ABB Robotics is making a case for robot automation all this week at APW India 2015
Robotic automation is about redeployment not replacement of workers.
This week, YuMi(tr), the world’s first truly collaborative robot, will welcome guests as they enter ABB’s second Automation & Power World event in India.
YuMi, which stands for “you and me” working together to create endless possibilities, is the world’s first truly collaborative robot. The robot solution, which was officially introduced to the market in April, is the result of years of research and development. It was designed to work side-by-side on the same tasks as humans without barriers, fences or zones while still ensuring the safety of those around it.
At first glance, one might wonder whether YuMi, a robot designed specifically for the Small Parts Assembly, might be out of place at this event. India is after all known more for manufacturing automobile and motorcycles than it is for small electronics. As Local Business Unit Manager Tore Lindström points out, though, “A major objective behind the Make in India initiative is to focus on key sectors of the economy for job creation and skill enhancement, among these sectors is electronics.”
In a nutshell, that is what YuMi and robotic automation is all about, the redeployment, not replacement, of workers. It is about giving robots the dangerous, delicate, dirty and dull manufacturing tasks, and letting humans use their cognitive skills on more value-added ones. ABB Robotics calls this elevating the nature of work. Research by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the leading international authority on robots, supports this position, stating that countries in the “more mature” industrial world having the highest robot density, (the average number of robots deployed in a country per 10,000 factory workers), i.e. Japan, USA, Korea & Germany, are also those with the lowest unemployment rates.
YuMi is only one chapter in the robot automation story on display at APW India 2015. In addition, ABB Robotics is showcasing two other innovative, robotic technologies and solutions. Designed to improve the productivity, efficiency and safety, the first exhibit will simulate the painting of motorcycle fuel tanks using an IRB 580, and the second the welding of motorbike frames using an IRB 1520.
“The introduction of robotics to the two-wheel (motorbike) industry is rapidly growing and an excellent example of how the Make in India concept stimulates productivity, improves quality and allows robots to perform applications which are hazardous to humans, “ says Lindström.