Safety is always a primary consideration as manufacturers implement robots or begin testing the boundaries by placing robots in new less guarded applications.
It is a viable concern. These are heavy pieces of equipment moving with significant force and determination to complete the programmed task. If the robot fails to see a human or even another object temporarily placed in its calculated path, the results can be disastrous.
Alternative routes
Realtime Robotics is determined to change robotic interactions with its new offering. The firm's technology consists of a next-generation specialized computer processor coupled with state-of-the-art software algorithms that empower robots to evaluate millions of alternative motion plans to avoid collisions and choose the optimal path all within milliseconds. The processor can check up to 800,000 motions at 30 frames/second.
Ultimately, the motion planning technology allows a robot to see moving obstacles in its environment and immediately update the trajectory to avoid the obstacle, while still achieving its goal. The technology essentially opens the eyes of robots – facilitating the ability of more robots to operate as cobots – while increasing the pace of operation, removing the risk of collision and reducing the programming needed to set up a robotic operating system.
“Manufacturers need a robotic solution that enables them to be more efficient and adaptable to change,” Peter Howard, CEO Realtime Robotics says. “Rapid motion planning is the catalyst that will expand the potential of automation finally freeing robots from cages and enabling them to work both safely and productively with other machines and humans."