The world is a playground for testing and innovation for robotics, as many aspects of life can be seen as improved with the use of robotic assistance.
However, one automotive giant is utilizing the latest and greatest in the robotics space to help them build some of the most innovative cars on the road today.
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In Hyundai's (HYMLF) -) experimental Innovation Center in Singapore, over 200 robots work alongside humans to produce the Ioniq 5 for the Singaporean market. But what separates this factory from other car factories is how these robots operate with the humans in this specific space.
Instead of a traditional line, cars in various stages of assembly travel though the factory via autonomous pallets from station to station; which Hyundai calls "cells." Here, robots work alongside humans to maximize efficiency in assembly.
Robots in other manufacturer's factories do certain tasks that were once time consuming for humans, such as spot welding, but the way these robots work with humans is to ensure a smooth operation.
Emme Hall for Autoblog described this process as she observed various parts of the Ioniq 5's interior being assembled. Here, she watched a robot be as effect as possible, installing a dashboard "in about three seconds," but do something different for other parts.
"After the dash is installed, I watch a robot grab a passenger seat and place it into the front of an Ioniq 5," Hall said. "Then the arm swings off to the side, drops off its attachment – or hand as the case may be – and swaps it for a different one. It goes on to drop in a windshield wiper motor. However, the actual bolting in is left for humans to do."
The utilization of technology itself is not limited to just the robots, humans also use cool, futuristic devices like smart glasses that project instructions for certain tasks, as well as wearable chairs that don't take up as much space as a rolling chair in other factories.
Another gizmo they use is Boston Dynamics' Spot robot dog, whose purpose is for quality control and assurance. When the tasks in a cell are finished, the robodog walks over and snaps pictures for engineers in a central control room to scrutinize and maintain the flow and quality of work being done on the factory floor.
In this futuristic factory, robots are not only employed in assisting humans to assemble cars, but to support other aspects of the humans as well. Located within the factory is two hydroponic farms, where robots help harvest vegetables that can be used for an on-site restaurant, or be donated to local food banks.
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Hyundai plans to scale up the production of this Singapore factory from 20 cars a day to 30,000 a year. This factory is the basis of a facility it is building in its hometown of Ulsan, South Korea, where they plan to build 200,000 cars a year.
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