Pi4_robotics has developed a new human-sized manufacturing robot with the help of researchers at Fraunhofer IPK in Berlin, thanks in part to the EU-funded PISA research project.  The goal is to develop robots that can bring greater flexibility to industrial mass production to bolster European production lines.  In Germany, manufacturers could increase production by leasing the robots when necessary as bigger orders come in.

According to the data sheet, the robot can learn new tasks without needing to be programmed line by line.  It has two 7 degree of freedom arms, which allow it to transfer an object from one hand to another, which is useful when examining the entire surface.  Its manipulators boast “finger-tip sensitivity”, by which they mean with the correct settings the robot can hold an egg without cracking it.  Its head is equipped with three cameras: a 3D camera observes its surroundings; while the other two can be used for detailed inspection tasks.  The face has a screen which displays various emotional expressions (it will appear happy if it is busy working, but bored if it is waiting for its next job).

[source: pi4-Robotics] via [Physorg]