Industrial Robotics & Automation

Typically, robots are not in service long enough to require “major” upgrades. In a typical robot’s service life, there may be some software updates and improvements to the end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) but no major changes. In contrast, some of the robots we have developed, operate effectively for decades. There are key lessons to be learned when planning for an extended robot life cycle with upgrades and retrofits that must be planned to keep the systems healthy and happy.

Southwest Research Institute has been developing Scan-N-PlanTM technologies for many years with applications in painting, sanding, grit blasting, grinding, chemical depaint, and laser ablation. Scan-N-Plan, a suite of ROS-Industrial tools, enables real-time robot trajectory planning from 3D scan data.

Economic impacts from the pandemic and ongoing digital trends are expected to accelerate the adoption of digital manufacturing, also known as smart manufacturing. This means more U.S. companies will embrace “Industry 4.0” technologies that support agile workflows with robotics, automation, data analytics, and additive manufacturing.