Managing Automation- July 2008

[ SPECIAL REPORT ] perform complex tasks. For example, hundreds of Kiva “bots” can work together to help warehouse operators fill more orders per hour. Rather than individuals roaming the warehouse and reaching for products on shelves, the robots bring products to a stationary worker standing at a picking station. In its largest deployment, a swarm of 500 Kiva bots are picking up shelving units, which are movable racks, at a distribution center for office retailer Staples, Kiva officials say. Working in the 802.11 wireless spectrum, each Kiva robot includes on-board intelligence that communicates with a server system. The systems respond to workflow algorithms, which can, for example, predict which items will be ordered simultaneously, or automatically sort and re-slot items so that seasonal or popular products are easily accessible. More important, the Kiva system is designed for the average user. “There is a lot of sophisticated programming, but it is packaged up in an appliance,” says Mitch Rosenberg, Kiva’s vice president of marketing. And while the technology is interesting and important, “the workflow is the magic,” he says, as it is what coordinates hundreds of robots to reliably and safely navigate together. SAFE TRAVELS Safety has always been a worry when it comes to robots, as there is a risk of injury if one crosses paths with a six-axis robot arm that won’t stop for anything. That’s managingautomation.com why Evergreen Solar keeps its ABB flex picker robots and Adept SCARA RELATED ARTICLES: robots away from people. “We avoid, at Robots Break Out all cost, people being anywhere near www.managingautomation.com/robots2 these things,” Evergreen Solar’s Kane The Safety Standard Mix says. “They are dangerous.” www.managingautomation.com/safety However, there has been progress Robot Resurgence made in safety. In the AVG arena, www.managingautomation.com/robots1 both Kiva and Seegrid have configRobot Safety ured robots to stop if something www.managingautomation.com/industries4 crosses their paths. And for tradiAutomatic Guided Vehicles — Moving tional pick-and-place robots used in With Ease www.managingautomation.com/agv assembly, standards organizations are working on ways to enable robots COMPANIES MENTIONED: and people to work closely together. FANUC Robotics FANUC Robotic’s Dinsmoor is helpwww.managingautomation.com/fanuc ing to define a new ISO-sponsored Kiva Systems standard, ISO 10218-1, that would www.managingautomation.com/kiva move safety control into the robot — Rockwell Automation rather than as a separate controller — www.managingautomation.com/rockwell3 and would refine how the robot operSeegrid ates, how fast it travels, and the floor www.managingautomation.com/seegrid space it uses. The standard would also maonline pave the way for emerging industrial robot technologies, such as wireless teach pendants, collaborative robots, and simultaneous motion, for which the standard outlines safety guidelines. A draft of part 2 of the standard is due this summer, and this could be the dominant standard within the next year or two, Dinsmoor predicts. Similarly, robot control is increasingly becoming integrated with other systems. Seegrid, for example, is exploring how robots can interact with manufacturing execution systems and warehouse management systems. Meanwhile, Rockwell Automation has designed a system that integrates robot and motion controllers with software and custom function blocks needed to incorporate a robot into an application. The Kinetix Integrated Motion solution incorporates kinematics technology, which links different coordinate systems — for example, robot and motion control. In this scenario, Rockwell’s Logix programmable automation controller (PAC) is used with delta robots, which are small, three-arm systems that move light loads short distances. The robots, also known as spider robots, work well in picking, sorting, packing, and palletizing applications. While it’s not a free-moving system, the safety issue must still be addressed. “One of the benefits of having control of the robot in Logix control is that it uses the same safety solution,” says Bob Hirschinger, Rockwell’s product marketing manager for Logix motion. “It also has common drives and motors and common I/O.” Customers have been demanding integration of multiple control systems, Hirschinger says. And the number of industries using robotics is on the rise, which is why Rockwell, which is not a robot vendor, went down the path of tying robots together with main line control systems. So what does all of this mean? There is no doubt the technology is improving dramatically, and robots are finding their way into new applications. But more interaction with these automated — and sometimes autonomous — machines will require more education for their human counterparts. “The social and ethical implications of using and interacting with robots is more crucial [to understand] than any other technical field because of the physical and cognitive interaction between man and machine,” Siciliano says. This could, in fact, be a new level of culture shock. Soon, you could have a new workmate. And if you’re working alongside a robot, you’d better understand what makes it tick. s ma July 28 2008 http://managingautomation.com http://www.managingautomation.com/robots2 http://www.managingautomation.com/safety http://www.managingautomation.com/robots1 http://www.managingautomation.com/industries4 http://www.managingautomation.com/agv http://www.managingautomation.com/fanuc http://www.managingautomation.com/kiva http://www.managingautomation.com/rockwell3 http://www.managingautomation.com/seegrid

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation- July 2008

Managing Automation- July 2008 Contents Take 1 HP's Acquisition of EDS May Face Integration, Global Delivery Challenges Rimini Plans to Woo SAP Support Users Rockwell Steps Up Its Activities in Software Microsoft Targets the Process of Innovation Supply Chain Standouts Honored by AMR Notes Who Are Today's Influential Thinkers? The Robot Revolution Is the Price Right? Without a Trace Harvesting the Suggestion Box Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

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