Advancement in use of Robots in

Modern Applications By

Akshar ThakurOmkar Shelar

• Objective– To highlight how different sectors, by using

robotic technology, operate in much different way than they did some years ago

• Methodology– The research was conducted with the help of

secondary research methodology. Secondary research was carried out by reading articles related to the topic on internet

• Hypothesis– Use of robots in different domains like

manufacturing, automobile, electronics, medicine, defense etc. has resulted in flexible manufacturing operations, improved quality of operations and improved productivity

Robots?

Re-programmable multifunctional manipulator designed to move materials, parts, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks - Robotic Institute of America

Electro-mechanical

devices

Either automated or

human controlled

Perform variety of

tasks

Robots

ManualSemi

Automated Automated

Wired Wireless Programmed

Self Learning

• Applications of Robots

Automobile

Packaging

Electronics

• Applications of Robots

Space

Military

Pharmacy

Use of robots in Automobile Industry

Assembly and Finishing

Movement of materials/objects

Performing in hazardous conditions

Robots working in Automobile Industry are mainly used for

Assembly

Expand production capabilities

Increases production speed and

consistency

Finishing

Automate coating process

Saves both time and money

Movement of materials and

objects

Perform variety of product handling jobs like part selection, transferring, packaging, palletizing, loading and

unloading, machine feeding and disengaging

Increase efficiency of product line and improve quality of finished products

Performing in hazardous conditions

Robots automate some of the most tedious and unsafe tasks in production line

If human body exposes to hazardous and toxic fumes while performing manually, such

exposure may cause damage to brain tissue and lead to lung diseases

Tata Motors has set up one of the most automated production lines with a very high

safety level for its Indica car at the Pimpri, Pune plant

The carmaker installed around 300 robots on a single line. It employs a large number of KR 210

robots, which are used for typical material handling applications and the KR 16 for arc

welding. 

Production took a big leap with the new line capable of producing 2,70,000 cars per annum

or around 900 cars a day

Robots swinging into action at Tata Motors

Use of robots in Packaging

Largely used for palletizing and packaging of manufacturing productsMake packaging process faster, precise and cost efficient

Packaging Robots...

Can effectively handle variety of food, beverage and consumer products

Primary Packaging• High speed picking• Collating• Part transfer• Singulation• Sorting and

Inspection

Secondary Packaging• Tray packing and handling• Case packing• Bottle packing• Pouch packing and

handling

Pepsi Beverages Co. (PBC) has installed an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) and warehouse control system (WCS) at its plant

in Tampa, Florida

The WCS handles 2 storage/retrieval machines of the AS/RS, conveying systems for pallets and

cases and 5 robots for layer picking and palletizing

Automated material handling conveyors and robotic palletizing form and build layers of

mixed SKU at a rate of 2,000/hr which is more than five times the manual picking rate 

Robots at Pepsi Beverages Co.

Use of robots in Electronics Industry

Manufacturing Process of Electronic applications requires very high

precision

Delta style robots with its six axis articulation can reorient parts to place

them at proper position

Robots used for custom chip assembly, automated circuit board testing, automated soldering, PC board

assembly etc.

At Siemens’ Electronics Manufacturing Plant in Erlangen, Germany (GWE), people and machines

work hand in hand

The plant produces industrial drives and controllers for manufacturing equipment. Annual

output lies between 5,000 and a quarter of a million

Light weight robots named as R2-D2 have reduced cost of production significantly.

Important thing is Siemens do not want a factory that is devoid of people. What they

foresee is a combination of people and machinery

A Factory Where People and Robots Work Together

Use of robots in Space

• NASA’s international space shuttle has robotic arm named as Candaram.

• Candaram can release or recover satellite. It was used to grab The Hubble space telescope

• The Mars rovers spirit and the Opportunity are used for exploring Mars

• Scout robots are used for exploring new areas

Applications of Robotics in other Industries

Agriculture Robots

Military Robots

Pharmacy Robots

The country's first robot- assisted surgery was conducted in 2008 at the All India Institute of

Medical Sciences, Delhi

One arm of the robot controls the camera and the other three hands manipulate the surgical

instruments. The entire process is observed via a high-definition 3D vision system

The robotic arm is designed in such a way that it can reach the interiors of the organ curvature,

which is not possible in traditional or microscopic surgery without damaging normal

tissues

India's first robot-assisted surgery at AIIMS

Dr. Arvind Kumar, Professor of Surgery at AIIMS

Source: http://www.army-technology.com/projects/remotely-operated-vehicle-rov-daksh/

DRDO’s Daksh

Daksh is an electrically powered Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) designed and developed

by the Indian state-owned DRDO at Pune and was inducted in Indian army around 2011

Daksh is primarily designed to recover improvised explosive devices(IEDs). Daksh has also been equipped with Chemical, Biological,

Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) hazard detection mechanisms

Daksh is serving bomb disposal units (BDU) of the army, police and paramilitary forces in

handling IEDs. As many of 40 IEDs have been neutralized in the insurgency-affected areas in

the North-East India with the help of Daksh so far

DRDO’s Daksh

• Main Features– ROV is based on a motorized pan-tilt platform– It can be remotely controlled from a range of 500m– The vehicle's manipulator arm can handle hazardous

objects of up to 20kg from 2.5m and 9kg from a 4m distance

• IED handling equipment– The IED handling equipment scans, handles and

removes hazardous objects– The water jet disrupter fitted on the vehicle can

safely diffuse IEDs. The vehicle can lift, drag and tow suspected objects away from the area

– The onboard X-ray unit scans horizontal and vertical planes. Image processing software allows user to zoom in/zoom out, alter brightness, sharpness and equipped with multiple auto snapshot creation facility

• CBRN remotely operated platform– In case of any chemical, radiation, biological or

nuclear hazard the detection unit fitted on Netra can be flown to the affected area

– Automatic control unit can detect the presence of gas and the concentration levels. It displays the results in numeric as well as graphical format

• Master control station (MCS)– The ROV Daksh can be remotely controlled by a

single operator using the MCS– The onboard modern communication systems allow

command and control as well as image transmission between Daksh and MCS

• The performance of Daksh has been at par, in some cases even better than imported unmanned ground vehicles

Use of robots by

Amazon bought Kiva systems for $775 million in 2012

Kiva is specialized in robots that automate whole picking and packing process

Amazon stared using Kiva robots in July 2014 which significantly improved its efficiency

• Kiva robots are square-shaped, yellow machine that runs on wheels

• Weighs almost 320 pounds and about 16 inches tall

• Can run at speed of 5 miles per hour and can drag packages weighing up to 700 pounds

• Controlled by central computer systems

• Navigate using markers on the ground

• At Amazon warehouse, storage space is located at the center of warehouse

• It contains square shelves packed with countless products from inventory

• Kiva robots carry the shelves atop themselves and glide quickly across the floor

• Robots can rearrange the shelves in rows

• Robots bring shelves over to human workers• Human workers either stack those shelves

with new products or retrieve goods for packaging

Automation increased productivity

Earlier• Earlier Amazon workers

were often working over 10 hours a day and walking up to 15 miles a shift to pick items off the shelves

• Conditions of some Amazon’s warehouse were not employee friendly

• In 2011, many employees of Pennsylvania warehouse suffered heatstroke

Now• Kiva robots eliminated

hard picking work by bringing items directly to workers

• Amazon witness its busiest days of the year during Thanksgiving and Christmas

• It received 426 orders per second

• Automation allowed more products packed in less time and improved efficiency of process

Impact on workforceCurrently Amazon has 30000 robots working in its 13 fulfillment center

More people have been hired to join fulfillment center since Kiva robots were installed

Amazon fulfillment center is best example where human and robots work collaboratively and collaboration has resulted in increasing operational efficiency & reducing operational cost

Disadvantages of Robots

Advantages of Robots

Advantages• Savings

– Significantly reduced operational cost

– Improved safety conditions in turn resulted in less no. of insurance and healthcare concerns

• Quality– Produce high quality

results consistently• Production

– Increased speed of production as Robots can work constantly without break, sleep or vacation

• Safety

Disadvantages• Expertise

– Employees working with robots require training for programming and handling robots

– Training process is time consuming and has financial toll as well

• ROI– If bottleneck is present at

any other point in production process, automation may not produce results as intended

• Expense

ConclusionRobots has simplified and automated production

process and made many industrial operations simple

Robotics will affect many blue collar jobs negatively as many industries will opt for automation instead

of low skilled workers

However, historically it is proven that technology has been a net creator of jobs

Usage of advanced technologies & robots will continue to revolutionize product development,

manufacturing processes, automation and business models