What Is a Robot?
A robot is a machine that performs tasks in place of humans.
The number of sensors, including visual, force, and infrared sensors, is endless, and there are a wide variety of products in the world that are defined as robots.
Types of Robots
As mentioned above, there are a wide variety of products defined as robots, so here we introduce some of the most common types.
1. Mobile Robots
Mobile robots are robots that transport objects unmanned in factories, etc. They are sometimes called AGVs (Automatic Guided Vehicles). They are equipped with wheels and carry loads to perform transportation tasks within a factory. AGVs can be equipped with cameras to automatically recognize obstacles and avoid them, or they can trace a line.
2. Pick-And-Place Robot
A pick-and-place robot is a robot that picks up an object and places it in a fixed position. It is often implemented with SCARA robots, Cartesian robots, and palletizer robots, and can be combined with vision systems to perform random picking.
3. Cooperative Robot
This term refers to robots that work in cooperation with humans. They are equipped with vision systems, force detection systems, etc., and can stop or slow down their movements when they detect an impact on humans, thus working without harming humans.
Advantages of Introducing Robots into Factories
When robots are introduced into a factory, it is possible to automate simple tasks such as picking up and placing things that were previously performed by workers.
In the past, it was common to automate these simple tasks using NC devices. However, due to reasons such as the scale of the facility being too large and NC devices not being versatile, attention has focused on the use of various types of robots, including vertically articulated robots and cooperative robots.
These robots are capable of complex movements, making it possible for them to perform various tasks in place of workers while saving space.