As cobots continue to get bigger and take on higher payloads, industrial robot arms are being outfitted with sensors and other components to make them safer and more capable of collaborative applications.
At KUKA‘s booth, Michael Koren, a sales manager at Blue Danube Robotics, demonstrated the company’s pressure-sensitive AirSkin technology on two KUKA robot arms. He used the Agilus 2 and the Cybertech, which have payload capacities of 9 kg (19 lb.) and 20 kg (44 lb.), respectively.
The system is made up of modular white covers that can be custom designed to fit on a robot arm, Koren explained. The pads feature sensors that allow them to detect pressure changes when they are touched, and they communicate with each other every 4 milliseconds, according to Blue Danube. The system can also be installed on end-of-arm tools.
AirSkin allows robots to operate more safely with humans, Koren claimed. Blue Danube said that, with its skin, industrial robot arms can become compliant with ISO 10218 and ISO/TS 15066 safety standards.
“We pretty much turn an industrial robot into a cobot,” Koren said.
The Vienna-based company partnered with KUKA to help showcase the technology at Automate, but its system also works with robots from other vendors, including Staubli, Epson, and Universal Robots.
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