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Industrial Robotics & Automation

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  • Jerry Towler

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For more than 35 years, SwRI has been developing innovative automation and robotics solutions. World-class experts and experienced engineers comprise the automation engineering staff. Automation engineering facilities include state-of-the-art laboratories and large prototype areas for development.

Innovations in Automation Blog

Machine Vision Enables Advanced Automation

Submitted by Michael Rigney on Tue, 11/08/2022
Humans can see damage to a propeller blade under normal light and feel damaged areas with touch.

Many manufacturing processes operate using fixed or hard automation equipment that perform production tasks with limited sensory inputs. For more complex applications, simple cameras or sensors can detect an object’s presence, position, size, or thickness. Machine vision solutions can be applied when objects are more complex, less constrained, or their appearance needs to be evaluated. This blog post will review three applications to provide insights into machine vision’s role in advanced automation.

The ROS 1 vs ROS 2 Transition

Submitted by Tiffany Cappellari on Wed, 08/10/2022
Illustration of how various parts in a manufacturing system can be orchestrated to automate tasks

The Robot Operating System (ROS) was first released by Open Robotics in 2007 with the intent to provide open-source software frameworks, tools and libraries for robot development. A typical ROS system is comprised of independent nodes that can communicate with each other through publisher/subscriber relationships. A key part that makes ROS so useful in robotic development is that these nodes do not need to be on the same system or even used by the same architecture. This flexibility makes ROS easily adaptable to the needs of the user.

Getting Started in Safety for Robotics Automation

Submitted by Victoria Wahlen on Fri, 06/10/2022
Robot Welding Automotive Part

Whether you are adding another piece of automation to your factory floor or debating whether bringing automation into your operation is right for your business, there is a lot to consider. From new equipment to reorganizing floor space for the new set-up, you will have a laundry list of tasks to complete before your newly automated system is ready to use. One of the most important items on that list will be safety. How do you ensure this system is safe for those working around it? What additional items should be on the shopping list to aid in safety? What do you base your safety decisions around?