The EU Horizon2020 SecondHands consortium has announced the completion of its robotic platform, ARMAR-6. Launched in 2015, the aim was to develop a collaborative robot, or “cobot” assistant to improve safety in industrial environments by proactively offering support and assistance to humans in maintenance tasks.
The SecondHands project was given its name because the robot provides a “second pair of hands” to workers. The robot can offer assistance by holding, lifting, reaching, or passing objects. People can concentrate on the ‘skilled’ part of a job whilst the robot takes responsibility for the heavy lifting and support roles.
The underlying robot platform, the ARMAR-6, was developed at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The robot is the 6th generation and youngest member of the ARMAR family of humanoid robots.
The H2020 consortium partners are:
The robot can recognise human activities and intentions, reason about situations, and easily interact with humans. It can also grasp and manipulate objects bimanually to safely use tools such as power drills and hammers.
ARMAR-6’s artificial intelligence capabilities allow it to react to the surroundings. This means it is capable of autonomously performing maintenance tasks in industrial facilities. It can recognise its collaboration partners’ need for help and offer assistance.
Source: Ocado Group
