With the continuous development and maturity of robot technology, the manufacturing industry has undergone tremendous changes. Industrial robots have gradually replaced human labor, and their applications have expanded from the automotive industry to other fields such as electronics and food, completely changing the production mode of traditional industry. Last year, the number of industrial robots installed in China was close to 500000, and machine replacement has become the biggest trend of the times.
The automotive industry is currently the most automated industry, and industrial robots are widely used in the automotive manufacturing industry for stamping, laser welding, aluminum spot welding, hot melt welding, coating, and other entire production processes. Due to the rapid development of the automotive industry, there is a huge market space for industrial robots. In addition, the electronic industry has also experienced rapid development, with industrial robots beginning to be applied in the fields of logistics and electronic consumption, triggering significant changes in these industries.
The development trend of industrial robots is manifested as extending from the automotive industry to electronics, metals, chemicals, plastics, and food, gradually penetrating into the consumer field. Robots are becoming increasingly intelligent, from the initial visual robots to the introduction of force sensors. Currently, the new generation of robots has made great progress in cognition and decision-making.
The perception ability of robots continues to improve
Machine vision has been widely used in industrial robots. In Qian Hui's view, there are three types of industrial robot vision: two-dimensional vision, three-dimensional vision, and 3D vision using wide-area sensor technology. These technologies enable industrial robots to recognize the position, size, and color of objects, including the location of storage in space. Robots gain the ability to perceive the environment of turnover.
With 3D vision, the robot's function has been further extended, allowing for picking up cluttered workpieces, eliminating the need for workers to organize workpieces on the assembly line. With vision, robots can quickly detect existing workpieces and then recognize their positions. In addition to vision, robots also need to perceive surrounding forces, especially during assembly and contact processes, to determine how much force is applied to objects. Such sensors are a necessary condition for intelligent robots.
Collaborative robots enter the production line in large numbers
Collaborative robots have become an important direction for industrial robots. In the future manufacturing industry, robots will need to work with humans to better complete complex work tasks. However, the requirements for collaborative robots are higher than traditional robots. Nowadays, collaborative robots are entering production lines in large numbers, working together with workers to provide higher efficiency for the manufacturing industry. Compared to jobs that used to require three people or two people plus a robot, now only one person plus a collaborative robot can meet the demand. Collaborative robots are responsible for picking and placing heavier workpieces, while humans are responsible for handling complex or precise assembly work. After completing the assembly of workpieces, collaborative robots help to put the workpieces back on the shelves, allowing humans to free up more time for other tasks.