Smart Hands For Collaboration Between Humans And Robots

Gripper play an important role for teamwork between humans and robots. They must precisely handle the parts in the direct environment of people without touching or injuring them. The SCHUNK Co-act series adapts to this perfectly. The top model, the SCHUNK Co-act JL1 clamp, goes one step further: through a complex system of sensors and decentralized artificial intelligence fully integrated, it is able to record constant information of the seized component and the environment, as well as to process it and react appropriately depending on the situation.

The standards are one thing and acceptance in daily use, another very different, as highlighted especially in the collaboration between people and robots. Consequently, SCHUNK, a leader in competencies for grip systems and clamping technology, has raised the bar with respect to what is stipulated in the standards in its collaboration clamps between people and robots of the Co-act family and, in particular , in the emblematic JL1. "The function of these types of standards is simply to prevent users from suffering serious injuries," explains Dr. Markus Klaiber, technical director of SCHUNK. "However, for the general industrial use of collaboration between people and robots, this is not enough," says Klaiber. After all, Nowadays, it is not enough for a car to transport its occupants to the destination safe and sound. "To sell a car at this time, it is necessary to offer endless practical and increasingly intelligent extras apart from the actual function, namely the displacement between points A and B". This situation resembles the way in which SCHUNK clamps will be designed in the future, according to expert opinion. 

Compliance with RAMI 4.0 guidelines

The SCHUNK Co-act JL1 clamp is the world's first intelligent grip module for collaboration between humans and robots. It has been designed in accordance with the guiding principles of Industry 4.0, has a decentralized control architecture designed according to RAMI 4.0 guidelines and interacts directly with people and robots. Although the collaboration clamps between humans and robots available so far in the market only meet the minimum standards established for accident prevention and, in addition, the clamps are usually surrounded by a protective cover, the Co-act clamp SCHUNK JL1 goes much further: through a complex system of sensors and decentralized artificial intelligence fully integrated, It is able to record information on the seized component and the environment constantly, as well as process and react appropriately depending on the situation. 

Intuitive operation

Similar to a smart mobile phone, the clamp combines several individual systems into a single smart system, which facilitates intuitive use. It includes five microcontrollers and a complete micro-PC system, with operating system and intelligent software; several bus lines, an Ethernet interface and an OPC-UA interface for communication with system control, with other components and with cloud solutions.

How mobile devices improve our lives?

Mobile technology has become more common than we think. Mobile devices have connected people around the world on issues such as  vital information, financial resources, and rescue networks. This month + SocialGood will explore mobile solutions, such as maternal health messages or collaborative disaster reports.

The mobile technology revolution has transformed the ways in which we communicate, gather information, and how we communicate with the outside world. Development organizations, businesses, governments, and common people have used these new capabilities to progress with the Global Objectives. Look at these three examples:

Connecting marginalized populations to services: Mobile phones offer connections for people who have been historically difficult to reach due to cultural, geographical or other barriers. The United Nations uses mobile technology to provide access to health care and information, educational services, financial inclusion, and civil registration . Learn how you can set up a system to handle UNHCR two-way messages in two minutes.

-RapidPro , a free mobile health monitoring messaging tool, created by UNICEF, allows workers to gather information in vital areas, even in the farthest and most remote corners of the world.

-UNDP shares as a partnership with the ANZ Bank, the Australian government and the Pacific financial inclusion program, used mobile technology to connect 900 rural coconut farmers in the Solomon Islands to secure financial services.

-The UNICEF pilot program created to use mobile technology to register births in an area of ​​Pakistan, had incredible results. In 2014, only 5% of newborn children were registered within the first six months of birth. In 2015, that number reached an impressive 95%.

Collecting essential development data: In addition to reaching hard-to-reach and marginalized people, mobile technology also allows these populations to report information about their health, their surroundings, and the challenges they face . Mobile information has helped fight disease, identify sexual harassment, assist farmers, and more. Read the mobile data for the development of Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data.

-MHealth solutions  supports global health by tracking risk factors, identifying counterfeit drugs, surveying populations and helping to implement national policies.

-QR codes allowed the WFP to track the movements of nearly five million mosquito networks that they sent on behalf of UNDP and Global Fund , to 1,000 health centers around Zambia. These codes allowed them to track the networks through Relief Item Tracking , a centralized application at the WFP headquarters in Rome.

-The AgriUp app allows small farmers in Guatemala to share and receive location-specific weather alerts, farmer tips and nutritional tips.