Sunday, February 23, 2014

Airbus' humanoid robots

A two-armed humanoid robot helps worker.
Airbus photo
The Airbus Puerto Real plant in Cádiz, Spain, is leading a project to expand the automation of its assembly processes with the use of two-arm humanoid robots for repetitive tasks. The project, called FUTURASSY, could be used across other Airbus sites. One of the research areas is called the "Collaborative Robots" project, which explores the use of two-arm humanoid robots designed to work in the same environment as human operators, sharing tools and production resources. The first robotic unit acquired by Airbus arrived in Puerto Real from its manufacturers, Kawada in Japan, last week and will be integrated at the A380 rudder spar assembly station, where riveting will be shared between human assemblers and the robot. (Source: Airbus, 02/20/14) Gulf Coast note: Airbus is building its newest assembly plant in Mobile, Ala.