploration Commercial Infusion:
Astrobotic is working with JPL under an STMD
Tipping Point to integrate parts of the Mars 2020
Lander Vision System into a commercial lunar
TRN solution called OPAL. The maps for TRN are
critical to the success of high-stakes missions
to the Moon. Lunar TRN maps are significantly
larger in extent than those for Mars due to the
shape of the lander descent profile. The sweeping
shadows at the poles where future lunar missions
will land provide further challenges. Astrobotic’s
“bolt-on” solution incorporates all flight hardware
and software, as well as tools for 3D terrain
modeling and real-time physics-based lighting
simulation required for generating and validating
accurate TRN maps for precision lunar landing.
OPAL will complete a technology demonstration
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THE ROBOT REPORT
November 2022 27

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Development
landing sensors, such as TRN, including a flight

demonstration aboard its New Shepard vertical
takeoff, vertical landing suborbital vehicle. Blue
Origin’s TRN solution will demonstrate landing
LOW-VOLTAGE
capabilities necessary for enhancing lunar missions
and create new commercial opportunities for
planetary exploration.
Future opportunities: planetary exploration

TRN is a part of GCD’s Intelligent Landing System
(ILS), which would support future missions to
GEARMOTORS
Europa. Unlike Mars and the Moon, there aren’t
high-resolution images of Europa’s surface, so a
for AGV/AMR Applications
vision-based navigation sensor alone would be
insufficient. Furthermore, a spacecraft landing on
Europa would encounter not only terrain hazards,
but also a high radiation environment and limited
onboard resources. Therefore, the ILS combined
several precision landing, navigation, and hazard
detection capabilities designed to ensure a
successful Europa landing mission. Combining TRN
with other technologies, a spacecraft could further
reduce dangerous terrain risks, while capturing
photos of the surface and determining velocity of
the spacecraft. ILS would also be able to generate
high-elevation maps of the surface, beneficial for
future missions as well.
The GCD SPLICE project includes TRN within a
broader suite of technologies for safe and precise
touchdown of landers that can be leveraged
for future robotic and human missions to the
Moon, Mars, and other planetary exploration. The
technologies include high-resolution lidar sensors,
high-performance computing, and advanced
algorithms, which together enable a lander to
detect small, basketball-sized hazards (20-30 cm)
during descent toward touchdown and to do so
even in the presence of unlighted or shadowed
terrain where cameras are unable to acquire
imagery. Working in tandem, the suite of sensors in
the SPLICE projects can enable even larger landing
adjustments on future missions to target safe
landing in even more hazardous terrain that has
high scientific and exploration potential. RR
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THE ROBOT REPORT November 2022 29

Mobile Robots
•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
How To optimize their effectiveness,
the cloud
increase human-robot
collaboration and reduce the
risk of mishaps, autonomous
mobile robots must understand
can improve
the social behavior of human
coworkers.
human-robot interaction
Melonee Wise • VP of Robotics Automation • Zebra Technologies
Robots are finding their place alongside people in many work environments,
including factories, warehouses, retail stores and even hospitals. As they do, we need
to make it easy for people to trust robots, and for robots to take the right cues om
humans.
This is especially true when autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are in the mix, as
these dynamic robots are just as the name states – autonomous. There is no one
standing off to the side or in a backroom controlling the AMR with a remote control
or traditional human-machine interface (HMI). The AMR is programmed to do a
certain job and then is sent off to complete it – much like a human goes through a
standard onboarding process and is then trusted to work independently.
Given the eedom that both AMRs and humans have to go about their business
without much oversight, we must ensure they know how to interact with one
another. We must teach them both proper social behaviors.
A different point of view
Teaching robots how to act more like humans might make some people nervous.
But it is necessary given how they must interact with one another to keep workflows
running smoothly in fast-paced, high-stakes supply chain operations. If you are to
deliver to customers what they need, when they need it, everyone must be able to get
along. We must show workers that AMRs know when to engage and when to keep
their distance, which means we need to teach AMRs what’s okay and what’s not.
Cloud Improves human-robot interaction_11-22_Vs1.indd 30 11/4/22 8:02 AM

Multiple sensors ensure
Fetch Robotics’ CartConnect
robots safely navigate
between locations and work
safely alongside people,
forklifts, and other material
handling equipment.
| Fetch Robotics/Zebra
Technologies
But before we can do that, we must of themselves when AMRs enter their increase their productivity and reduce
ensure AMRs can see, understand, and world. Their minds might trick them into walking/travel time – a win-win for you
react to what is happening around believing a robot is too aggressive or and your front-line teams. What’s more,
them. They cannot be in their own world too close – or that it is ignoring them. three-quarters of associates say AMRs have
like many robots are today – seeing Alternatively, they could humanize the helped reduce errors, which is good for you
only “myself,” “obstacle” or “free space.” robot too much and make assumptions and your customers, while nearly two-thirds
Likewise, human workers must be able that could be harmful to all. Your AMRs (65%) credit AMRs with career advancement
to look at what is happening around will end up underutilized, and it will take opportunities, which helps with employee
them from a different perspective. you longer to get a return on investment retention.
Their world cannot just be comprised (ROI) – if you get one at all. So, it is critical we eliminate the biases
of “myself,” “automation equipment,” that result from a “me, myself and I” mindset
AMR Benefits
“fixed infrastructure,” “other workers” and or preconceived notions. We must ensure
Your workers and customers will also
“many unknowns.” They must be able to neither AMRs nor human workers fall victim
miss out on the benefits AMRs offer
understand the depth and breadth of the to “sole agent syndrome.” The best way to
them. And what are those benefits?
world around them, especially the extent do that is to put our heads (together) in the
Consider the results of a double-blind
of AMRs’ intelligence and capabilities. cloud.
Warehousing Vision Study, recently
If we don’t change how robots
commissioned by Zebra Technologies. In New techniques for teaching
and people think and react to one
that study, 83% of warehouse associates trustworthiness
another, we can fully expect people to
who work alongside AMRs today claim For as long as I can remember, robotics
feel intimidated, hesitant and unsure
the autonomous robots have helped automation innovation has been driven by
THE ROBOT REPORT


Mobile Robots
The CartConnect robots autonomously pick

up and drop off our FetchCarts to any location
within facilities with material handling needs.
| Fetch Robotics/Zebra Technologies
three things – repeatability, scalability Behaving like people social norms in those countries. By
and increased throughput. That’s why At Zebra Technologies, we use customer encoding these behaviors into AMRs’
many robotic arms, automated guided scenarios, simulation, and the cloud to navigation and planning, associates
vehicles (AGVs) and static robots have understand current AMR behaviors, as have a better understanding of how
been built to complete tasks within well as the changes needed to achieve the robots will behave as they drive
enclosed work cells, along conveyor lines desired behaviors. We then develop around the facility, which results in trust,
or in travel lanes. navigation behaviors for the robots, better collaboration and improved robot
It is also why most robots are which are based on heuristics/biases performance.
programmed to complete tasks using that we encode into their navigation and Because our AMRs are managed
pre-defined motions, with behaviors fully planning code. via the cloud, it is also easy to record
controlled by a person. Most robots do These heuristics/biases help AMRs data that helps us understand each
not need to “figure things out.” They just behave more like people socially. For robot’s performance in the facility. We
need to do what a person tells them example, robots will drive down the use velocity and path conformance
to do. right side of hallways in the United for low frequency and high frequency
AMRs are different, however. While States and the left side of hallways in interactions as a baseline to understand
they collaborate and interact with people, Great Britain because those are the how changes to the navigation code
they are reliant on a person guiding their
every move – telling them when to stop,
start or move in a different direction.
They must be able to make both
decisions and the right moves, on their
own, without a person intervening.
A block diagram explaining how

the FetchCore cloud-based robotics
software works. | Fetch Robotics/
Zebra Technologies


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Mobile Robots
improve performance. This allows us to So, the next time someone tells
create a vibrant diagram of how each you the cloud is not doing much for
robot performed in different facilities robotics automation, remind them that
and then make refinements. Using if it were not for the cloud, AMRs would
these techniques, we have been able to not be able to work autonomously –
measure as much as a 54% improvement or collaboratively with people – the
in robot velocity as it moves through way they do today. The cloud is driving
the facility with improved robot social robotics progress. It is truly a force
behaviors. multiplier, at least when it comes to
instructing intelligent robots how to
The cloud is a (training) force multiplier
behave socially and teaching people that
Traditionally, when teaching robots their
AMRs are iendly. RR
jobs, we would tell them what they need
to do, give them operating parameters,
execute the motion, then work to adapt
their capabilities as needed. Now, thanks
to machine learning, convolutional About the author:
neural nets and other cloud-based
technologies, we are providing AMRs with Melonee Wise is the Vice President of Robotics Automation
the ability to adapt to the world around at Zebra Technologies. She joined Zebra through the acquisition
them. They can detect and delineate of Fetch Robotics where she was the CEO. Wise was the second
between different semantic objects like employee at Willow Garage where she led a team of engineers
people, forklis, and pallets to make the developing next-generation robot hardware and soware, including
right decisions about how to behave ROS, the PR2, and TurtleBot. She serves as the Chair of the IFR
based on encoded behaviors as well as Service Robot Group, as a robotics board member for A3, and on
current sensory inputs. the MHI Roundtable Advisory Committee. Wise has received the
These AMRs are not working MIT Technology Review’s TR35 and has been named to the Silicon
exclusively om inferred guidance… they Valley Business Journal’s Women of Influence and 40 Under 40, the
operating in reality. In other words, the Robotics Business Review RBR50, and as one of eight CEOs changing
cloud is enabling us to encode AMRs the way we work by Business Insider.
with the social behaviors required to
help humans feel comfortable working
alongside them. In turn, it becomes easier
to teach people the social behaviors
required when working around robots.
People will be able to see how AMRs
successfully navigate around – or away
om – a person who is in their bubble
and should not be. They will also see
how AMRs can enter their space safely to
support them when assistance is needed.
And once robots can be trusted not
to go rogue – aer they are equipped
with the right social behaviors – then
human behavior toward those robots will
change. The hesitancy to engage an AMR
will fade as confidence in the robot’s
“demeanor” grows. People will begin to
see and appreciate how AMRs can help
them and adoption rates will rise. As a
result, companies will be able to increase
their use of robotics automation without
resistance.

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Ruland 1-21.indd 35 11/2/22 3:10 PM

Mobile Robots
•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Mobile
manipulator
lends a hand at
Wuhan Institute of
Shipbuilding Technology
A MiR250 AMR equipped The Wuhan Institute of Shipbuilding Technology (WSPC) is a leading
professional and technical institution specializing in advanced training in the fields
with a FANUC CRX-10iA of marine engineering, modern manufacturing and information technology.
cobot arm has become Established 70 years ago, the WSPC is a national training hub working to address
China’s skills shortages in engineering and technology. Those shortages were
an integral part of the highlighted in China’s national Manufacturing Talent Development Planning
institute’s demo Guidance, which notes that three out of the top 10 industries facing the most
severe talent shortage gaps are offshore engineering equipment and high-tech
production line. shipbuilding, new generation information technology, and high-end computer
numerical control (CNC) machine tools and robotics.
The ongoing development and upgrade of smart manufacturing in recent years
means that advanced automation technologies, such as autonomous collaborative
Steve Crowe • Editorial Director robots (AMRs), are increasingly used in the field of shipbuilding.
The Robot Report To ensure the technical abilities mastered by its students match the needs of
industry, the WSPC has built a complete automated demo production line for
marine parts, one that enables it to simulate the real production environment when
teaching.
As a key part of its demo production line, the WSPC introduced AMRs om Mobile
Industrial Robots (MiR). Working together with FANUC’s CRX-10iA collaborative robot
arm, the MiR250 AMR has become a collaborative mobile manipulator responsible
for the loading and unloading tasks on the production line.
MiR Case Study_11-22_Vs1.indd 36 11/4/22 12:17 PM

Solution
By deploying this advanced intelligent
manufacturing line for marine parts, the
WSPC aims to improve the overall quality
of training for its students, as well as
enhance the research and development
(R&D) for new production technologies.
The WSPC set out three tasks for the
demo production line:
1. Make it an R&D base for its teachers
A MiR250 AMR equipped with a FANUC CRX-10iA cobot arm is responsible for the loading and
and professors
2. Ensure students master the design, unloading tasks on the production line at the Wuhan Institute of Shipbuilding Technology.
deployment and front-end equipment | Mobile Industrial Robots
operation
3. Watch it become an educational
and scientific research base for the
whole central China region and
provide shipbuilding practitioners the
opportunity to improve their skills
Operating in a simulated
manufacturing environment, the MiR250
AMR and FANUC cobot are responsible for
completing the logistical tasks along the
demo production line, ensuring smooth
delivery of materials and spare parts
across different stops.
After the manufacturing execution
system (MES) places an order, the MiR
AMR collects building materials from
warehouses and delivers them to the
subsequent production procedures. The
mobile manipulator can work seamlessly
with CNC machines, carrying out a variety
of picking and packing tasks.
Building the WSPC demo production
line was no easy task. It required close
integration between different machines
and automation technologies, along By deploying this advanced intelligent manufacturing line for marine parts, the WSPC
with complex high-precision capabilities aims to improve the overall quality of training for its students, as well as enhance the
across the manufacturing process. The research and development of new production technologies.
stability of the automation technology | Mobile Industrial Robots
deployed on this production line is
critical.
“The MiR250 AMR is easy and safe
to use, and can quickly adapt to the site
environment,” said Wang Fan, senior
development engineer at Beijing FANUC
Electromechanical Co. and developer of
the WSPC demo production line. “Thanks
THE ROBOT REPORT

MiR Case Study_11-22_Vs1.indd 37 11/4/22 12:18 PM

Mobile Robots
to the excellent hardware design, the model to create digital twins, centralize (enterprise resource planning) orders,
MiR AMR seamlessly connects with information management, and allow MES orders, and finally the completion of
each station along the production line. robots to be deployed and get real-time the processing tasks at each production
In addition, the powerful MiR AMR optimization. unit, our students can practice intelligent
soware collects production-line data The demo production line enables manufacturing across the whole cycle
in real time, making it convenient and WSPC students to complete their training using this demo production line and go
more valuable for the engineers. They on the entire manufacturing process. on to graduate as real technical talent,”
can then analyze a range of information, “From learning how to operate an said Zhou Yu, deputy director of the
such as angles and positions, and then AMR and cobot, mastering equipment School of Mechanical Engineering at
apply it to a virtual, three-dimensional configuration skills, to placing ERP WSPC. RR
AutoGuide merges with MiR

Teradyne companies Mobile Industrial Robots and AutoGuide Mobile “If you look at any AMRs, whether they’re
Robots recently merged to become a single supplier of autonomous mobile ours or someone else’s, customers can take
robots (AMRs). The integrated company officially became known as Mobile up to two years to go om an initial pilot
Industrial Robots (MiR). to a volume deployment. That’s because
Long-time Teradyne executive Walter Vahey took the helm as president. The they have to work out their processes
company’s headquarters will be in Odense, Denmark, where MiR has managed and adapt to the technology,” he said. “In
its global operations since its launch in 2013. some cases, like automakers, they have to
Prior to the merger, MiR offered a range of AMRs capable of carrying invent new jobs. They don’t have people
payloads and pallets up to 3,000 lb. (1350 kg). By combining with AutoGuide, who know how to maintain AMRs, so they
the portfolio will expand to include high-payload AMR tuggers and forklis have to figure out how to fit that into their
that will operate on the MiRFleet soware. union regulations. That’s a complex issue
The new combined company employs 450 employees, including 250 to work through. We believe the ultimate
engineers. MiR is already well-established in the AMR market with more than destination for AMRs has incredible
7,000 AMRs sold in more than 60 countries. The AMRs can pick up, transport, potential, but we need to simpli the
and deliver pallets or other loads automatically and safely in even highly process. And simpliing that process for
dynamic environments, which is why they constitute a safe and efficient us meant putting all of our AMRs under
alternative to traditional automated guided vehicles (AGVs), forklis and pallet one soware control and engaging with
trucks. customers as one organization.
The newly merged company MiR has a global distribution network with Smith said the bulk of the work went
more than 200 partners worldwide. In addition to its headquarters in Odense, into reworking the sensor suite of the
Denmark, MiR has regional offices in Boston; Holbrook, New York; San Diego; AutoGuide robots to optimize their
Chelmsford, Massachusetts; Georgetown, Kentucky; Singapore; Frankfurt; performance with MiR’s soware and to
Barcelona; Tokyo; Seoul, and Shanghai. enhance the MiR soware to handle the
Teradyne president Greg Smith said the company decided about a year ago higher speeds of the heavy payload vehicles
that the best way to differentiate its AMR business was to provide a broad om AutoGuide.
product line under a single soware control. “The basic chassis stays the same, but
“We heard over and over again om big customers that they were struggling because of the higher top speeds, we need
to implement complex workflows because complex workflows generally need to look much further ahead of the vehicle
AMRs to interact with each other,” Smith said. “The dominant way people to react to obstacles and do the right thing.
were talking about that happening was through fleet management. That was We had to modi the sensor suite of the
putting those customers into an uncomfortable position where they didn’t AutoGuide robots and enhance the MIR
know who to go to when things om multiple vendors didn’t work right. ” soware so it could handle the specific
Smith said Teradyne wants to take responsibility for the performance of requirements of the heavy payload space.
the hardware and soware and turn to partners to ensure a positive And that’s faster speed and more control of
customer experience. the path the AMRs take.”
MiR Case Study_11-22_Vs1.indd 38 11/4/22 7:58 AM

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Software
•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Linux
embracing
Rust
will boost robotics
community
The inclusion of Rust into the Linux Kernel might seem like a
small detail, but it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Brandon Minor • Tangram Vision
Linux’s Benevolent Dictator For Life Linus Torvalds recently announced that
the Rust programming language would be used in the Linux 6.1 kernel. Currently, the Linux
kernel is at preview version 6.0-rc6 (codenamed “Hurr durr I’ma ninja sloth”) so we have a bit
of time before we all have Rust powering the kernel, But the mere announcement is news-
worthy. This embrace of Rust at the very core of Linux will be a huge boost to the robotics
community.
There are a few reasons for my optimism. First, let’s acknowledge that those in charge
of the capital-K Linux Kernel have traditionally forbidden the use of any language other
than good old-fashioned C; leaving those confines willingly is remarkable. This will do two
important things for the community: start to relieve tech’s complete reliance on C as a
programming protocol, and invite programmers who are Rust-forward to make a mark on
Linux as a whole. Aer all, this movement has already started as Android incorporated Rust
in 2021.
Second, the addition of Rust into the Kernel wasn’t trivial. A laundry list of features
was needed to make Rust more secure and functional before it could be trusted at such
a low level. However, with these features completed, they can be wrapped into the larger
ecosystem, which will make everyone’s lives better. The more use Rust gets in the Kernel, the
better Rust as a language will become.
Linux-Rust_11-22_Vs2.indd 40 11/4/22 7:51 AM


Software
INTRODUCING THE
WORLD’S SMALLEST
MULTI-TURN KIT
ENCODER
Miniature Package for

Tying it all together is robotics’ implicit soware. Some simply loathe leaving
Servomotors, Stepper Motors, reliance on Linux. Linux has kept up with the comfort of C++, Python, or whatever
Microdrives the times remarkably well and is now the senior engineer on staff believes is
used on most smart and autonomous the right language. It’s certainly still early
22 mm diameter, 23 mm depth devices. It is and will remain the preferred days for Rust in robotics, and it takes
platform for robotics for the foreseeable an enterprising team to take it on. Yet
Full multi-turn functionality with future; furthermore, Linux’s adoption those who have ventured out beyond
of Rust in the Kernel signals that it the familiar and invested the time have
maintenance-free rotation counter -
welcomes a future beyond C and wants been rewarded for their efforts with
no backup batteries needed! to engage the wider community. better products. In fact, for the newest
There’s a huge ecosystem of robotics generation of engineers, Rust is familiar.
17-bit resolution, 32-bit rotation tools and paradigms like ROS and And that’s great news.
measurement range OpenCV that operate best within the Between old tools, new programming
Linux ecosystem, and like it or not, languages, and the rise of automation,
Self-calibration simplifies assembly most robotics engineers get their start robotics is in a time of change. The
playing around in these sandboxes. inclusion of Rust into the Linux Kernel
SSI and BiSS C interfaces - Whole companies have based their work might seem like a small detail, but it
no license fees on these tools and have done very well couldn’t have come at a better time. The
for themselves. However, I can attest robotics community has been pushing
Miniaturized versions of POSITAL’s (anecdotally) that a growing number Rust development for years now; for
of engineers in the robotics field are Linux to support, and be supported by,
36 mm IXARC absolute kit encoders recognizing the need for more powerful, these efforts is a tide that lis all boats.
more reliable soware and are looking for For the curious: survey a full catalog of
alternative solutions. open-source robotics solutions in Rust at
Those that do are turning to Rust https://robotics.rs/. RR
more oen than not. This has led to
a budding robotics ecosystem full of About the Author
enthusiastic developers who just want
Brandon Minor is the founder and CEO of
to write better tools in the most loved
Tangram Vision, a sensor fusion company.
See us at the Rockwell programming language around. As
The Tangram Vision Platform approaches
Automation Fair, Chicago enthusiastic as these developers might
sensors holistically, knitting together LiDAR,
be, though, these tools by and large aren’t
November 16-17 CMOS, IMU and depth data all at once. This
ready for prime-time. They are missing
Booth 1018 allows users to stop dealing with sensor
features that most engineers take for
support over and over, and instead focus
granted, or haven’t been used enough to
on building what makes their product
be trusted by the larger community.
stand out.
This means many older robotics
companies are still playing it safe, still
www.posital.com working in the sandbox full of familiar

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Software
•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Inside
Viam’s
cloud-based
robotics development
platform
Eliot Horowitz, the co-founder
of MongoDB, describes
his new venture that aims
to simplify the robotics
development process.
Mike Oitzman • Editor, The Robot Report
New York-based startup Viam recently announced the public Eliot Horowitz co-founded
beta release of its new cloud-based robotics development platform. MongoDB, a soft-ware
Viam is building a one-stop, cloud-based repository for the tools company that develops
required to prototype, code, deploy and scale robots. Viam de-veloped
and provides commercial
its system to be hardware and language agnostic.
Viam was founded in 2020 by Eliot Horowitz, who is a co-founder support for the open source
and former chief technology officer of MongoDB. MongoDB is a popular NoSQL database. The
open-source, cross-platform, and distributed document-based company went public in
database designed to ease application development. 2017.
Horowitz was a recent guest on The Robot Report Podcast, where
he described in depth what Viam is building. The full interview with | Viam
Horowitz can be found anywhere you listen to your podcasts. The text
below is om that interview and has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Why did you start Viam?
I le MongoDB in early 2020. As I was looking for the next big thing to
work on, everything that interested me kept coming back to robotics,
whether it was cleaning oceans, helping forests, fix-ing potholes in New
York or cleaning dishes.
Viam Q&A_11-22_Vs2.indd 44 11/8/22 11:04 AM

Viam Q&A_11-22_Vs2.indd 45 11/8/22 1:48 PM

Software
Viam is building a one-stop,
cloud-based repository
for the tools required to
prototype, code, deploy and
scale robotics systems. Viam
developed its system to be
hardware and language
agnostic.
| Viam
So I did what most normal people We also think security and privacy The robotics space needs that sort
would do and bought a collaborative have to be baked in from the beginning. of evolution. We all want the robotics
robot arm, put it in my liv-ing room, and If you’re going to have robots running industry to grow 100x. But how do we
tried to make it play chess against me. I around your house with cameras that enable that? How do we provide the tools
consider myself a pretty good program- can interact with you and your family, if that make more engineers excited about
mer, but this was a fairly frustrating those things aren’t secure and have good the space and less scared about starting
experience. The robot arm was quite privacy controls, we’re going to have all a robotics company? If you get three
impressive, but writing the software to sorts of problems and adoption will never 25-year-olds together today, they’re
make it play chess against me was pretty really happen. probably not thinking about starting a
hard. The chess part was easy, but the And last but not least, all of these robotics company. It’s too hard. There
robotics side was challenging. things need to work easily with the cloud aren’t enough success stories. We want to
I hired a few people and started trying and machine learning tools so that you change that.
to understand why this was so hard. can do things like fleet management and
We were talking to a lot of people in the deploy new code without having to re- What types of computing will Viam
robotics space, doing research on the write a lot of those building blocks. interact with?
kinds of problems people are having. We’re very hardware flexible. We’ll run on
And about 6–12 months after we started, Do you envision this as a universal almost anything, but I think we’ll see a
we came up with the thesis that formed software solution for all types of lot of Raspberry Pis, NVIDIA Jetsons and
Viam. robots? some of the higher-end Arduinos. That’s
Is Viam building an operating system We think the building blocks are what people have — they’re affordable
or a programming language? Describe the same whether the robot is in a and accessible.
the layers of the solution being put warehouse, a forest, a house or running
together. around New York. Obviously, the What programming languages can
It has to be easier for people who hardware is different, and the software developers use on Viam’s platform?
are comfortable with hardware and less you have to write as the engineer For every component, let’s use an arm
comfortable with soft-ware to work building that solution is different. or a motor, there’s a gRPC protocol
with software engineers who are less A lot of code, infrastructure and specification that we have as open
comfortable with hardware. And not just plumbing are the same. Our job is to source. With that, you can use it in any
from a communication standpoint, but make all the undifferentiated code those language that gRPC supports, which is
even from a process standpoint. We’ve companies have to write today go out the basically all of them.
got to make it easier for those sorts of window. We’ll handle that. We want the This is true both on the hardware
lifecycles, too. person thinking about washing dishes or integration side and on the software
We want to be very unopinionated picking up trash in New York to only think developer side. So let’s say that you have
about the software, the languages people about the problem. a new robotic arm coming in, and you
use to write code for robots and how Think about what’s happened in are building your arm in Rust. You want
they deploy them, and very opinionated the web development space. Twenty to use Rust? Great. You want to use
about the things that matter. years ago, if you wanted to build a small C++? Great. You can write to our API and
It’s incredibly important that the basic e-commerce website, you had to build a implement the server side of the API in
building blocks are clean, it’s simple to lot of this yourself, as well as credit card whatever language you want.
use APIs for soft-ware engineers to do processing and security. Today, you can On the other hand, the client using
everything from basic low-level control go to Shopify and build a website in a the robot can write in any language they
to higher-level robotic features. day. want — whether it’s Python, C++, ROS,
Go, TypeScript, JavaScript.

Viam Q&A_11-22_Vs1.indd 46 11/4/22 7:45 AM

ForwardX 11-22_RR HBK.indd 47 11/2/22 3:12 PM
Software
We can also run everything over What’s on your roadmap for higher-
WebRTC. What that does is it lets us level functions?
do peer-to-peer, over-the-internet Cloud configuration and logging
communication. So whether you’re management are there today. So you can
running on the same physical box in see all of your robots deployed, where
the same data center, in the same they are and what they’re doing. You can
warehouse, or across the planet, there’s a also have a full-tail operation out of the
communication channel that works. box. If you want to build a robot that
All of this is authenticated and your end user can drive around from an
encrypted. There’s nothing novel about iPhone app, you can do that today.
the kinds of security we’re doing. What’s Today, we also make it easy to work
novel is the way we’re applying it to a with data. Robots use a variety of sensors
space and making it easy to have great that take data from the real world and do
se-curity out of the box. something with it. We’re able to collect
all that data. The data is first stored
Who is Viam targeting with its locally on the robot and then, based on
solution? the configuration, is uploaded to the
I think it’s everyone from: cloud at a cer-tain speed and at a certain
• Someone building production robots frequency where there are APIs to do
• Hobbyists who want to tinker and whatever you want with it.
make robots to play with their cat Over time, we’re working on making it
• Researchers trying to work on new easy to deploy new versions of code. How
SLAM algorithms do you do that in a safe way where you
• Hardware experts trying to come up can’t go and break robots in the field?
with a new design for a novel robotic arm Let’s get new software tested on five
• Educators who want to teach high robots, then deploy it to 1%, 10% and
schoolers how to build robots 50% of the robots. How do you handle
things like roll-backs and mistakes? How
I’m not saying we have every use case do you deploy code versus new machine
nailed perfectly today in the public beta. learning models? Those are things that
But one of the key things is that we are coming very soon.
want it to be easy to move from space
to space. Everything is designed to be What can we expect from Viam in the
flexible so that your system can move near future?
from space to space as it progresses from We are investing heavily in the platform.
prototype to production. We’re hiring more engineers in all sorts
of different are-as, whether it’s in SLAM,
The Robot Operating System (ROS) computer vision or deploying robots.
is one of the popular platforms for We’re investing heavily for the long term.
robotics development. Is ROS a This is a public beta, and we would
competitor or will your solution work love people to try it and give us feedback.
on top of ROS? I’m sure we made some mistakes, but
Because of the way we built the system, we want to understand the kinds of
we can work with or around anything. challenges people are having, what
If you already have a robot running ROS works, what is working well with the
at a low level but you need a way to do platform today, the issues they have with
teleoperation or data man-agement, it, and the features that they need to go
you can write a wrapper for that in our even faster. RR
system and then still use the lower-level
pro-cess. So they can coexist, if needed.
Our goal is to make it easy to write
software to bring the learning curve
down as short as it can be. ROS has done
amazing things in the robotic space.

Viam Q&A_11-22_Vs2.indd 48 11/4/22 12:20 PM

maxon 9-22.indd 49 11/7/22 1:00 PM
Cobots
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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Plasma cutting
and MIG welding cobots
yield heavy-duty results
Cobots from Universal Robots help heavy-equipment manufacturer
reduce time and eliminate manual cleanup on curved plasma cuts by 75%.
The Robot Report Staff
Carriere Industrial Supply (CIS) in Sudbury, Canada, produces heavy equipment for harsh
mining environments; much of it—such as hauling equipment, scoops and earth movers—is
used to move material om underground to the surface. Like most manufacturers, the company
is adapting to a changing workforce—hiring new workers and retaining skilled talent, while
strengthening its safety culture so that every employee goes home safely every day.
Automation is an ideal approach for repeatable applications. But in a low-volume, high-
mix manufacturing environment, and with many large workpieces that are difficult to move,
traditional robots may not be considered.
The CIS team discovered Universal Robots (UR) at a trade show and was struck by the sight of
collaborative robots (cobots) performing tasks while people interacted with them. Cobots om
UR allow CIS to bring the robot to the work—rather than the other way around—and their easy
programming empowers workers to continuously innovate to improve quality and output.
Solution
The first project CIS identified for the UR application was plasma cutting of large metal parts.
Manual cuts require extensive cleanup due to the accumulation of dross at the bottom of the
piece along with the jagged edges that occur when workers need to reposition themselves
for long cuts. Reducing the cleanup time was an ideal area for improvement. Pierre Levesque,
UR Cobot Case Study_11-22_Vs2.indd 50 11/4/22 7:39 AM

manager of innovation and technologies,
says, “Using a robotic arm, we knew that
we would get a more precise cut and
the possibility of eliminating all of the
grinding and cleanup of the joints.”
CIS chose the UR10e, which met both
its reach and payload requirements,
even with the weight of the plasma
cutting tool and long workpieces. The Marc Sauve, process leader for steel processing at CIS, operates the plasma-cutting
UR10e offers a reach of up to 51.2 inches robot with no prior robotics experience. | Universal Robots
and payload capacity of 27.55 lbs. And
despite the size and power of the robot
arm, Levesque describes it as a “very
approachable robotic cell” in terms of
ease of use, even for operators with no
robotics experience. They can place the
workpiece on the table, “teach” the robot
where the part is, and run the program
for a clean, precise plasma cut, even on
curved parts with complex geometries.
After some innovative programming,
the cell became even more approachable
for operators, who were excited to make
continual adjustments to improve quality
and output. Mason Fraser, junior software
engineer at CIS, initially programmed the
cutting of the most complex parts from
start to finish, then built a new URCap
program (software handshake between
the cobot arm and its peripherals A UR10e plasma cutting robot. | Universal Robots
accessible on the cobot’s teach pendant)
that “puts the operator in the driver’s
seat” with an easy-to-use interface.
Now the operators are fully engaged in
instructing the robot on the points and
speed to do the cut.
“What the URCAP does is augment
that operator’s ability by automatically
navigating any plate geometry
imperfections, and adjusting corner
speed when necessary, based on the
geometry and the points they provided,”
Levesque added. “What you end up
with at the end is the operator feeling
in control, but elevating the game to
make sure that the right parameters, the
speeds, the material you are cutting—
all that’s covered through the URCAP.
So now you have a very successful
cut, reduced time, reduced risk for the
operator, and it is a win-win for both the A UR10e MIG welding cobot is mounted onto a 7th axis and placed on a mobile skid to
operation and the operator.” bring the robot to large workpieces. A human welder and robotic welder work side-
While operators appreciate that by-side, leap-frogging across the side of the truck body to double output.
the work is more rewarding and less
| Universal Robots
physically demanding, CIS also saw
significant time and cost savings.
THE ROBOT REPORT


Cobots
Previously, 80% of the plasma-cutting Results Because of the length of the welds,
time was spent cleaning up the manual After the success of the plasma-cutting the manual work raises critical ergonomic
cut. On a single large truck body contract robot, CIS knew it could leverage that challenges to consider for welders. Fraser
over the next three years, Levesque programming to MIG welding projects, said, “The robot doesn’t care about
determined that the trimming process on even though that is a more difficult ergonomics, so the operator can set up
that project alone would be more than application. Fraser said, “The MIG- the robot and go work on other stuff
50 hours for every truck. Moving to a welding UR10e is doing similar profiles that’s more productive and easier to
robotic application reduced that time to to what the plasma-cutting robot is do. Some of the more productive work
12 hours per truck, ultimately delivering doing, in the sense that it is following they could do is cleaning up the welds,
1,000 hours and a significant cost curvatures and following profiles; It’s just making them look nice. The more we can
savings on this project, exceeding CIS’ welding them instead of cutting them.” free them up to do that kind of work, the
expectations Levesque knew MIG welding would better.”
“The interesting thing is to see the pay dividends based on the large volume The MIG welding process is applied to
operators taking it even further, and of welding work the company does. massive parts weighing over 15 tons on
applying thought on their cut process,” The challenge was to find repeatable the bodies of heavy-duty mining trucks;
Levesque said. “With the ease of being parts in its low-volume, high-mix workpieces that can’t be fixtured inside a
able to manipulate the robot and using environment. One application stood traditional robot cell. That required CIS to
the free drive to position the torch in out: the production of truck bodies with bring the robot to the workpiece, rather
different angles, the operators were seven large side-by-side filet-welded than the other way around. Unable to
taking more care on applying bevels ribs, spaced three to four feet apart. find a standard solution, the CIS team
onto the final parts, which was quite “We envisioned that the welder can developed a custom welding skid that
impressive.” be working on one of the ribs while can be moved with a forklift to wherever
Marc Sauve, process leader for steel the cobot can be doing the next rib in the welding robot is needed. The robot is
processing at CIS who runs the plasma coordination, and then you just index mounted on a lift to create a seventh axis
cutting robot, addressed concerns some them over,” Levesque said. to reach the entire weld on the side of a
may have about robots and jobs. “If I Fraser added, “There’s a ton of truck body. The relatively light weight of
had a colleague who was fearful of a UR welding on those, so we are trying to the UR cobot arm allowed CIS to develop
robot coming to take their job, I would make this save time for the welders. this innovative approach. RR
put them at ease,” he said. “Every one of They can work alongside the robot and
those robots needs an operator, so it’s split the work in half.”
just an asset to them; it’s not a tool to
remove them.”
Case Study Breakdown

Company Carriere Industrial Supply
Location Sudbury, Canada
Industry electronic & technology
Employees 130
Challenge low-volume, high-mix manufacturing of
large, complex workpieces
Robot UR10e
Tasks MIG welding, plasma cutting
Value Drivers doubling output, increasing quality and
safety, lowering costs
Results plasma-cutting cobot saves 1,000 hours
and over $90,000 on a single project


Meeting Customer Needs with Diverse Product
Categories and Customized Products
Linear Piezo Motor DC Brushless Servo Motor
Canon Precision proprietary technology and internal production systems provide our partners
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be optimized to meet your size, speed, gear ratio and reliability requirements.
CANON U.S.A., INC.

Motion Control Products
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TEL: 1-408-468-2320 • Email: motors@cusa.canon.com
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marks are trademarks of their respective owners. Specifications and availability subject to change. Not responsible for typographical errors.
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Canon 1-22.indd 53 11/2/22 3:13 PM

Motion Control
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How motion
engineering
helps develop next-gen
surgical robots
The single-column, multiple-arm design of conventional
surgical robots limits the angle of approach when multiple
instruments are deployed. This is the principle challenge that needs
to be overcome.
What if you could design and build a surgical robot that helps doctors perform
less invasive, more precise operations and achieve better patient outcomes? While the
results of any surgery depend on the challenges of the specific case and the skill of the
surgeon, better tools support better care.
Here’s how next-generation motion engineering can help you develop the next
generation of surgical robots.
Place the arms as close together as possible

Conventional surgical robots include large columns with multiple arms holding a tiny camera
and various instruments such as scissors, graspers, needle holders, clip applicators and
more. Depending on the surgery, the ideal procedure is performed through a single, small
incision that must simultaneously accommodate the visualization camera and any needed
instruments.
If you ask any surgeon, they will tell you the ideal angle of approach for the camera and
instruments into the incision site is as parallel and close together as possible—both to
minimize trauma and to eliminate any discrepancy between the camera view and the angle
at which each instrument operates.
Surgical Robots_11-22_Vs2.indd 54 11/4/22 7:37 AM

Achieving an identical angle of approach is, performance helps surgeons work more
of course, impossible, as the instruments can’t effectively and creates an important
occupy the same space. Today’s instruments market advantage for your surgical robot.
are very thin and compact, however. It’s
Start with the gearing
the single-column, multiple-arm design of
High-torque motors with short stack
conventional surgical robots—plus the sheer
lengths are key to achieving optimum
bulk of their arm joints—that limits the angle
torque while minimizing axial length,
of approach when multiple instruments are
total volume and weight. However,
deployed. This is the principle challenge to
beyond the stack length of the motor
overcome when designing the next generation
itself, the gearing and feedback devices
of robots.
also need to be tightly integrated within
Minimize the axial length of arm joints the joint.
Standalone arms provide much greater Ultimately, it’s the gearing that
flexibility in positioning compared to the translates the relatively high-speed
conventional design, allowing multiple arms to motion of the motor into the lower speed
be aligned in a plane much closer to parallel. To and higher torque needed to move the
further approach the parallel ideal, the bulk of load of the robotic arm at the optimum
each arm must be minimized. speed, precisely position it, and hold
The limiting factor for how closely together the load steadily in place. Because the
the arms can operate is the axial length of selection of gearing also impacts the
the arm joints. You need a motor and gearing axial length of the joint, this is the place
system that delivers all the required torque to start in creating your design.
with the shortest possible axial length. Every The required speed, performance
millimeter saved without compromising and load points will determine the

Motion Control
Take advantage of the D2L rule

As part of your motor specification
process, you can further reduce axial
length through an often-overlooked
principle of motor design referred to as
the D2L rule.
In robotic joint design, the diameter of
the motor is typically of minor concern.
To enable robotic arms to operate as
closely together as possible, you instead
need to minimize the axial length. The
D2L rule allows you to trade off a larger
diameter for a significantly reduced axial
length. Here’s how it works.
In the frameless motors used in
robotic joints, torque increases or
decreases in direct proportion to changes
in motor length, but as the square of
changes in the moment arm of the
motor. In other words, under the D2L rule,
To enable robotic arms to operate
doubling the moment arm—and thereby
as closely together as possible, you approximately doubling the overall
instead need to minimize the axial diameter—produces a fourfold increase
length. | Kollmorgen in torque.
Or, more relevant to surgical robot
design, doubling the moment arm allows
appropriate gear set. No matter what 3. It operates with zero backlash to you to reduce the stack height by a factor
ratio is required, this application calls for minimize any unwanted movement that of four while maintaining the same
strain wave technology, also known as could potentially affect the precision of torque. This is a huge advantage when
“harmonic” gearing. the procedure or induce unnecessary your design priority is to achieve the
trauma. most compact axial length.
Strain wave gearing provides three
For next-generation surgical robot
indispensable advantages: Match the motor to the gearing and
performance, choose next-generation
1. It enables the most compact axial thermal requirements
motors specially designed for robotic
integration within the joint. Having specified the appropriate gear
applications. This will help you accelerate
technology and ratio, you can select a
your development time and deliver
2. It offers relatively high gear ratios— motor based on the gear ratio, the speed
surgical robots that allow doctors to
typically ranging from a gear reduction of at which the arm must run, and the
operate instruments as close together
30:1 to 320:1—to accelerate/decelerate mass it needs to hold. Thermal rise when
and as close to parallel as possible.
loads smoothly and position them operating at typical or maximum load
Better tools mean better healthcare—
precisely. can also be an important consideration,
and a healthier surgical robotics
as excessive heat in the tight confines
business. RR
of the joint can damage gearing
lubricant, encoder electronics and other
components in close proximity. A motor
that can deliver full performance at a
lower thermal rise is desirable.
According to surgeons, the ideal angle of

approach for the camera and instruments
into the incision site is as parallel and close
together as possible. | Kollmorgen


C o n g r a t u l a t e s
maxon is a developer
and manufacturer of
brushed and brushless
DC motors.
as well as gearheads,
encoders, controllers, and
entire mechatronic systems.
maxon drives are used wherever
the requirements are particularly
high: in NASA’s Mars rovers, in
surgical power tools, in
humanoid robots and in precision
industrial applications, for
example. To maintain its
leadership in this demanding
market, the company invests a
considerable share of its annual
revenue in research and
development. Worldwide, maxon
has more than 3000
employees at nine production
sites and is represented
by sales companies in
more than
30 countries.
www.maxongroup.us • 508.677.0520
maxon_60th anniv ad 11-22_FINAL.indd 57 11/2/22 2:52 PM

Motion Control
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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
How terrain
semantics
help quadruped
Google’s robotics
researchers developed a
learning framework that
learn to walk
decides the locomotion
skill for a quadruped, Yuxiang Yang
Researcher, Robotics at Google
including the speed and
gait of the robot based on
the perceived semantics. An important promise for quadrupedal robots is their potential to
This allows the robot to operate in complex outdoor environments that are difficult or inaccessible
for humans. Whether it’s to find natural resources deep in the mountains or
walk robustly on a variety to search for life signals in heavily-damaged earthquake sites, a robust and
of off-road terrains, versatile quadrupedal robot could be very helpful. To achieve that, a robot
needs to perceive the environment, understand its locomotion challenges,
including rocks, pebbles, and adapt its locomotion skill accordingly.
deep grass, mud, and more. While recent advances in perceptive locomotion have greatly enhanced
the capability of quadrupedal robots, most work focuses on indoor or urban
environments, thus they cannot effectively handle the complexity of off-
road terrains. In these environments, the robot needs to understand not
only the terrain shape (e.g., slope angle, smoothness), but also its contact
properties (e.g., friction, restitution, deformability), which are important for
a robot to decide its locomotion skills. As existing perceptive locomotion
systems mostly focus on the use of depth cameras or LiDARs, it can be
difficult for these systems to estimate such terrain properties accurately.
In “Learning Semantics-Aware Locomotion Skills from Human
Demonstrations,” we designed a hierarchical learning framework to improve
a robot’s ability to traverse complex, off-road environments. Unlike previous
approaches that focus on environment geometry, such as terrain shape and
obstacle locations, we focus on environment semantics, such as terrain type

Quadruped_11-22_Vs1.indd 58 11/8/22 11:00 AM

Google tested its learning
framework on an A1
quadruped from
Chinese startup
Unitree Robotics.
| Unitree Robotics
THE ROBOT REPORT


Motion Control
from human demonstrations. We first

ask a human operator to teleoperate the
robot on a variety of off-road terrains,
where the operator controls the speed
and heading of the robot using a remote
joystick. Next, we collect the training
data and then train the speed policy
using standard supervised learning to
predict the human operator’s speed
command. As it turns out, the human
demonstration is both safe and high-
quality, and allows the robot to learn a
proper speed choice for different terrains.
The second key design choice is
the training method. Deep neural
Google’s learning framework selects different speeds based on the conditions of the terrain. networks, especially those involving
| Google high-dimensional visual inputs, typically
require lots of data to train. To reduce
the amount of real-world training data
(grass, mud, etc.) and contact properties, on the real hardware. We train the speed required, we first pre-train a semantic
which provide a complementary set policy directly in the real world using segmentation model on RUGD (an
of information useful for off-road imitation learning because it requires off-road driving dataset where the
environments. As the robot walks, the less training data compared to standard images look similar to those captured
framework decides the locomotion skill, reinforcement learning algorithms. by the robot’s onboard camera), where
including the speed and gait (i.e., shape the model predicts the semantic class
and timing of the legs’ movement) of the (grass, mud, etc.) for every pixel in
Learning speed command from human
robot based on the perceived semantics, the camera image. We then extract a
demonstrations
which allows the robot to walk robustly semantic embedding from the model’s
As the central component in our pipeline,
on a variety of off-road terrains, including intermediate layers and use that as the
the speed policy outputs the desired
rocks, pebbles, deep grass, mud, and feature for on-robot training. With the
forward speed of the robot based on the
more. pre-trained semantic embedding, we can
RGB image from the onboard camera.
train the speed policy effectively using
Although many robot learning tasks
less than 30 minutes of real-world data,
Overview can leverage simulation as a source of
which greatly reduces the amount of
The hierarchical framework consists of lower-cost data collection, we train the
effort required.
a high-level skill policy and a low-level speed policy in the real world because
motor controller. The skill policy selects a the accurate simulation of complex and
locomotion skill based on camera images, diverse off-road environments is not yet Gait selection and motor control
and the motor controller converts the available. As policy learning in the real The next component in the pipeline, the
selected skill into motor commands. world is time-consuming and potentially gait selector, computes the appropriate
The high-level skill policy is further unsafe, we make two key design choices gait based on the speed command from
decomposed into a learned speed policy to improve the data efficiency and safety the speed policy. The gait of a robot,
and a heuristic-based gait selector. To of our system. including its stepping frequency, swing
decide on a skill, the speed policy first The first is learning from human height, and base height, can greatly affect
computes the desired forward speed, demonstrations. Standard reinforcement the robot’s ability to traverse different
based on the semantic information from learning algorithms typically learn by terrains.
the onboard RGB camera. exploration, where the agent attempts Scientific studies have shown that
For energy efficiency and robustness, different actions in an environment and animals switch between different gaits
quadrupedal robots usually select a builds preferences based on the rewards at different speeds, and this result is
different gait for each speed, so we received. However, such explorations further validated in quadrupedal robots,
designed the gait selector to compute can be potentially unsafe, especially so we designed the gait selector to
a desired gait based on the forward in off-road environments, since any compute a robust gait for each speed.
speed. Lastly, a low-level convex model- robot failures can damage both the Compared to using a fixed gait across
predictive controller (MPC) converts robot hardware and the surrounding all speeds, we find that the gait selector
the desired locomotion skill into motor environment. To ensure safety, we train further enhances the robot’s navigation
torque commands and executes them the speed policy using imitation learning performance on off-road terrains.


Connect with confidence
The last component of the pipeline Conclusion

is a motor controller, which converts the In this work, we present a hierarchical
speed and gait commands into motor amework to learn semantic-aware
torques. Similar to previous work, we use locomotion skills for off-road locomotion.
separate control strategies for swing and Using less than 30 minutes of human
stance legs. By separating the task of demonstration data, the amework
skill learning and motor control, the skill learns to adjust the speed and gait of the
policy only needs to output the desired robot based on the perceived semantics
speed and does not need to learn low- of the environment. The robot can walk
level locomotion controls, which greatly safely and efficiently on a wide variety of
simplifies the learning process. off-road terrains.
One limitation of our amework is
that it only adjusts locomotion skills for
Experiment results
standard walking and does not support
We implemented our amework on an
more agile behaviors such as jumping,
A1 quadrupedal robot and tested it on
which can be essential for traversing ENABLING TECHNOLOGY
an outdoor trail with multiple terrain
types, including grass, gravel, and asphalt,
which pose varying degrees of difficulty
more difficult terrains with gaps or
hurdles. Another limitation is that our
amework currently requires manual
EVERYWHERE
for the robot. For example, while the
steering commands to follow a desired Harwin’s connector products are
robot needs to walk slowly with high foot
path and reach the goal. In future work,
swings in deep grass to prevent its foot proven to perform in extreme
we plan to look into a deeper integration
om getting stuck, on asphalt it can walk conditions, with shock, vibration and
of high-level skill policy with the low-
much faster with lower foot swings for
level controller for more agile behaviors temperature range rigorously tested.
better energy efficiency.
and incorporate navigation and path
Our amework captures such differences ‘Inside the box’ connectivity
planning into the amework so that the n
and selects an appropriate skill for each
robot can operate fully autonomously in n High-Rel connectors
terrain type: slow speed (0.5m/s) on deep
challenging off-road environments. RR
grass, medium speed (1m/s) on gravel, n Industrial board-to-board
and high speed (1.4m/s) on asphalt. It n EMC shielding solutions
completes the 460m-long trail in 9.6
minutes with an average speed of 0.8m/s
(i.e., that’s 1.8 miles or 2.9 kilometers per harwin.com
hour). In contrast, non-adaptive policies
either cannot complete the trail safely
or walk significantly slower (0.5m/s),
illustrating the importance of adapting
locomotion skills based on the perceived
environments.
To test generalizability, we also
deployed the robot to a number of
trails that are not seen during training.
The robot traverses through all of them
without fail and adjusts its locomotion
skills based on terrain semantics. In
general, the skill policy selects a faster
skill on rigid and flat terrains and a
slower speed on deformable or uneven
terrain. At the time of writing, the robot
has traversed over 6km of outdoor trails
without failure.
Scan here for more
Connectors shown actual size

Harwin General Ad Design World Robotics Nov 22.indd 1 28/09/2022 09:14

End Effectors
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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Developing a
multifunctional,
long-arm gripper
Gripper automatically packs manufactured components with
three fingers, places them in boxes and places a layer of protective
cardboard over them using a vacuum gripper.
Mohsen Saadat has always been inventive and technically gied. As a young boy, the 5-year-old
Iranian invented his own toys, building small cars out of wire, for example – without any tools. The now
75-year-old’s passion for technology has never le.
At 19, Saadat moved to Germany, studied engineering, and taught as a professor. In 1991, he founded
GMG – Gesellscha für modulare Greifersysteme – in Soest, North Rhine-Westphalia. His goal was to
combine higher design theory scientific methods with state-of-the-art manufacturing processes.
“Within a few years, we successfully developed lightweight and flexible gripper systems for robots and
automation systems based on the human hand,” says Saadat proudly.
He convinced numerous industries of his technology. The grippers, which have up to six individually
movable fingers and, in some cases, over 100 joints, are used to handle car wheels in the automotive
industry, to hold up sacks when filling them with bulk material, or to package sausage and cheese in the
food industry.
A flexible and torsional rigid tower

However, one of the inventions that makes Saadat proudest is a multifunctional long-arm gripper
system. The gripper can automatically pack manufactured components – such as brake discs – with
three fingers, place them in boxes and then place a layer of protective cardboard over them using a
vacuum gripper.
End Effectors - igus_11-22_Vs2.indd 62 11/3/22 9:36 PM

One of the challenges in
the development process
was to find suitable
bearings for the moving
metal components of the
gripper, such as the finger
joints. | igus
“In this gripper system, a creatively components of the gripper, such as the These disadvantages led Saadat to opt
designed, flexible, and torsional rigid finger joints. All the gripper components for an alternative: plain bearings made of
tower serves as the long arm of the had to be low-iction, abrasion- high-performance plastics om igus – a
gripper,” explained Saadat. “Depending on resistant, maintenance and lubrication- motion plastics specialist om Cologne
the task, gripping elements emerge om ee, and easy to install. Therefore, Saadat that tribologically optimizes plastics for
this tower that mechanically picks up quickly ruled out traditional rolling industrial applications.
components. Aer the work is complete, bearings. “We have been relying on plain bearings
the gripping and suction elements retract “Rolling bearings are suitable for om igus since 1991. It was, therefore,
to their starting position within the sustained rotational motion. They require clear om the outset that the polymer
tower.” the manufacture of a more accurate bearings would also be used in the
One of the challenges in the fit, involve complex assembly and multifunctional long-arm gripper. There is
development process was to find disassembly, and result in metallic noise,” virtually no alternative to these bearings
suitable bearings for the moving metal stated Saadat. for us in automation technology, where

Improving automation
design with performance
polymers End Effectors
there are constant back-and-forth

movements,” said Saadat.
Another advantage is that
compared to traditional metal
bearings, polymer bearings are light,
corrosion-free, and maintenance-
free. They allow dry operation
without needing lubrication thanks to
integrated solid lubricants.
“That’s a critical specification,” said
Saadat. “Because we couldn’t expect
our customers to have to lubricate the
gripper on a regular basis.”
Still going strong after 200,000

cycles
Industry solutions: The polymer bearings from igus are so
robust that the bearings will outlast a
• Surface protection for (EOAT) gripper life of around 30 years.
• Custom UHMW wear strips or “This is an advantage for our
sheets for high impact areas multifunctional gripper, as the
maintenance effort is reduced and
• Friction reducing washers for productivity increases,” continued
fastening motion components Saadat.
• Non-stick polymer tapes to A test in the igus in-house
reduce friction on conveyor laboratory also demonstrates how
wear-resistant the bearings are. The
guide rails or gantry arm igus polymer bearings were tested
systems against classic metal bearings in the Depending on the task, gripping elements
laboratory. Both bearing types pivot on emerge from this tower that mechanically
a gas-nitrided St52 steel shaft – with picks up components. | igus
Custom Converting a load of 30MPa and a speed of 0.01
Custom Roll Slitting meters per second.
“In the case of the metal
High Speed Sheeting bearings, the gliding layer was worn
Adhesive Lamination after 60,000 cycles,” said Stefan
Loockmann-Rittich, head of the
Die Cutting iglidur bearings business unit. “The
iglide G plain bearings, on the other
hand, showed almost no signs of wear
even after 200,000 cycles. They are
therefore ideally suited for reliable
and maintenance-free use over many
years.” RR
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Soft Robotics 11-22_RR HBK.indd 65 11/2/22 3:15 PM

End Effectors
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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Harvard
researchers
create soft,
tentacle-like robot gripper
The gripper mimics the mechanics of curly hair and can grasp
fragile or irregularly shaped objects without damaging them.
Steve Crowe • Editorial Director, The Robot Report
Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)
have created a tentacle-like gripper that can grasp irregularly shaped or so objects without
damaging them.
The gripper is made up of many thin, so tentacles that rely on inflation to wrap themselves
around an object without any sensing, planning or feedback control. Individually, each tentacle
is too weak to pick up many objects, but with many working together the gripper can gently li
heavy and oddly shaped objects.
Each tentacle is made up of a foot-long hollow, rubber rubes. The tubes are made with thicker
plastic on one side, so that was the tube is pressurized it curls like a pigtail. As the tube curls, it
wraps and entangles itself around an object. Each added tentacle increases the strength of this
hold. The gripper releases the object by simply depressurizing the tentacles.
When designing the gripper, the research team took inspiration om nature. The gripper’s
tentacles act similarly to how a jellyfish stuns its prey.
“With this research, we wanted to reimagine how we interact with objects,” said Kaitlyn Becker,
former graduate student and postdoctoral fellow at SEAS and first author of the paper. “By taking
advantage of the natural compliance of so robotics and enhancing it with a compliant structure,
we designed a gripper that is greater than the sum of its parts and a grasping strategy that can
adapt to a range of complex objects with minimal planning and perception.”
Tentacle Gripper_11-22_Vs1.indd 66 11/3/22 9:33 PM

A close-up of the tentacle-like
gripper’s filaments wrapping
around an object.
| Harvard Microrobotics
Lab/Harvard SEAS
To test how effective the gripper “Entanglement enables each highly

was, the research team used simulation compliant filament to conform locally
and experiments where the gripper was with a target object leading to a secure
tasked with handling a range of objects, but gentle topological grasp that is
including different houseplants and toys. relatively independent of the details
The team hopes that the gripper of the nature of the contact,” said
can be used to grasp fragile objects, like Mahadevan, the Lola England de Valpine
soft fruits and vegetables in agricultural Professor of Applied Mathematics in
production and distribution and delicate SEAS, and of Organismic and Evolutionary
tissue in medical settings, as well as Biology, and Physics in FAS and co-
irregularly shaped objects, like glassware, corresponding author of the paper.
in warehouses. The gripper could “This new approach to robotic grasping
replace traditional grippers that rely on complements existing solutions by
embedded sensors, complex feedback replacing simple, traditional grippers that
loops and advanced machine-learning require complex control strategies with
algorithms to work. extremely compliant, and morphologically
THE ROBOT REPORT


End Effectors
complex filaments that can operate

with very simple control,” said Wood,
the Harry Lewis and Marlyn McGrath
Professor of Engineering and Applied
Sciences and co-corresponding author
of the paper. “This approach expands
ASTM forms group on
the range of what’s possible to pick up
with robotic grippers.”
The team’s research was published
robotic grasping
in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences (PNAS). It was
co-authored by Clark Teeple, Nicholas
and manipulation
Charles, Yeonsu Jung, Daniel Baum and ASTM International’s committee on robotics, automation, and autonomous
James C. Weaver, and supported by the
systems (F45) has formed a new subcommittee on grasping and
Office of Naval Research, the National
Science Foundation, the Simons manipulation. This new subcommittee (F45.05) will develop standards that
Foundation and the Henri Seydoux evaluate performance in several major areas of robotic manipulation.
fund. RR The first three task groups of the committee will develop standards for
the performance of grasping-type end-effectors, mobile manipulators and
robotic assembly systems, covering their use in both fixed and mobile base
systems.
Aaron Prather, ASTM International’s new director of robotics and
autonomous systems programs, said these standards will help speed up
deployments and cut wasteful spending on selecting the wrong tool. Prather
noted the subcommittee supports UN Sustainable Development Goal #9 on
industries, innovation, and inastructure.
“As robotics and automation continue to expand into new and diverse
industries, performance standards that help end users better select their
end-effectors and/or manipulators to the task they are working on will
be key,” said Prather. “Seeing the number of experts om across the world
joining this work shows just how much this group is needed.”
The subcommittee will be initially headed by two co-chairs, Joe Falco
and Omar Aboul-Enein, both om the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST). Experts om countries around the world, including
Germany, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States are participating in
the committee, with more welcome.
Out of six proposed standards currently planned for development, the
subcommittee plans to register two by the end of 2022, on grasp strength
and finger repeatability.
Monthly calls will be held for the task groups through 2023, and the
subcommittee met at ASTM International’s October standards development
meetings. ASTM welcomes participation in the development of its standards.
Prather was named to this position in August 2022 aer spending
nearly 27 years at FedEx Express. He developed and deployed robotics
and autonomous systems in numerous operations across the globe in his
previous role with FedEx. He has participated in standards development at
The gripper wrapping around a succulent.
both A3 and UL. Prather is also passionate about working with workforce
| Harvard Microrobotics Lab/Harvard SEAS
development programs and building up the 21st workforce in Manufacturing,
Logistics, Robotics, and Automation.

MAY 10-11, 2023
BOSTON CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTER
B OS TO N , M A
S U M M I T & E X P O
boston.devicetalks.com | healtchareroboticsforum.com | roboticssummit.com
Sponsorship opportunities are available for future DeviceTalks and Robotics programs.
For more information, contact Courtney Nagle. 440.523.1685 | cnagle@wtwhmedia.com
DTboston-RSE-HREF23_HouseAd_10-22_Vs2.indd
DEVICETALKS BOSTON 2023_NEW.indd 69 56 10/26/22 11:19 PM
11/4/22 12:23 AM
Sensors
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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Sensor
breakdown:
how robot vacuums
navigate
Technologies like ToF sensors,
pressure sensors, IMUs and
motor controllers, along with
improvements in battery
efficiency, have increased the
performance of robot vacuums.
Peter Hartwell • CTO • Invensense
Over the past few years, robot vacuums have advanced immensely. Initial models
tended to randomly bump their way around the room, oen missing key areas on the floor
during their runtime. They also became trapped on thick rugs, and if vacuuming upstairs,
came tumbling down with a heavy thud. Their runtime was also relatively short, and you’d
oen come home hoping for a nice and clean room only to discover that it had run out of
juice halfway through.
Since those early days, these cons have turned into pros with the innovative use of
sensors and motor controllers in combination with dedicated open-source soware and
drivers. Here is a look at some of the different sensors used in today’s robot vacuums for
improved navigation and cleaning.
Ultrasonic time-of-flight sensors

Ultrasonic time-of-flight (ToF) sensors work in any lighting conditions and can provide
millimeter-accurate range measurements independent of the target’s color and optical
transparency. The sensor’s wide field-of-view (FoV) enables simultaneous range
measurements of multiple objects. In a robot vacuum, they are used to detect if an object,
such as a dog or children’s toy, is in its way and whether it needs to deviate its route to
avoid a collision.
Robot Vacuum Sensor Breakdown_11-22_Vs1.indd 70 11/3/22 9:29 PM

An iRobot Roomba
Combo j7+ robot
vacuum navigating on a
hardwood floor.
| iRobot
Short-range ultrasonic ToF sensors SLAM and LiDAR Inertial Measurement Units (IMU)
Short-range ultrasonic ToF sensors Most companies developing high-end IMUs take the roll, pitch, and yaw of
can be used to determine different robot vacuums use visual simultaneous movements of the robot vacuum in
floor types. The application uses localization and mapping (VSLAM) or LiDAR the real world both om a linear and
the average amplitude of a reflected technology to build a virtual map of the rotational perspective. When the robot
ultrasonic signal to determine if room. These technologies enable the robot vacuum is doing circles or moving in
the target surface is hard or so. vacuum to move around more efficiently, a straight line, it knows where it is
If the robot vacuum detects that covering an entire level of a home with supposed to go and how it is moving.
it has moved om a carpet onto multiple rooms. However, if you li the robot There may be a slight error between
a hardwood floor, it can slow the and put it down, it will not know its new where it should be and where it is, and
motors down because they do not location. To find out where it is, the robot the IMU can hold that position in a very
need to work as hard compared to must go off in a random direction and, once accurate way.
carpet use. it detects an object and starts tracing the Based on rotational and linear
The cliff detection feature walls, it can find out where it is relevant to movement, plus the mapping of the
can enable the robot vacuum to the map. room, the robot vacuum can determine
determine when it’s at the top of a VSLAM or LiDAR technologies may not be that it is not going over the same areas
set of stairs to prevent a fall. applicable for low-light areas, for example, twice and can pick up where it le off
if the robot vacuum goes under a table or if the battery dies. And, if someone
couch, where it is unable to read the map. picks up the robot vacuum and places
Robot Vacuum Sensor Breakdown_11-22_Vs1.indd 71 11/8/22 11:13 AM

Sensors
it somewhere else or turns it around, specifically for the voice of the user. drop when the airflow begins to stagnate
it can detect what is happening and Ostensibly, the user wants to call for the due to an increase in suction dust or
know where it is in real space. The IMU vacuum cleaner to clear up something or clogging of the filter. However, for more
is essential to making robot vacuums tell it to go home without going through accurate detection, it is recommended
efficient. an app or voice assistant product. You to detect it as a differential pressure that
For robot vacuums that do not use want that to happen in real-time inside uses a similar pressure sensor to measure
VSLAM or LiDAR mapping technology, the host processor of the robot vacuum. the outside air pressure.
their position and navigation can be Alternatively, if the microphone notices A lot of the high-end bases have the
determined using dead reckoning by that something is being spoken, it may capability to suck out the contents of
combining measurements from the be possible for the robot vacuum to the dust box automatically. The robot
wheel’s rotations with the inertial stop all of its motors to listen to the vacuum can then return to base, empty
measurements from the IMU and object command. its contents, return to its last known
detection from the ToF sensors. position and continue cleaning.
Embedded motor controllers
Smart speaker microphones The embedded motor controllers are Auto-recharging
As developers of robot vacuums continue turning the gears to ensure the wheels To determine the battery’s state of
to implement artificial intelligence (AI) are moving the robot vacuum in the charge (SoC), you need accurate current
with the ability to use voice assistants, correct direction with accuracy that can and voltage measurements. The coulomb
microphones become an essential sensor tell when the wheel is actually turned counters and NTC thermistors in the
technology. Take beamforming, for 90 degrees as opposed to 88 degrees. battery pack provide this information.
example. Beamforming is a type of radio Without this high level of accuracy, the When the battery reaches an arbitrary
frequency (RF) management technique robot vacuum will be way off track after SoC level, the battery communicates
that focuses the noise signal toward the a certain amount of time. The embedded an instruction for the robot vacuum to
microphone in combination with AI for motor controller can be flexible whether stop cleaning and return to the base
tweaking. At the moment, the noise of you use sensors or not, making the robot for a recharge. When fully charged,
the motors and the turning brushes on vacuum scalable. the robot vacuum goes back to its last
the robot vacuum is a bit loud. However, known position and continues cleaning.
Pressure sensors
as microphone technology progresses Regardless of the size of the room,
The level of dust inside the dust box is
and motors and brushes become quieter, in theory, with multiple chargers and
estimated by monitoring the flow of
coupled with beamforming, microphones multiple abilities to empty the dustbin,
air through the dustbin with a pressure
will be able to determine the user’s voice the robot vacuum can cover the entire
sensor. Compared to the air pressure
in the not-too-distant future. floor space.
when the dustbin is empty, the air
Algorithms can also be trained to
pressure inside the dustbin begins to
disregard certain noises and listen
An example diagram block for a robot vacuum. | Invensense, a TTDK company


Thermistors diagnostics, the abnormal noise om
Thermistors, which are a type of the bushes could indicate that they have
temperature sensor, can be used to picked. About the author:
monitor the running temperature of For seven years, Peter Hartwell has been the
Conclusion
the MCU or MPU. They can also be chief technology officer at Invensense, a TDK
The retail price of a robot vacuum goes
used to monitor the temperatures company. He holds more than 40 patents and
hand in hand with functionality and
of the motors and brush gears. If his operation oversees 600 engineers who have
accuracy; some of the high-end models
they are running way too hot, the developed a broad range of technologies and
can be as much as $1,100. You can get a
robot vacuum is instructed to take a sensors for drones, automotive, industrial and,
robot vacuum for closer to $200, but you
break and perhaps run a few system more broadly, IoT. Hartwell has 25-plus years of
will be sacrificing some of the bells and
diagnostics to find out what is causing experience commercializing silicon MEMS products,
whistles. It all depends on the value the
the problem. Also, items caught in working on advanced sensors and actuators, and
robot vacuum developer wants to create
the brushes, like an elastic band or specializing in MEMS testing techniques.
and the cost structure that works best for
excess hair, can make the motors Prior to joining InvenSense, he spent four
the user.
overcompensate and overheat. years as an architect of sensing hardware at
As component costs come down,
Robot vacuum developers should Apple where he built and led a team responsible
it seems likely that more mid-tier
understand what the motors are for the integration of accelerometer, gyroscope,
robot vacuums will enter the market.
supposed to sound like at a certain magnetometer, pressure, proximity, and ambient
Technologies like ToF sensors, pressure
threshold of equency. It is possible to light sensors across the entire product line.
sensors, IMUs and motor controllers,
use a microphone to detect whether Hartwell holds a B.S. in Materials Science om the
along with improvements in battery
the motors are running abnormally, University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Electrical
efficiency, will drive this growth. RR
thereby detecting early stages of Engineering om Cornell University.
motor degradation. Again, by using

P r o d u c t S p o t l i g h t
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•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
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and controlled processes. Inspection and traceability of
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our standards. High-quality LEMO Push-Pull connectors
are used in a wide range of challenging application
environments, such as medical, test & measurement,
research, defense & military, information systems,
aerospace & autonomous vehicles, robotics, automotive,
industrial control, nuclear, broadcast & audio-video, and
communications.
LEMO® has been designing precision connectors

for over seven decades. Offering more than 90,000 LEMO USA, Inc.
combinations of products that continue to grow through 635 Park Ct.
customer-specific designs, LEMO® and its brands REDEL®, Rohnert Park, California 94928
NORTHWIRE®, and COELVER® currently serve more than Ph: 707.578.8811

100,000 customers in over 80 countries around the world. E-mail: info_us@lemo.com
Website: https://www.lemo.com/en
RT THE ROBOT REPORT www.therobotreport.com November 2022 75
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT TIPS 11-22_Vs2.indd 75 11/8/22 2:13 PM

P r o d u c t S p o t l i g h t
Product Spotlight End Effectors/Grippers
mGripAI: High-Speed Bulk Picking for

Food Processing
mGripAI™ is a food automation solution combining 3D vision, soft
grasping, and artificial intelligence software that together solve the largest
food processing challenges facing the world today. This unprecedented
combination of robotic “hands,” “eyes,” and “brains” enables, for the first
time ever, the high-speed automation of bulk picking processes.
• Pick delicate and variable products directly from bulk

• Increase production by minimizing reliance on human labor
• Deliver greater throughput - robot pick at >90 ppm
• Safe product handling with IP69K food-grade materials
• Increase operational efficiencies
• Reduce automation footprint
• Automate primary and secondary food processing applications Soft Robotics
• Lower operational costs 32 Crosby Drive, Suite 101
• Easily integrates with all industrial robots Bedford, MA 01730 USA
Info@softroboticsinc.com
mGripAI is the fastest food automation solution in the world! www.softroboticsinc.com
It’s not a web page, it’s an

industry information site
So much happens between issues
of R&D World that even another
issue would not be enough to keep
up. That’s why it makes sense to
visit rdworldonline.com and stay
on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.
It’s updated regularly with relevant
technical information and other
significant news for the design
engineering community.
rdworldonline.com
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT TIPS 11-22_Vs2.indd 76 11/7/22 11:57 AM

Robotics Robotics
Canon U.S.A., Inc.
DC brushless Servo Motors

Today’s increasing demands of automation and robotics in various
industries, engineers are challenged to design unique and innovative
machines to differentiate from their competitors. Within motion control
systems, flexible integration, space saving, and light weight are the key
requirements to design a successful mechanism.
Canon’s new high torque density, compact and lightweight DC brushless Canon U.S.A., Inc.
servo motors are superior to enhance innovative design. Our custom Motion Control Products
capabilities engage optimizing your next innovative designs. 3300 North First Street
San Jose, CA, 95134
We are committed in proving technological advantages for your success. 408-468-2320

www.usa.canon.com
CGI Inc.
Advanced Products for Robotics and Automation
At CGI we serve a wide array of industries including medical,

robotics, aerospace, defense, semiconductor, industrial
automation, motion control, and many others. Our core business is
manufacturing precision motion control solutions.
CGI’s diverse customer base and wide range of applications have

earned us a reputation for quality, reliability, and flexibility. One
of the distinct competitive advantages we are able to provide
our customers is an engineering team that is knowledgeable
and easy to work with. CGI is certified to ISO9001 and ISO13485
quality management systems. In addition, we are FDA and AS9100
compliant. Our unique quality control environment is weaved
CGI Inc.
into the fabric of our manufacturing facility. We work daily with
3400 Arrowhead Drive
customers who demand both precision and rapid turnarounds. Carson City, NV 89706
Toll Free: 1.800.568.4327

ISO QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: ISO 9001• ISO 13485 • AS9100 • ITAR Ph: 1.775.882.3422
Fx: 1.775.882.9599
SIX SIGMA AND LEAN PRACTICES
ARE EMBRACED DAILY WITHIN THE CULTURE WWW.CGIMOTION.COM
Robotic Tips 11-22_RR HBK_Vs1.indd 77 11/4/22 1:28 PM

Robotics Robotics Double sided bonding solutions
for custom automation
Double sided 3M VHB™ or transfer adhesives are
an ideal bonding solution for custom automation or
robotics applications. Utilizing a double-sided adhesive
in place of mechanical fastening reduces weight,
increases flexibility, without sacrificing strength or
durability. Double sided adhesive tapes provide efficient
bonding that saves time and money by an easy peel
and stick installation. Looking for a more specialized
double-sided tape? CS Hyde specializes in double sided adhesive lamination
fusing acrylic and or silicone adhesive to high performance polymer films
like Kapton®, fiberglass, or PTFE. For more specific applications, we can help
maximize design versatility by die cutting double sided tapes into precise
shapes and sizes based on your application.
CS Hyde Company
www.cshyde.com
800.461.4161
FESTO Corporation
Plan for the Unplanned With

Festo AX
The Festo Automation Experience
(AX) is an easy-to-use solution that
leverages artificial intelligence (AI)
and machine learning to help you
extract the most value from your data.
Empowered with this information,
you can make better maintenance
decisions, increase productivity,
reduce energy costs and prevent
quality losses. Festo AX analyzes and
delivers asset data in real time, which
means you receive the information
you need as soon as an anomaly
Festo Corporation
occurs — no waiting or latency. Not 1377 Motor Pkwy. Ste 310
only is this application compatible Suffolk County
with other Festo components, you Islandia, NY 11749
can easily integrate it with third-party
Phone: 1.800.993.3786
components and machines using
Web: www.festo.us
common protocols like OPC-UA E-mail: customer.service.us@festo.com
and MQTT.

Robotics Robotics GAM
GAM provides a full range of robotic

flange gearboxes
GAM’s extensive product offering includes three
different flange gearboxes: Strain Wave (harmonic),
Cycloidal, and the revolutionary Zero-Backlash
Planetary. The GAM GPL zero-backlash planetary
gearbox features a unique design ensuring backlash
of ≤ 0.1 arcmin for the life of the gearbox. The
GPL provides vibration-free motion and high
positional accuracy for precise smooth path
control and repeatability with a life of 20,000
hours. The GCL cycloidal gearbox provides precise GAM
point-to-point motion and high impact resistance 801 E Business Center Drive
of 5x nominal torque with the option of an integral Mount Prospect, IL 60056
pre-stage. The GSL strain wave gearbox uses 888.GAM.7117 | 847.649.2500

harmonic-type gearing for high accuracy and
drops in for popular competitor gearboxes. With www.gamweb.com
info@gamweb.com
three options, GAM can provide the zero-backlash
gearbox for your precision application.
Harmonic Drive
Servo Grade AMR Propulsion Drive Trains
The drive wheels on Autonomous Mobile Robot

platforms benefit from the inherent characteristics
of harmonic planetary technology; primarily,
smoothness of travel, backdrivability, and an
efficiency curve that does not degrade over time.
The integral cross roller bearing construction
contributes to an excellent balance of torque
density, stiffness, and radial load support in a
compact and reliable package. Available in dozens
of standard reduction ratios, these low backlash
drive trains include motor adaptation as required. 42 Dunham Ridge
Beverly, MA 01915
United States
www.harmonicdrive.net
Harmonic Drive is a registered

trademark of Harmonic Drive Systems

Robotics Robotics Kona Connectors
60A per contact, High-reliability
Connectors
Kona expands the Harwin High-Reliability portfolio
into new levels of current – 60A per contact.
Designed to withstand testing environments
and conditions.
• 2, 3 or 4 single row configurations
• Vertical cable-to-board or cable-to-cable
• Vibration and shock resistant, compact power
future-proofed
• 60A max per contact
• 6-finger contact design to maintain electrical contact through
high vibration and shock
Other useful features include reverse fix screws, polarization, and identification of
the #1 position. Harwin provides CAD Models, Test Reports and F.O.C samples to
assist you in the design process.
For more information, visit harwin.com
Easily design a maintenance-free gantry

robot system to your exact specifications
for up to 40% less cost
Gantry robots have become a critical component
for manufacturing and warehouse automation.
igus® provides turnkey and custom gantry systems
that are built with self-lubricating plastic liners
which are engineered to slide instead of roll,
allowing for smoother and quieter operation vs.
traditional recirculating ball bearings.
Every gantry robot system that igus® offers provides a

lightweight, corrosion-resistant solution that is ideal for
pick and place, sorting, labeling, measuring, inspection,
and repetitive material handling applications.
igus, inc.
257 Ferris Avenue
Due to their modular nature, igus® gantry robots are
Rumford, RI 02916
easily customizable for any workspace, and free onsite
consultation is available to ensure the perfect solution Ph: 800.521.2747
at the lowest possible cost.
sales@igus.com
www.igus.com

Robotics Robotics Keystone Electronics Corp.
A World Class Manufacturer of precision electronic

components & hardware for over 70 years. Keystone’s design
and engineering experts are fully integrated with their in-
house precision tool & die division supported by advanced
manufacturing systems to produce close tolerance Stamping,
Machining, Assembly, CNC and Injection Molded parts.
Keystone utilizes state-of-the-art software to support the
thousands of standard products found in their Product Design
Guide M70 and Keystone’s Dynamic Catalog on-line.
Product Overview: Battery Clips, Contacts & Holders; Fuse

Clips & Holders; Terminals & Test Points; Spacers & Standoffs;
Panel Hardware; Pins, Plugs, Jacks & Sockets; Multi-Purpose
Hardware.
As an ISO9001:2015 certified manufacturer, Keystone’s
quality control system, responsive customer service and custom
manufacturing division can meet your challenges with
a standard or custom design solution.
DESIGNERS & MANUFACTURERS Keystone Electronics
55 S. Denton Ave.
New Hyde Park, NY 11040
Tel: 1.800.221.5510
www.keyelco.com www.keyelco.com
Motorizing an AGV
Today’s AGVs must be compact and functional
robots which are able to move vertically and carry
heavy loads. These AGVs cannot fail, and so the
choice of their motorization is crucial. There are 5
key points to consider when motorizing an AGV.
1. Choose compact motorization where

possible - Drives must fit into restricted spaces, as they are sometimes integrated
into existing trucks. A small footprint is critical for applications in logistics.
2. Focus on ease of use – select a plug-and-play solution.
3. Opt for fast delivery of your motor solution
4. Base the design on modularity - Not all AGVs do the same job and therefore having
the flexibility to select a solution to match needed specifications is essential.
5. Prioritize safety – select motor options with integrated sensors.
maxon’s IDX motor has a diameter of only 56 mm, its

performance is equivalent to that of a motor with a footprint
25% larger. The IDX motorization thus combines maxon precision motors, inc.
performance in a compact size and ideal 125 Dever Drive
for AGVs. Taunton, MA 02780
Go to Drive.tech for more details. Phone: 508.677.0520

Visit www.maxongroup.us for more www.maxongroup.us
maxon solutions. info.us@maxongroup.com

Robotics Robotics Fully Automate Your Automation
The factory of the future demands higher output with
increased flexibility, and cobots can’t do it alone. The
Cobot Feeder from Applied Cobotics addresses these
demands with high-mix, high-volume production while
eliminating cobot downtime and alleviating staffing
issues. The bottom-line result is increased output without
increased labor.
The Cobot Feeder presents a worktable that adjusts
vertically, synchronizing with each custom tray on
the rack tower. A horizontal loader/unloader provides
accurate and repeatable motion while positioning trays
in front of the cobot. These features, along with the
portable dunnage tray cart, make the Cobot Feeder from Applied Cobotics an
essential complement to any collaborative automation system. With a
90-day ROI, small to medium-sized enterprises will quickly achieve
lights-out manufacturing, increasing safety, quality—and profits.
PBC Linear
6402 E. Rockton Road
Roscoe, Illinois 61073 USA
+1.815.389.5600
pbclinear.com
Pepperl+Fuchs, Inc.
AGV Collision Avoidance and Cliff Detection–

4 Scanning Layers in Just One Device
Pepperl+Fuchs‘ R2300 is a cost-effective and versatile

multi-layer LiDAR sensor for object perception in 3D space.
The sensor – powered by Pulse Ranging Technology (PRT)
– ensures high accuracy, noise immunity, and cross-talk
protection. The high sampling rate and precise light spot
is ideal for positioning, object classification, and navigation-
support tasks. The R2300 is also equipped with an integrated
visible-red pilot laser that can be switched on to simplify
installation and commissioning and switched off during operation.
The R2300 is made with solid-state electronics ensuring durability,
efficiency, and longevity. Pepperl+Fuchs, Inc.
1600 Enterprise Parkway
www.pepperl-fuchs.com/usa/en/R2300_photoelectric_sensors.htm Twinsburg, OH 44087
330-425-3555
sales@us.pepperl-fuchs.com
www.pepperl-fuchs.com

Robotics Robotics POSITAL-FRABA, INC.
POSITAL’s 22 mm Diameter Kit Encoder: accurate,

rugged, and zero-maintenance multiturn!
Only 22 mm across and 23 mm high, POSITAL’s miniature kit

encoders are designed to be integrated with popular miniature
BLDC and stepper motors, providing absolute position
feedback for motion control. The multiturn rotation
counter is powered by a Wiegand energy harvesting
system, ensuring reliable absolute multi-turn position
measurement with no backup batteries or complex
gear systems.
The new 22 mm kit encoders offer 17-bit electronic resolution and

a 32-bit multi-turn measurement range. The simple installation
process and can be carried out under normal factory conditions.
Available with SSI or BiSS C vendor-neutral interfaces. POSITAL-FRABA Inc.
1 N Johnston Avenue, Suite C238
For more information, please visit: Hamilton NJ
https://www.posital.com/en/news/product-news/22mmkits.php Phone: + 1 609-750-8705

E-Mail: info@fraba.com
Ruland Manufacturing
Zero-Backlash Couplings for Robotic Systems
Ruland Manufacturing offers a variety of zero-backlash servo

couplings designed for use in high precision applications like
automation and robotics. Ruland offers beam, bellows, disc,
oldham, jaw, and newly-released Controlflex couplings in
thousands of off-the-shelf combinations and sizes to help
designers optimize their systems.
Robotic vision systems, material handling robots, and

automated guided vehicles have infamously strict requirements
that require engineers to balance torque, weight, dampening,
and more, all while retaining extremely precise power
transmission. Ruland servo couplings excel in demanding
applications and can be selected based on a wide variety of
performance characteristics.
Ruland Manufacturing
Visit Ruland.com for access to everything you need to make a 6 Hayes Memorial Dr.
coupling design decision including: full technical product data, Marlborough, MA 01752
3D CAD models, installation videos, and eCommerce to make
508-485-1000
prototyping easy.
www.ruland.com
email: sales@ruland.com

Robotics Compact, rugged motion sensing
for any task
In any environment Silicon Sensing’s gyroscopes, accelerometers
and inertial systems offer a precise, compact and affordable
solution for robotics application.
Our products include:

• DMU11 - a low cost, compact, precise, six-degrees-of-freedom
(6-DOF) device delivering market-leading performance that is
calibrated over its full rated temperature range.
• CMS300 - a robust, compact gyro and dual-axis accelerometer
delivering precise performance with low power consumption.
Available in both flat and orthogonal mount packages.
• PinPoint® - A tiny gyro measuring only 5mm x 6mm and
delivering on performance, reliability and price. Silicon Sensing
www.siliconsensing.com
Available in both flat and orthogonal mounts.
Clittaford Road
Inertial sensing for any task. Southway
Plymouth
www.siliconsensing.com/products Devon
PL6 6DE
England
Ph: 01752 723330
EE Classroom on
Silicon Carbide
Silicon Carbide (SiC) has made its mark in bringing faster,
a smaller, and more reliable components than its fellow
semiconductors to market. While SiC components have
been around for a couple of decades, there is still a lot
to learn and a lot to consider when choosing the most
suitable WBG semiconductor for your device.
LET US HELP with tutorials, from looking at how WBG

semis stack up in power conversion efficiency to an
overview of SiC FETs and MOSFETs.
Check out our EE Classroom to learn more:

www.eeworldonline.com/silicon-carbide-classroom

PRODUCTS
•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Robot guide streamlines automation process

Kuka
kuka.com
Designed to decrease the apprehension and intimidation

some manufacturers might face during their initial foray
into robotic automation; the new KUKA Robot Guide
makes the process fast and easy to apply the right
automation to specific application needs. In three easy
steps, users are presented with options based on their
industry, application, and environment for the perfect
automation match.
Within the guide, users can choose between several
industries, including automotive, food & beverage,
medical, plastics, electronics, and metal industry, then drill
down to almost any application environment. These robots are suited for applications requiring extreme
precision and repetitive tasks with fast cycle times, and for those within large foundry operations.
Application categories include arc and laser welding, machining, measuring, and inspection, and range
from applying/gluing and painting to handling and assembly. Users can also indicate whether the robot
will work autonomously in an isolated environment or collaboratively with humans.
Robotic item picker with

new ABB AI solution
ABB
global.abb
The ABB Robotic Item Picker helps users automate order

picking and sorter induction operations and fulfills the
company’s vision of a fully automated warehouse, combining
automated storage with automated order picking.
The Item Picker consists of a robot, a robot controller, a
suction gripper, a machine vision sensor, and software with
the latest cutting-edge technology in artificial intelligence
developed internally by ABB. The Pack Expo demo featured an IRB 1200 robot and the IRC5
compact controller, and it picked an assortment of variously shaped products.
This AI solution provides:

• Unprecedented accuracy in picking items from unstructured scenery.
• High throughput application thanks to reduced computing time, achieving pick rates up to
1500 items per hour (peak).
• Advanced software leveraging artificial intelligence allows the robot to learn and adapt to
various items including cuboids, cylinders, pouches, blisters, and random shapes, as found
in electronics, pharma, healthcare, cosmetics, and other consumer product industries.
Products 11-22_RR HBK_Vs2.indd 85 11/7/22 1:16 PM

PRODUCTS
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•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Extended range of Cartesian

subsystems
Bosch Rexroth
boschrexroth.com
Bosch Rexroth has expanded its portfolio of linear robots for various
applications in factory automation by adding new axis combinations and sizes.
The much wider range of working areas and loads makes the Cartesian subsystems
also suitable for applications like battery handling or intralogistics. The linear robots can
be selected and sized quickly and easily thanks to predefined axis combinations. They
can then be configured and finalized online and ordered as preassembled subsystems
— optionally with controllers for the new ctrlX AUTOMATION platform. Each multi-axis
system is available as a Smart Function Kit for handling or dispensing. Preinstalled
software then allows even quicker commissioning and intuitive programming. This
significantly reduces engineering time.
The expanded range includes eight different axis combinations with 68 sizes. The products can be
used in many sectors, such as automotive (including battery production), pharmaceuticals, and FMCG.
Applications range from pick and place, positioning and palletizing, to feeding, shifting, loading, and
even dispensing tasks.
All-new collaborative, industrial cobot

Universal Robots
universal-robots.com
This all-new collaborative, industrial cobot from

Universal Robots delivers the longest reach
and payload in its class, offering the ability to
automate even more hard-to-staff tasks in a
market struggling to hire.
The tedious task of loading and unloading
parts into machines has long been a bread-and-
butter application for cobots gaining significant
traction in the industry. With its 1,750 mm (68.90-
in.) reach and 20kg payload (44.1 lbs.), the UR20
from Universal Robots expands automation
opportunities such as the ability to reach further
into machines, tend several machines in the
same cycle, and handle 25% heavier parts.
Despite being UR’s heaviest robot, the UR20 is
the lightest cobot in its class, weighing only 64kg
(141.1 lbs.), making it both a versatile technical tool
and a manual laborer.

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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
For further information about products on these pages visit
the Design World website @ www.designworldonline.com
Next-generation TILTIX inclinometers

POSITAL
posital.com
POSITAL has updated its family of TILTIX inclinometers with new three-axis MEMS
accelerometers, enhanced firmware, and a new housing concept. These changes
enable a streamlining of manufacturing processes and a reduction in delivery
times while maintaining full environmental protection. The new versions are
compatible with older models, with identical mounting footprint and support
for CANopen and analog communications interfaces, while offering improved
accuracy and better signal-to-noise ratios.
A significant feature of the new TILTIX inclinometers is an enhanced
programming function that enables users or distributors to set the measurement
range of each device through simple configuration updates. These devices can be
customized to function as a single-axis (0-360°), two-axis (± 90 °), or 2-axis pitch/roll (±
180 °) sensor, depending on what’s required for a specific application. Distributors and
system integrators will appreciate this feature because it allows them to stock fewer
items and still provide customers with a full range of measurement range options.
Cobot Feeder
PBC Linear
pbclinear.com
The Cobot Feeder from Applied Cobotics is designed to assist

collaborative robots and other types of automation robots by consistently
loading and unloading material dunnage trays within the cobot/robot-
accessible work area.
Why the Cobot Feeder?

The company’s experiences with implementing cobots taught them that
a single tray of parts did not take advantage of a cobot’s full potential. At
any given moment, operators might be called to other tasks or change
shifts, resulting in significant cobot downtime. In other words, cobots were
spending more time idling. In addition, the vision systems required to pick
parts from a bin were unreliable, so a more consistent solution was needed.
Benefits
This solution was to design and build an innovative and unique Cobot Feeder
that substantially increases robot productivity. The repeatable action of the Cobot
Feeder in conjunction with the parts trays results in consistent robot performance.
With the Cobot Feeder from Applied Cobotics, robots can now run longer
unattended projects, include a higher mix of parts, and ultimately achieve
lights-out production.

AD INDEX SALES LEADERSHIP TEAM
Ryan Ashdown Publisher

Advantech USA ............................................................... 43 rashdown@wtwhmedia.com Mike Emich
216.316.6691 memich@wtwhmedia.com
AllMotion ................................................................................5 508.446.1823
Jami Brownlee @wtwh_memich
Bally Design ........................................................................ 13 jbrownlee@wtwhmedia.com
224.760.1055 Managing Director
Bodine Electric Company .........................................27,29 Scott McCafferty
Jordan Callender smccafferty@wtwhmedia.com
Brother International ...................................................... 18 jcallender@wtwhmedia.com 310.279.3844
408.201.4886 @SMMcCafferty
Canon U.S.A. ..................................................................... 53
Mary Ann Cooke EVP
Marshall Matheson
CGI Inc. ................................................................................ 28 mcooke@wtwhmedia.com
mmatheson@wtwhmedia.com
781.710.4659
805.895.3609
Chieftek Precision ........................................................... 73 Jim Dempsey @mmatheson
jdempsey@wtwhmedia.com
CS Hyde Company .......................................................... 64 216.387.1916
DeviceTalks ........................................................................69 Mike Francesconi

mfrancesconi@wtwhmedia.com
Digi-Key Electronics ...........................................................3 630.488.9029
DOOSAN Robotics Americas .................................... IFC Jim Powers

jpowers@wtwhmedia.com
FESTO .....................................................................................11 312.925.7793
@jpowers_media
ForwardX Robotics Inc. ................................................. 47
Courtney Nagle
GAM ......................................................................................BC cseel@wtwhmedia.com
440.523.1685
Harmonic Drive .....................................................................1 @wtwh_CSeel
Harwin .................................................................................. 61
igus ....................................................................................... 33
Keystone Electronics Corp. ............................................7
LEMO USA ......................................................................... 39 www.therobotreport.

com
November 2022
maxon ............................................................................ 49,57

Check out the digital edition!
Pepperl+Fuchs, Inc. ........................................................ 23 So much happens between issues of Design World that even another issue
2Ro0bo2tic2s
would not be enough to keep up. That’s why it makes sense to visit
PBC ......................................................................................IBC
designworldonline.com and stay on Twitter, Google plus, Facebook
and Linkedin. It’s updated regularly with relevant technical information
and other significant news to the design engineering community.
POSITAL FRABA ............................................................... 42

Handbook
designworldonline.com
Renishaw ............................................................................. 12
Ruland Manufacturing ................................................... 35

11/1/22 4:42 PM
Silicon Sensing Systems ............................................... 19

d 1
NOV 2022 COV_RRHBK_FINAL.ind
Soft Robotics .................................................................... 65
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AD INDEX - ROBOTICS HBK_11-22_Vs1.indd 88 11/7/22 11:52 AM

TheASRS
Elevates
Cobot Productivity
Applied Cobotics Automated Storage and Retrieval System
Running 24/7 on the Strength of PBC Linear Parts
Steel Shafting
Ball Bearing
Pillow Block
CNC Rolled
Lead Screw
The biggest issue that this machine is solving is cobot downtime. Without
some sort of automated loading and unloading system, cobots will inevitably MTB Series
sit idle, falling far short of their desired potential. The Automated Storage and Actuator
Retrieval System (ASRS) is built to continuously feed parts to the cobot.
PBC Linear has implemented the ASRS and cobots on their CNC mills and lathes
that produce their signature bearings. With roughly 80 CNC machines in their shop
and 15 cobot stations in operation, the ASRS has boosted cobot production up to
1600%, and created a more flexible manufacturing model while elevating profits.
The Automated Storage and Retrieval System is easy to install, operate,

and can be purchased by itself or with a cobot. In addition, PBC Linear
offers production of custom dunnage trays for your specific parts.
Find out more at appliedcobotics.com and pbclinear.com.
6402 E. Rockton Road
Roscoe, Illinois 61073 USA
+1.800.962.8979 • pbclinear.com
Applied Cobotics (PBC Linear) 11-22_RR HBK.indd 1 11/1/22 4:46 PM

PRECISION FLANGE GEARBOXES
FOR ROBOTIC & MOTION CONTROL APPLICATIONS
GPL Robotic Planetary GSL Strain Wave GCL Cycloidal

Backlash ≤0.1 arcmin Backlash ≤0.5 arcmin Backlash ≤1.0 arcmin
for the life of the gearbox. Harmonic-type gearing Impact resistance
Vibration-free for High torque density 5x nominal torque
high positional accuracy Easy integration Available with integral pre-stage
SPH Helical Planetary EPL Planetary

Backlash ≤4 arcmin Backlash ≤8 arcmin
Quiet operation Precision gearbox for general
Highest precision for demanding servo applications
servo applications Easily customizable
GAM offers a full range of robotic and servo gearboxes, along with rack & pinion,
couplings, and linear mount products for motion control and robotic applications.
With our broad product offerings in the gearbox market, as well as the in-house engineering design
experts and manufacturing capabilities to develop customized solutions, we can help with your application.
GAM Can.
www.gamweb.com/flange | info@gamweb.com | 888.GAM.7117
GAM 11-22_RR HBK.indd 1 11/1/22 4:45 PM

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NOV 2022 COV_RRHBK_FINAL.indd 1 11/1/22 4:42 PM

High Efﬁciency Easy Mounting to a Wide Variety

Harmonic Drive LLC | 42 Dunham Ridge | Beverly, MA 01915 | 800.921.3332 | www.HarmonicDrive.net

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DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT COBOTS

14 _ Overcoming autonomous farming MOTION CONTROL

30 _ How the cloud can improve human-robot 62 _ Developing a multifunctional,

36 _ Mobile manipulator lends a hand at Wuhan 66 _ Harvard researchers create soft,

44 _ Inside Viam’s cloud-based robotics

2 November 2022 www.therobotreport.com THE ROBOT REPORT

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4 November 2022 www.therobotreport.com THE ROBOT REPORT

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- brushed or bldc motors

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EDITORIAL Director, Audience EVENTS Digital Production Manager

VP, Creative Services

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Steve Crowe • Editorial Director, The Robot Report

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THE ROBOT REPORT

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Playing with a drive, it’s not inherently

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Superior encoders for position and motion control

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We are an industrial design consultancy,

From early concept exploration to ﬁnal

Learn more at ballydesign.com.

amazing together. ballydesign.com | 40 24th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 | 412.621.9009

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Brother Gearmotor makes such an

Call us today for a

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functions as an operator, which means

THE ROBOT REPORT November 2022 19

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Trust, values, goals, and complementary skill sets

Your manufacturer should feel like an extension of your business.

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THE ROBOT REPORT

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■ Four scan planes in a single sensor enable

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