Cobots VS Covid-19

Dr.D.Sathishkumar, Asst.Professor, Sankara College of Science and Commerce

Cobots= Collaborative Robots
Cobots are emerging as a force for good in the manufacturing the personal protection equipment, Cobots can work like humans, humans are safely or on their own. Cobots are the response to accelerating repetitive tasks in the manufacturing environment while simultaneously addressing concerns around social distancing and the safety of the employees. Universal robots have noted the demand for its cobots in various industries across the globe to help ramp up production.
Disinfection wit Cobots
The pandemic has seen massive increase in demand for effective deep cleaning and disinfection technologies that do not involve direct human contact with potentially infected areas.. Researchers programmed the cobot to mimic human hand movements so that it can get in to hard to each areas such as under beds and tables- a feature that has been missing from traditional disinfection robots that are not as dexterous.
The Robots are designed to run for four hours straight on a single charge and has been successfully tested in public areas on the University campus, and a trail towards at local public hospitals.
Covid-19 tested with Cobots
Covid-19 has resulted in unprecedented demand for medical testing. In response to this extraordinary demand, universal robots co-founder turned these creative energies to the design and development of the world’s first autonomous throat swabbing robot launched by lifeline robotics. The robot uses UR3 cobot arms fitted with custom 3D-printed end-effecter. The process is simplicity itself, beginning with the patient scanning their ID Card. Right away, the robot prepares a sample kit, consisting of a container with a printed ID- label and it picks up the swab. Then using it’s built in version system, the robot identifies the right points to swab in the patients throat. As soon as the swab process is complete, the boot places the sample in a jar and screw on the lob. The jar is then sent to a lab for analysis.
Ventilator Manufacturing with Cobots
Cobots inherent flexibility helps to support the rapid development and deployment of automation, a feature that really comes to the force in times of crises. Ex: The Spanish car manufacturer SEAT decided to transform one of its assembly lines from its original automotive role to ventilation production. The auto giant installed an UR10e at the end of the line to perform a quality check of the locking mechanism on the units control box.