table of contents
- Current Status and Prospects of Robotics Technology
- Leading robotics technology
- Use scene of robotics technology
- Robotics-related products popular at Unipos
- ALOHA Bimanual Teleoperation Kit | Two-handed remote control open source robot arm
- Atlas Scientific Various measuring instruments for the environmental robotics field | pH / ORP / DO / Conductivity / CO2 / Temperature / Pressure / Flow / Color measurement sensors
- xArm | Up to 7 degrees of freedom industrial robot arm
- Neon (Pupil Labs) | Modular eye tracking device for research and development
- MISRA Standards (MISRA C / MISRA C ++) | C and C++ Language Embedded System Development Standards
- ZED 2 / ZED 2i Stereo Camera | 3D camera capable of shooting high resolution video
- Orbbec Femto Bolt / Femto Mega I / Femto Mega / Femto W / Femto | Equipped with 6-axis IMU, multiple units can be synchronized ToF depth camera
- BetterWMF / CompareDWG | AutoCAD Drafting Tools Insert Diff
- Summary
Current Status and Prospects of Robotics Technology
With the introduction of robotics technology, which has made remarkable progress in recent years, the engineering field and the manufacturing industry are developing more and more.
For example, the automation of manufacturing processes and work has progressed, making it possible to perform efficient production and work, especially in situations where some risk is expected, such as repetitive or dangerous work. In addition, the high control precision and repeatability of robots has made it possible to achieve highly accurate output such as handling minute parts and advanced machining work at manufacturing sites, improving production efficiency.
The evolution and utilization of robotics technology is creating new industrial fields and business models.The use of drones and agritech, which have become rare in recent years, can be said to be active use of robotics technology in fields that were previously unimaginable.
In addition, it is predicted that in 2025, more than 75% of Japan's population will be over the age of 20, and this is attracting attention as the "2025 problem."
Robotics technology is expected to be used to assist the elderly in their daily lives, and is also expected to be used not only in nursing care robots and health monitoring sensor technology, but also as a means to resolve labor shortages.
It can be said that robotics technology plays a very important role in solving domestic problems and improving international competitiveness.
Leading robotics technology
The evolution of robotics technology has brought about major changes in modern engineering and manufacturing.
The robot products that users see and touch are created by integrating multiple technologies, including sensor technology, control technology, computer vision, robot design and structure, and robot motion.
We have summarized the role these technologies play in the development of the robotics field.
| Technical field | Description |
| Sensor technology | Development and application of sensors that collect environmental information and allow robots to grasp the surrounding situation |
| Control technology | Development of algorithms and control systems to control the motion and behavior of robots |
| Computer vision | Technology that understands the environment by performing image processing and pattern recognition using cameras and sensors |
| Robot design/structure | Design of robot shape, structure, material selection, etc., and development of structural technology based on it |
| robot motion | Technologies for designing and controlling the movement and motion of robots to achieve efficient and smooth movement |
| Artificial intelligence and machine learning | Application of artificial intelligence technology to help robots learn, reason, and adapt to situations |
| Eye tracking | Technology that uses cameras and sensors to track the movement of the user's gaze and understand what part of the user's attention is focused on |
The technical fields listed here are examples of technologies that are familiar to the general public, but I think you can imagine that the product that is generally imaged when you hear the word "robot" is a collection of multiple technologies.
Use scene of robotics technology
Now, let's deepen the image a little more concretely.
I tried to summarize how the aforementioned robotics technology is used in actual product development and as a function of the product itself.
| Technical field | Applications utilized |
| Sensor technology | ・Obstacle detection for self-driving cars ・Detection of product position within the factory ・Operation support for medical robots |
| Control technology | ・Motion control of industrial robots ・Drone flight control ・Navigation of autonomous mobile robots |
| Computer vision | ・Item classification and recognition ・Security by face recognition ・Crop condition monitoring in agriculture |
| Robot design/structure | ・Appearance design of humanoid robot ・End effector design for performing complex tasks |
| robot motion | ・High-speed, high-precision assembly of industrial robots ・Natural movement of the robot arm |
| Artificial intelligence and machine learning | ・Improvement through robot self-learning ・Environmental recognition of self-driving cars by image recognition |
| Eye tracking | ・Improve human-robot interaction ・Support for operation and control ・Improve robot autonomy |
Many of these applications are already being actively utilized and researched.
Collaborative robots (Cobots) will become increasingly popular as technology advances and develops further.As collaborative robots become more widespread, work in factories, warehouses, etc. will become safer and more efficient.
Furthermore, by integrating robots with artificial intelligence (AI), it is expected that robots will be able to adapt to change and handle complex tasks by improving their self-learning and situational judgment abilities.Furthermore, if individuals and small businesses can easily introduce and utilize robots, innovation in manufacturing and service industries will advance.
Of course, we can expect the use of robotics not only in business but also in the field of education.Robotics and programming tools and kits are still actively used in STEM / STEAM education.
Robotics technology has contributed in a variety of ways, including improving productivity and safety, developing new industrial fields, and realizing efficient collaborative work, and will continue to expand its possibilities through further evolution. Sho.
Robotics-related products popular at Unipos
I tried to summarize the most popular robotics-related products at Unipos.
Of course, we also accept surveys for products not listed, so please feel free to contact us.
| Technical field | Description |
| Sensor technology |
・Atlas Scientific Various measuring instruments for the environmental robotics field |
| Control technology | ・MISRA standard (MISRA C / MISRA C++) |
| Computer vision | ・Atlas Scientific Various measuring instruments for the environmental robotics field ・Orbbec Femto Bolt / Femto Mega I / Femto Mega / Femto W / Femto ・ZED 2 / ZED 2i Stereo Camera |
| Robot design/structure | ・ALOHA Bimanual Teleoperation Kit ・x Arm ・Better WMF / Compare DWG |
| robot motion | ・Atlas Scientific Various measuring instruments for the environmental robotics field ・MISRA standard (MISRA C / MISRA C++) |
| Artificial intelligence and machine learning | ・ALOHA Bimanual Teleoperation Kit ・Neon (Pupil Labs) |
| Eye tracking | ・Neon (Pupil Labs) |
ALOHA Bimanual Teleoperation Kit | Two-handed remote control open source robot arm
A low-cost, open-source ALOHA robot teleoperation platform for learning fine-grained two-handed manipulation.
Based on a technology that applies the concept of action chunking in the artificial intelligence research field (transformer action chunking), we express the actions of divided small units using the transformer encoder to realize complex actions. approach.
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Atlas Scientific Various measuring instruments for the environmental robotics field | pH / ORP / DO / Conductivity / CO2 / Temperature / Pressure / Flow / Color measurement sensors
Various measuring instruments developed and sold by AtlasScientific in the United States for use in the environmental robotics field.
We mainly handle water quality-related measurements (pH / ORP / DO / Conductivity / Temperature), and we handle various sensors and circuits for building environments to measure various values.
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xArm | Up to 7 degrees of freedom industrial robot arm
An industrial robot arm developed to improve product productivity and quality.
With a 700mm operating range and 0.1mm precision reproducibility, the xArm is highly cost-effective and can be used not only in factories, but also in robotics research, prototyping at manufacturers, and photography and videography. can be expected to play an active role.
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Neon (Pupil Labs) | Modular eye tracking device for research and development
Eye tracking solution for fast prototyping with high accuracy and versatility.
Pupil Core and Pupil Invisible NeonNet is the latest eye-tracking device with a modular design from Pupil Labs, the developer of NeonNet, which is more accurate than Pupil Invisible and uses deep learning trained on data from various environments and various individuals. ” has been adopted.Pupil Labs' software is built for all users, from no-code to pro-code, so it can be used easily in research settings without the need for setup or calibration. .
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MISRA Standards (MISRA C / MISRA C ++) | C and C++ Language Embedded System Development Standards
A standard developed by MISRA (Motor Industry Software Reliability Association) for embedded system development in C and C++ languages.
Although it was originally developed for the automotive industry, it is now treated as a standard for embedded software development in a wide range of fields such as industry, railways, aerospace, and medicine.
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ZED 2 / ZED 2i Stereo Camera | 3D camera capable of shooting high resolution video
A 3D camera passive stereo type depth camera that can capture high-resolution video.
You can shoot side by side format images with the two cameras on the left and right.It can be used both outdoors and indoors, creating depth maps from captured images, mounting it on drones and robots, and performing image analysis.
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Orbbec Femto Bolt / Femto Mega I / Femto Mega / Femto W / Femto | Equipped with 6-axis IMU, multiple units can be synchronized ToF depth camera
ToF 6D camera with 3-axis IMU that provides high resolution depth data.
Multiple units can be synchronized, making it suitable for shooting in dark places.Products used in a wide range of fields such as healthcare, robotics, and augmented reality.
The new product Femto Bolt announced in August 2023 is equipped with the same module as Microsoft Azure Kinect DK (manufacturer announced the end of production), and is also attracting attention as a substitute that provides the same performance and operation mode as Azure Kinect DK. are collecting.
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BetterWMF / CompareDWG | AutoCAD Drafting Tools Insert Diff
Auxiliary tool to solve problems that occur when inserting drawings created with AutoCAD into other software (such as MicroftWord) by copying and pasting.
By simply loading ARX into AutoCAD or executing the exe file, it is possible to automatically improve problems such as unnecessary lines and inappropriate drawing sizes. .
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Summary
Robotics technology is greatly increasing its value through connections with various other technologies and industries.It is a field where research and development is actively promoted internationally, and future development is expected.
At Unipos, we procure hardware and software from around the world in line with trends in robotics technology and engineering, supporting the success of our customers' businesses and research.We will be happy to investigate products that are not listed on the Unipos website, so please feel free to contact us.
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