We have recently surpassed 3,000 robots for the Idea Catalog - and 5,700 technologies in total - which is a major achievement in a short space of time. Although we add a new technologies almost every day, we update existing ones even more frequently with new articles, documents and videos to provide the most up-to-date resource on technologies anywhere. Knowledge Management and Technology Horizon Scanning is becoming ever more important as organizations look to leverage their own knowledge and to learn more about what others are doing in order to keep their competitive advantage in uncertain times.
This article illustrates three areas of interest, based on recently added entries to the Robotics Catalog, that illustrate how technologies developed in one industry sector can apply in other industries.
Teleoperation
The Model-T is a shelf stacking robot that can be operated remotely from the store using virtual reality and haptic sensors. Whilst the use case is probably not going to catch on, it is interesting because it illustrates the potential of teleoperation in a domain that everyone can understand. Namely, an operator can carry out tasks remotely that used to need a physical human presence. This application is clearly applicable to a great many industries - particularly with the current restricted travel conditions and the ever limited availability of expert resources. Shadow Robot is one company at the cutting edge of this technology that is doing a lot of interesting work in this area. Rolls Royce are another company, using a slightly different approach, where the concept is to be able to carry out engine repairs for airplanes anywhere in the world while their expert engineers stay in Derby. This technology is bound to have huge potential in the future.
Aging Infrastructure Monitoring
This is a system that uses an autonomous robot to detect changes in the environment. It enhances situational awareness and uses augmented reality to detect small changes in the environment. It is being developed for military applications but is seems clear that the same idea can be used for many other needs and the monitoring of aging infrastructure is one. A system that detects small changes in facility condition could be of great use for difficult to access infrastructure such as bridges, power plants and large facilities. The information would help prioritize work and reduce the number of experts who have to be physically present on site - a variation on the teleoperation technology featured above.
Sort & Segregation
Samaurai is an automatic recycling robot that uses AI to distinguish features in the same way as a human eye. Across the world, the municipal recycling industry is developing this type of technology for sorting waste using robotic arms, conveyors and vision systems augmented by artifical intelligence. Click the “Sort & Segregation” tag on the Samurai entry to see plenty more. The technology will have use for many environmental remediation activities where the need to sort and segregate complex materials in a cost effective manner is a tricky proposition. Innovate UK and the nuclear industry is currently running a £4m competition on this topic for instance. You have till November 11th to apply if you’re interested in applying!
Summary
This article shows, briefly, just a few examples of recent technology, from across the world, that has potential application for many completely different industries. A quick look through the catalogs will highlight many other examples. With the capability to discover, learn and share knowledge in this way, organizations are better placed to create better innovations for their particular situation, develop additional markets they haven’t considered before and to increase their ability to offer enhanced value to their customers.
The Idea Catalog is free to register. This will allow you to search and filter across all the catalogs. A subscription, for a small fee, will give you Premium access to the remaining features.
#ideacatalog #ShadowRobot #RollsRoyce #NDA #Robotics #KnowledgeManagement