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EUROPEAN ROBOTS
by Tom Carroll
Rather than delve into 18th century
‘clock-work’ automatons that were
famous across Europe (and ones that
I’ve written about before), I’d like to
center on the past few decades of
more modern robotics. We have to
admit that our neighbor across the
Pacific — Japan — inarguably has
implemented more robots into their
industries than any other nation. We
seem to forget that the European
Union across the Atlantic has long
been in the forefront of robot
progress.
Nations in Europe have designed
and implemented some of the world’s
best industrial robots, many of which
are installed in factories across the US
and have been in use since the ‘70s.
Delving a bit deeper, we also find that
some very unique mobile and service
robots have been created in this part
of the world.
Swedish Robotics
Sweden has one of the most
automated economies in the world
with 107 industrial robots installed in
their factories for every 10,000 people
employed in manufacturing. BAE
Systems and the Saab Group are two
large forces in the development of
defense robot systems. ABB
Manufacturing Automation is also
known around the world for factory
automation and robotics. Previously
known only as Asea, Brown Boveri
joined forces with Asea in 1987 to
form ABB. Their bright orange robots
(as seen in Figure 1) are some of the
most popular industrial robots
installed in factories around the world.
Vacuum cleaner and appliance
manufacturer, Electrolux (based in
Stockholm), is also a world leader in
consumer robotics with their famous
Trilobite 2.0 robot vacuum cleaner
(Figure 2). The newest version
supposedly has over 200 improvements but still carries a hefty price
tag of $1,800. The robot is also
heavier ( 5 kg) and higher ( 13 cm)
than the US-made Roomba and may
not be able to clean under the lowest
furniture.
Electrolux literature speaks of
eight ultrasound ‘radar’ furniture
avoidance sensors to prevent the
robot from actually touching delicate
antique furniture legs by sending
radar beams to allow it to stop within
1/4” from objects. Electrolux is also
very proud of their efficient ‘mapping
technology’ that allows the Trilobite
to intelligently cover areas of a carpet
only once, thus spending less time per
room. At 90 watts, it’s a powerful
machine for a battery-powered robot
vacuum cleaner and automatically
Tom Carroll can be
reached at
TWCarroll@aol.com.
FIGURE 1.
76 SERVO 04.2009
FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 3.
