Robotics applications

There are hundreds of applications in industry that use automation and/or robots to assist with the functions. Most common industries where a collaborative robot, autonomous robot, controlled robot are used can be summarized as follows: (1) manufacturing industry (2) medical or healthcare industry (3) logistics and materials handling (4) remote autonomous processes (5) inspection and repair services. In the following section, all these categories will be expanded with specific applications and their details explaining the scope and usage of industrial robots.

1) Manufacturing industry

Industrial scale robots are used in several manufacturing plants such as automotive assembly plants, pick and place applications, extrusion and injection molding processes, painting, coating and polishing processes, fabrication processes such as spot welding, drilling, stamping, casting and molding etc. Figure 9.1 below shows a few examples of industrial-scale robots used in manufacturing plants.

The following video shows robots in an assembly line in a Tesla plant.

2) Medical and healthcare industry

Complex surgical processes are often performed by robots to achieve the highest level of precision and repeatability. Examples are Da Vinci surgical system and Mako robotic arm assisted surgery that are used for critical patient care surgeries, i.e. cardiac valve repair, open heart surgery, hip implant, knee replacement, etc. Robots or automation can also help in diagnostics in endoscopy procedures, dispensing the right dosage of medicine or pills, and pharmaceutical applications, such as refills of prescriptions. Robotic exoskeleton can also assist in patient recovery after surgery. Figure 9.2 below shows some of the robots that are most commonly used in the medical industry.

Da Vinci XI surgical robot overview:

FlexDex surgical – surgeon powered robotics: