Robotic Refactoring the Workplace

The former lengthy process of collecting the data and generating an inventory report is reduced to simply running a software application to generate a report from the robot operations records.

With this experience in mind, it was no surprise that a major online retailer purchased the premier supplier of mobile robotic fulfillment systems. Robotic fulfillment systems automate the inventory control and handling for distribution centers. They subsequently took the company in-house and stopped supplying the technology to their competitors. Without other suppliers of this technology readily available in the marketplace, this put their competitors at a severe disadvantage and sent them scrambling to find new providers for robot fulfillment systems.

Carol Jones, Deputy CIO, Sandia National Laboratories

The quality of data collected by robotic systems and automated manufacturing equipment is an important element of the Industry 4.0 initiatives to re-vitalize manufacturing. The large data sets produced are valuable for data analytics. Optimization algorithms can be applied to the data sets to improve factory floor productivity.

What this Means for CIOs

From the CIO perspective, robotics introduces a major new consumer of IT resources. Networks must handle the increased data traffic. Data storage solutions are important for collecting and managing large data sets. Cloud based services are desirable due to the flexible availability of resources, however, the internet connection must support sufficient bandwidth and when pricing cloud services the data analysis may be data-access bound rather than compute bound.

Providing cyber security for robotic systems is not the same as protecting a desktop user. First and foremost, it is important to remember that a cyber-attack on robotic systems can impact the physical world. Product may be damaged or destroyed. The robots or other equipment can be damaged and personal injury, although unlikely, must be considered as a risk. The embedded computer systems might use non-standard operating systems or might be locked down, so that standard practices like operating systems updates and anti-virus protection are not possible.

Data security continues to be very important as well. The high-quality data provides exquisite detail into your operations. Machine visions systems on the robots rely on cameras, which could allow a cyber-attacker to have visual access into your facility.

Robots are moving beyond high volume operations, hidden behind safety fences. The technology is on a path to be partner in worker productivity. The robotic systems collect highly accurate operations data, enabling analysis and optimization of operations. This data and the precision control of the physical world can provide a competitive advantage. The IT infrastructure is a key component to realize the full benefit from implementation of robotic systems, enabling use of the operations data and protecting the robotic systems from cyber threats.

Check Out : Top Industrial Robotics Solution Companies