Mainstream Robotics: ABB Robotics’ Machine Automation Robots
And how high schoolers can use their knowledge to understand them
Many high-schoolers work in robotics teams and are passionate engineers, but are left wondering what they can do with robotics in the real world, and what applications it has. As one of those high-schoolers myself, I took it upon myself to find ways in which robots are used and implemented in the real world. One valuable and widespread use of robots many don’t think about is machine automation.
Introducing ABB Robotics
Founded in Switzerland in 1988, ABB Group is a company that not only works in robotics, but also works in electrification, process automation, and motion. They produce countless mechanical devices, from motors and drives to solar inverters. Their products are used across several industries, with the main impact being automation, efficiency, and sustainability.
Main products
ABB’s main product is their robotic arms, which have various models, allowing the customer to choose the robot they believe fits their purpose the best. They produce collaborative robots, meaning humans can work alongside and interact with the robot, and articulative robots, which simply perform a preprogrammed task with precision. The robot I will be focusing on is YuMi, a dual-armed collaborative robot.
YuMi in 2024. Image courtesy of ABB Group.
YuMi, first released in 2015, primarily helps with the assembly of small parts and repetitive tasks that might bore workers. The robot has safety mechanisms built in to make sure humans working with it have no danger and can interact with the robot freely. Although YuMi is available in a single-armed model, I focused on the dual-arm model for the purposes of this article.
Where you see these products used
Not surprisingly, YuMi is used in factories by manufacturers. Large manufacturing companies use YuMi to increase their assembly efficiency and workers are able to safely complete monotonous and otherwise boring tasks by utilizing YuMi. One of the most fascinating ways YuMi has been used is conducting an orchestra. This is a very interesting application, as we don’t think of music as an area robots can help, but conducting is a simple task YuMi can be programmed to complete, and with collaborative input from the conductor it can even change tempos and carry out other conducting nuances.
Why these products are relevant to high-schoolers
YuMi takes in input from the user to change its behavior, which is similar to the teleop period of FRC competitions, where drivers can adjust the trajectory or other factors of the robot’s path. Additionally, the end points of YuMi’s arms are very interesting, as there is a mini claw mechanism, which helps it pick up small objects and parts. YuMi does offer arm customization based on the customers needs.
YuMi’s arm endpoints. Image courtesy of ABB Group.
In my opinion, the most intriguing aspect of YuMi is the fact that it is mechanically different from other robots to allow human-robot interactions. The goal of collaboration changes the mechanical design, through the tray that is a provided add-on to YuMi, the safe to handle arms and other components of the robot, and an easy to understand interface.
YuMi is a versatile collaborative robot, and it can be used in many, some surprising, fields of work. If you would like to learn more about YuMi or any of ABB Groups’ other products, visit their website here.
If you liked this article, make sure to check out the rest of my Mainstream Robotics series at my profile!
Links: YuMi Conducting An Orchestra
