The Japanese humanoid robots have regularly beautiful ‘buzz’ on the Internet each time a new energumen is shown to the press, they are not far from it, the species most prevalent. Their fellow who bossent without uncoupling in factories are thousands of times more numerous and equally impressive. Let them justice. Of a total of approximately one million robots in operation in the world, 40% are in Japan, 30% in Western Europe, and 15% in the USA. If we look at the figures, one finds that Germany alone totaled nearly 45% of the number of robots used in plants in Europe and France 10%, 3% of the working population robotics world. All these figures reflect another reality: that the settlements factories in a given territory. While Japan actually pushing dozens each year (not least) for electronic products and automobiles, among others, France sees its own leave, unless the Japanese Toray, Toyota and others do not build. However, the unemployment rate in Japan remains more than two times lower than that of France. Because if robots replace or assist men in the most arduous tasks on production lines, humans are always there to develop, plan, monitor, maintain, let them grow. The Japanese robot industry, which has about 150 companies, welcomed its part of the rise of BRIC’s (Brazil, Russia, India, China), VISTA (Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey, Argentina) and other countries that are industrializing and are making increasing use of robots. According to the Association of Japanese manufacturers, the market for robots factories will continue to grow at a steady pace to reach 1,000 billion yen (6.5 billion euros) in 2010, production value, against 760 billion yen in 2007.
Specialist industrial manipulators in decades, Japan full advantage of creation, at home and in countries emerging from production sites for the automotive industry and electronics, two sectors that consume large quantities of labour macaronis. The automotive industry absorbs more than a third of the production robots, electronics (broadly defined) almost as far ahead of all other areas. ‘The investment in robots, notably China, are progressing because of the increasing manufacture of mobile phones, computers, monitors and other products’, said an official of the association of robotizing, Tokuro Iikura. Demand for robots in electronics result, among other needs for processing slabs for flat screens of all sizes and cakes semiconductor, pieces that can not be handled directly by humans. The productivity that they give the plants is one reason why the price of a flat screen TV and portable memory decline rapidly. Japan will remain some time world champion robots predict industrialists, stressing that Japanese companies produce their robots from head to toe, unlike the foreign firms as the Swiss ABB, which often outsource manufacturing. The biggest players in the Japanese industrial robotics call Fanuc, Yaskawa, Kawazaki Heavy Industries (better known for its motorcycles or aircraft parts), Nachi Fujikoshi, Denso (a firm affiliated with Toyota Motor group) and Mitsubishi Electric (also famous for its electronics and IT general public). Yaskawa, Japan’s number one, has grown by designing, initially for Honda, robots tailor-made tailored to the needs of its customers, while the second, Fanuc, whose machines can be recognized by their yellow ‘public works’ was developed through a production model robots versatile mass. Yaskawa is the world leader in essential parts that are servo-motors, with 20% of the market, while Fanuc is also, perhaps most importantly, the international champion of NCs for robots, with half the world market alone ( Japanese companies as a whole, totaling 70%).
Fortes essential role of their robots in automobile production and electronics, Fanuc (a company born of outsourcing in 1972 the activity of emerging digital Fujitsu), Yaskawa and other Japanese firms in the sector are seeking today seduce other industries, developing robots increasingly sophisticated and giving their workers mechatronic creatures, worthy of manga science-fiction, new capacity. Recent generations have shown an accuracy staggering through a bardée of sensors, software analysis, micro-motors increasingly miniatures and many other technologies in which the Japanese excellent.
Look at them, the three, then aligned, working tirelessly to bring a box of chocolates presenting himself facing them in bulk and at high speed on a treadmill. Work to channel repetitive and daunting, inhuman par excellence. But this triplette robots workers, tireless and corveables to thank you, filled boxes without grincher 24 to 24 hours at a rate of 300 chocolates collected and stored by the minute, not one to eat the way. These agile articulated arm Fanuc are among the last groups of robots in factories hired agri-foodstuffs or pharmaceuticals. They are equipped with a system of three-dimensional vision to see happen chocolates and catch them quickly in passing, without unsuccessful attempts. The complexity is even bigger than the boxes also marched in the opposite direction on another carpet. Parking empty on one side, they leave full of the other, each robot performing a single row of each. ‘Not a human can go so quickly, and this for hours without interruption’, welcomes an engineer Fanuc, presenting the exploits of his three phenomena. Indeed. Another set of triplets, stamped Nachi, sort of cans raised any comment on a scrolling: the first catch crumbs of tuna, salmon second and third sardines, without ever being wrong. They were programmed for. Elsewhere, another device s’escrime to sort components. He is even more talented than his companions. Like a child focusing to ask cubes, balls and other volumes on the corresponding geometric forms, this impassive robot, which works in its own corner, a slip in a tiny pieces of various structures in spaces provided to accommodate them. We see consider approaching each component above a location, judge the relevance of his gesture (in tonnage of the size of the object held and the location) and, finally, change his mind. By dint of successive measures and deductions, he finds the appropriate box. At Yaskawa, three beings mechatronic two arms, ‘Motoman’ tackle to assemble a device end, the chain, coordinating their rhythm and gestures. One begins to work only when the precedent has made him the subject on which he will make any such manipulation before bringing it to his colleague for the next step. In short, a real teamwork. Contrary to try to Fanuc who are not entitled to rest, these three lascars semi-humanoids are offered each year a few moments they play percussion Japanese ‘wadaiko’ when ‘matsuri (festival) of their region southern Japan! Borrowing also in Japanese art and its rigorous aesthetic gestures, the giant “Artis” Nachi (nearly five meters high) handles slabs of glass very large dimensions, which will cut several large television screens. This monster of nearly two tonnes acts with an accuracy of 0.3 mm, bringing to arm’s length panels ultra-fine of about three meters later he turned in all directions in the air at a dizzying speed.
The speed is also what prevails is a robot inspector finishes work Denso. The head researcher imperturbable control in all the seams of car engines, just assembled, to locate a missing piece or component wrong and raise the numbers and codes of each element. And this turning around the object and the handling on a rotating support for any photograph and analyze real-time. ‘Its speed and reliability, that are beyond human capacity, improve productivity of a factory, as well as the quality of the objects’, ensures Denso. In a factory-model Daihatsu, another subsidiary of Toyota specialist in small cars, will be assured to have reduced by nearly half the length of assembly lines due to multi-task robots capable of working together and alongside men. The technologies developed for its industrial robots by a myriad of Japanese companies of all sizes are also key elements for creating other types of robots, androids, designed to assist individuals. But in one case as in others, one of the main concerns of industrial safety concerns for the growing autonomy of machines and their cohabitation / collaboration with men do not constitute a danger to them.