Loson is committed to the study and design of collaborative robots and work support tools, such as exoskeletons. Technology and know-how at the service of companies to provide machinery that can ensure better efficiency and reduce accidents at work.
Robots are smart, interacting with factory equipment and systems. This is thanks to technological innovation that combines carbon fiber – the material with which they are built – with sensors. A solution that allows the machine to detect potential hazardous conditions.
On the role of robots, we recommend reading what Roberto Rossi, CTO of Smarts Robots, says on the Open innovation (Regione Lombardia), which provides a precise snapshot of the potential of collaborative “mechanics”.
The essence of this technology is “… to develop methodologies to support the operator through an ergonomic analysis using three-dimensional vision sensors. Smart Robots vision technologies allow to recognize the manual operations carried out within the workstations and are currently used in assembly and packaging processes to reduce the rate of operator error and increase efficiency. These technologies will be used in the context of the project for the ergonomic evaluation of the operator, who will be assisted by a collaborative robot during quality control activities”.
Use of high technology, continues Rossi, with the aim of “… reducing the number of injuries resulting from musculoskeletal stress, as well as increasing the levels of quality and efficiency, resulting (also) from a better cognitive perception. Quality control tasks are in fact among the most stressful for the operator because they require high levels of concentration throughout the process. The presence of a collaborative robot able to carry out the most repetitive and wearing activities will increase the productivity of the station, standardizing some processes and reducing the psycho-physical stress of the worker. Not only that, the detection of the ergonomic composition of the person thanks to advanced vision technologies will further optimize the entire process…”.
Loson has been active in the design and development of collaborative robots for years. It participated in the development of the Aura robot, together with Comau and the Politecnico di Milano.
Aura has six levels of safety and supports people while performing manual tasks in close proximity and in complete safety. It is an easily programmable robot, via intuitive interface or can be manually guided by the operator. It is equipped with proximity sensors that can detect movement and avoid possible collisions.
The Aura project, having worked together with other important industrial and research realities, are part of our philosophy based on continuous innovation and its application in factories. The combination of carbon fiber with sensors – to which the evolution of artificial intelligence and the use of big data can be associated – will be an increasingly widespread reality in Italian companies.