From Biologically Inspired Robots to Collaborative Manufacturing Systems
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Description
Industrial robots have been widely used for decades in the industrial setting. In the past 30 years, robots have found uses outside the factory, in the field and on the roads. These robots were essentially adaptations of factory robots, but for the outside. To enable these robots with better performance, researchers turned to biology for inspiration to make systems work in remote locations. But, still we programmed these biologically inspired robots as if they were factory systems. Therefore, this talk discusses the critical challenges in uncovering the important principles in biological systems for robots to negotiate rough terrains. In doing so, we have returned the favor to biology by providing analysis that models biology. This talk will also cover how these technologies were used to address strategically significant problems in diverse areas such as surgery, infrastructure inspection, and search and rescue. Most recently, these ideas have been translated into manufacturing applications including part and parcel delivery, painting, and assembly in confined spaces. As such, my students and I have founded three companies: Medrobotics, Hebi Robotics, and Bito Robotics. The goals of this company is democratize the use of robots both in the medical and manufacturing domains. The ideas of democratization, versatility, flexibility, and collaboration led to the technical vision of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute, which will be described at the conclusion of the talk.