Launch of "Successor" a New Robot System that Reproduces the Movements of Skilled Workers for Transfer of Skills
Due to the aging of society, the transfer of skills of highly skilled workers, who play important roles in the field of advanced manufacturing technologies, has become a common issue in many developed countries. In order to address this issue, we have announced the launch of a new robot system, "Successor".
Using Successor, it is possible for humans to remotely operate robot arms using the special remote control device.
Moreover, the system enables the robots to learn the fine adjustments that humans make based on their senses and reproduce human movements.
For example, when performing a task like mounting seats in automobiles, there are small variations in the mounting positions between each vehicle. Human workers perform this task by determining the positions at which to insert the seats based on the sensation on their palm.
Until now, robots could not perform tasks for which the situation is different every time, requiring judgment to be made, even though they could easily be performed by human workers, as they are only good at accurately performing predetermined tasks.
However, with Successor, data including positions, speeds, and acceleration are accumulated and analyzed as human workers repeat operations using the remote control device, enabling the robots to learn the "tricks of the trade".
When robots learn skills through AI, they will also be able to distinguish between "correct work" and "failed work" like a human foreman. This will make it possible for human workers who become apprentices to learn the correct work procedures from Successor.
In other words, this system makes it possible to transfer the skills of skilled workers.
Image of the use of "Successor" in a manufacturing line