New, More Agile Robots Speed the Takeover of Jobs Once Done Only by Humans
Vision, artificial intelligence and gecko-inspired hands take automation from factory to warehouse.
A Righthand Robotics gripper on a Universal Robots arm works in a fulfillment center in New Jersey.
Source: Righthand Robotics
At a vast greenhouse in the central Danish city of Odense, a squad of robots move thin plastic pots of herbs for shipping without even putting a dent in them. For moviegoers used to seeing humanoid machines in action, that might not seem special – but in truth, it’s a remarkable feat.
Robots until recently have been limited to precise, preprogrammed and repetitive heavy-duty jobs like automotive manufacturing. Yet at the Rosborg Food greenhouse, the OnRobot A/S devices adjust on the fly. One pot might be slightly out of position. The next might be a little heavy.