IEEE ICMA 2021 Conference

Plenary Talk II

Co-worker Robots for Industrial Applications

Kazuhiro Kosuge, Ph.D.
Professor

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

       The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong            

 Center for Transformative AI and Robotics

 Tohoku University, Japan 

Email: kosuge@tohoku.ac.jp
http://www.irs.mech.tohoku.ac.jp

Abstract: A Co-worker Robot “PaDY” (in-time Parts/tools Delivery to You robot) was developed for an automobile assembly process usually carried out only by a human worker. PaDY delivers necessary parts and tools to the worker when he/she needs them to reduce the worker’s load, to improve efficiency of the work and to prevent mistakes of the work. PaDY is a simple robot with two degrees of freedom and was easily implemented in a real assembly process without difficult issues. When we try to apply this concept to different types of tasks, we encounter several issues. An adaptive motion planning scheme has been developed for easy implementation of the co-worker robot “PaDY.” A hybrid active/passive co-worker system has been developed for assisting an assembly of a heavy object. A mechanical logic has been developed for low cost and reliable implementation of a co-worker mobile robot developed for a kitting process. In this talk, several prototype systems will be introduced based on the new concepts

Dr. Kazuhiro Kosuge (Fellow, IEEE) received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in control engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, in 1978, 1980, and 1988 respectively. After having served as a R&D Staff of the Production Engineering Department, Nippon Denso Company, Ltd., a Research Associate at Tokyo Institute of Technology and an Associate Professor at Nagoya University, he joined Tohoku University as Professor in 1995 and served as Distinguished Professor from 2018 to March 2021. He is now serving as the Director of the Center for Transformative AI and Robotics, Specially Appointed Professor of Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University. He has recently joined the University of Hong Kong as Chair Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He received Medal of Honor, Medal with Purple Ribbon, from the Government of Japan in 2018 - a national honor in recognition of his prominent contributions to academic and industrial advancements. He also received IEEE RAS George Saridis Leadership Award in Robotics and Automation in 2021 for his exceptional vision of innovative research and outstanding leadership in the robotics and automation community through technical activity management. He is an IEEE Fellow, JSME Fellow, SICE Fellow, RSJ Fellow, JSAE Fellow and a member of the Engineering Academy of Japan. He was the President of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, from 2010 to 2011, the IEEE Division X Director, from 2015 to 2016 and the IEEE Vice President for Technical Activities for 2020.