The day might yet arrive when you would be working alongside robots, instead of human beings. When that day arrives, don’t think that it would be a relief at the workplace especially when you have had enough of humans and their eccentric behavior, since robots might just reply you in a deadpan manner, and at times, they do not “get” you. On the plus side, at least robots do not answer back, and neither do they call in sick when they have actually spent the night before partying and just need some sleep. A new robot generation has been revealed, working alongside factory workers that will improve on previous tasks which relied on our dexterity and eyesight.
There are several kinds of robots that could work alongside humans, and these include the Dexter Bot, Baxter, LBR iiwa, UR5 and the larger sized UR10. Also described as “collaborative” robots, or co-bots in short, they will help realize the potential of unlocking new applications as well as markets which are right now not part of their traditional stronghold, namely, the automotive industry.
Baxter is a dual-arm humanoid robot, where it carries a tablet as its face, reacting to human interaction, while there is a six-axis robot arm from Denmark’s Universal Robots which has the ability to pack millions of eggs, all without causing a single “casualty”. Switzerland’s ABB on the other hand, has come up with new software that enables its robots to work alongside humans, relying on sensors to shut the robot down should someone drop by too close.
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