10 Things You Didn’t Know Robots Can Do

Robots are amazing. Just take a look at any factory, plant, or warehouse using Indramat motion control systems. Modern industry wouldn’t be possible without robots and industrial automation. Most people know that we have impressive industrial robots and machinery working away in factories. However, robots can do some pretty surprising things.

Grow your salad

Iron Ox uses robots to grow fresh and tasty produce. Efficiency is the name of the game at this robo-grow house; the company claims to use 90% less water than traditional farming methods and produce 30 times more crops per acre of land. Their farming robots produce a consistent harvest year-round.

Beat you in ping pong

There’s a surprising number of ping pong playing robots out there. Most of these robots are designed to shoot ping pong balls at you so you can practice returning serves, but Omron makes a robot called Forpheus that can actually play ping pong, and most likely beat you.

Express emotion

Expressing emotion and having feelings are two different things. While robots don’t actually have emotions, there are several different robots that can create the illusion of emotional intelligence through dialogue, or facial expressions. Sophia is the most famous, and one of the creepiest.

Freerunning

Boston Dynamics has showing the world some of the coolest robots for more than a decade. We’ve been able to see the advancements and progress of some of the robots every step of the way. Atlas used to walk on a tether and now it’s capable of jumping and flipping without the need for a tether.

Sword fight

It takes a lifetime of dedication, training, and practice to master swordsmanship. That is, unless you’re a robot. Yaskawa’s Motoman MH24 robot shows off it’s expertise with a sword by slicing a variety of produce in an excellent demonstration of precise motion control.

Sign language

Honda’s robot Asimo can walk, talk, and sign in both American and Japanese sign language.

Make deliveries

Several companies are experimenting with delivery robots including FedEx, Dominos, and Amazon. This is one of the reasons why delivery jobs are expected to disappear in the not so distant future.

Write a song

Artistic creation is something that makes humans special and unique, right? Well, artificial intelligence has been used to produce a boatload of music. But is it art?

Perform surgery

Robots like the da Vinci Surgical System are making surgeries safer, less invasive, and all around better. The idea of a robot performing surgery still sounds like science fiction even though the first da Vinci surgical system was launched in 1999.

Race camels

Camel racing isn’t for the faint of heart. Automation removes humans from hazardous conditions, which is one of the reasons why camel racing has gotten high tech with robot camel jockeys.

Robots are capable of some pretty incredible feats, but even the most amazing robots need to be taken care of. Call 479-422-0390 for support for Indramat motion control systems. We offer maintenance, preventive inspection, factory repair, replacement, retrofitting, and all Indramat services.