A brief glimpse into the world of service robotics...

Some of my impressions of the 8th International Expert Days of Service Robotics

at SCHUNK plant Brackenheim-Hausen, Germany

25. & 26.02.2015

Care-O-bot 4

from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation

is the product vision of a mobile robot assistant to actively support humans in their daily life. It can be used for a variety of household tasks, for example to deliver food and drinks, to assist with cooking or for cleaning.

The arms of  the service robot are made and designed by SCHUNK.

Robots as multifunctional gentlemen... ;-)

More than 20 years of experience in mechatronics makes SCHUNK one of the most important developer and supplier of mobile gripping systems in the field of service robotics worldwide. The mechatronic grippers, gripping hands, rotary modules, lightweight arms, and the modular system from SCHUNK are setting benchmarks today in the most varied applications.

During the annual Expert Days, SCHUNK promotes the interdisciplinary exchange between its customers and robotics experts from all over the world to encourage the development of the sector as a whole, as well as achieving synergy effects in a targeted way.

To work safely hand in hand - that's one of the visions in the collaboration of men and (service) robots in laboratory, assembly and various production facilities.

The SCHUNK safety grippers EGN and EZN - here 2-finger parallel gripper EGN in combination with a KUKA jointed-arm robot - grasping footballs.

  

The world’s first certified Safety Gripping System for a consistent actuator concept for safe human/ machine collaborations. 

SCHUNK closes a gap in the safety concept of your complete system with a unique, standardized safety component. In contrast to other systems on the market, the DGUV-certified SCHUNK EGN and EZN safety gripping systems continue to be powered even during emergency stops, and safely and actively maintain their gripping force. The workpiece is safely held.

See you next year...

...on the 9th Expert Days of Service Robotics!!!

Or on the SCHUNK booth D26 in hall 17 at the Hannover Messe 2015

from 13. to 17. April 2015!

;-)

The finger of God?

Two weeks ago, during the 5th SCHUNK expert days of service robotics, I took some photos of the new anthropomorphic (= human-like) 5-finger hand from SCHUNK. 

Especially the next photo was a reminiscent of a section of Michelangelos famous fresco known as  "The Creation of Adam" for me.

Source: Wikipedia - The Creation of Adam - Michelangelo

It was never my intention to make a copy of that scene, mainly the detail known as "The finger of God", when I took the photo of the human and the human-like hand during the exhibition. But after taking a look on my photographic output on the computer screen after the photo shooting, Michelangelos famous painting came into my mind immediately.

What do you think about my comparison?

But back from heaven to technology:  The design study of the 5-finger hand, which has been introduced at the International Expert Days on Service Robotics 2012, is available as a Right and Left "Hand" for the first time.

 

It is quite amazing how it resembles its human model, in size, shape, appearance and mobility. Nine drives enable the 5-finger hand to carry out various gripping operations. It has been found that many human gestures can be replicated, thus a visual communication between a human and service robot is simplified, therefore increasing the acceptance of using them in the domestic environment. By using tactile sensors in the fingers, the gripper hand has the necessary sensitivity and can therefore manage every gripping and manipulation task, even in unstructured and unforeseeable situations. Elastic gripping surfaces ensure a reliable hold of the gripped objects. The gripper hand can be connected with lightweight arms via defined interfaces.

Besides the "human hand meets human-like hand" encounter on the exhibiton of service robots it came to a "plush duckling wing meets robot hand" encounter there as well... ;-)

 Even plush ducklings seem to be deeply impressed about SCHUNK future-oriented technology... ;-))

Gimme five...