Kawada Robotics Robotics

New robot applications get spotlight at iRex 2017

Toyota’s new service robot is a tele-operated humanoid. Both leading enterprises and research institutions are working hard to meet the challenges of an aging society with robot applications. I saw some interesting developments in this field at iRex. The newly unveiled Toyota-Humanoid Robot 3 (T-HR3) was one of the most popular exhibits. It uses tele-operations/remote control, for now. Particularly impressive is its Torque Servo Technology, which allows for flexible control. The service robot can react properly to any object it comes in touch with. Unlike other concepts I saw, it also has legs and an impressive sense for balance and gravity (at least on stage). Kawada Robotics had Nextage, a robot whose upper body looked similar but was more autonomous. [...] All of the major Japanese automation suppliers introduced platforms for data collection and analysis this year. Robot applications include predictive maintenance and analytics. The latter enables users to gain an even deeper understanding of their production processes for incremental improvement. This is an area where Japanese companies have been traditionally strong. # Service robots: Humanoid ambitions, student initiatives Japan is the leading country for service robots. Its people are used to a high degree of automation in their everyday lives. For example, Japan has 4.9 million drink vending machines — this corresponds to 1 for every 26 people. Image 18: Toyota's latest humanoid service robot. Toyota’s new service robot is a tele-operated humanoid.