May 30, 2010 Posted by admin in Articles

Economic Consideration of the Robotics Industry During Recession

Here’s a rundown of the most expensive robots currently in use all over the industrial world.

• Sophisticated industrial robots manufactured by FUMAC costs $60, 000. They can carry a 100 pound load and can function 24 hours a day for several years doing repetitive task continuously. Take note that the programming of these robots would cost another $60,000 dollars. FUMAC robots are called six cylinder robots as it can counter gravity to pull up its springs to carry heavy loads. These robots have been used for welding, lifting and painting.

• The American manufacturing company called Adept Technology manufactures the world’s most common industrial robot called the SCARA. The robot is connected by three horizontal joints which gives it the versatility as a pick and place robot.

• Another robot called the Ivybot robot is programmed to analyze market trends and can actually do the trading for their owners using four currency at once. The Ivybot can provide monetary returns and minimal drawdown rate, what is surprising is that the entire system only costs $149

• Surgical robots are common in the health arena today and they cost over a million dollars. The robotic arms are used in complicated surgery but these are remotely controlled by the surgeon. With a camera mounted above, the surgeon can see the operation as magnified in a computer screen. Today, researchers are trying to develop an alternative machine that costs only ¼ its original price.

Industry Survival

How can the costly robotic industry thrive in recession? The Robotics Industries Association announced that members have had a good year despite conservative consumer spending last year. RIA advises continued marketing strategies to advertise their member’s product and offer support and free consultation.

In the personal services aspect, NextGen Research expects an increase of robotic units from 9 million to 25 million in the next 6 years. It is forecasted to be a $15 billion industry in the next 6 years. This however is for functional robots that can perform multiple household tasks at the same time.

Robotoys however is on the verge of wipeout and Ugobe, the makers of Pleo (the robo dinosaur) filed for bankruptcy after a low turn over of revenue during the spring holiday shopping of 2009. WowWee – the telepresence robot (a moving webcam) did well however at $300 per robot.

The next decade robots who are expected to be top sellers are those which allow people to travel at the same time keep tabs at home. Those robots in the healthcare industry that can provide assistance to the disabled and the elderly are also growing in demand.

Japan’s response to recession

In Japan however, robots are being abandoned on the side. As consumers hold off spending on gadgets and cars, the demand for robots has been declining. Take the case of Roborior, which is a house sitter robot. It has been ignored by the public despite the number of usable features such as real time imaging and sensors to detect unusual activity in the house. GP

May 24, 2010 Posted by admin in Healthcare Robots

Healthcare Robots

Welcome to Healthcare Robots. Robots will find an especially large use soon in the health care industry. The daVinci robot has been in use for over a decade in hospitals around the world – performing all types of minimally invasive surgery. In the pharmacy industry, a company called Script Pro manufactures a robot designed to help pharmacies fill prescriptions. McKesson’s Robot RX is another health care robotics product that helps pharmacies dispense thousands of medications daily with little or no errors. This massive robot is ten feet wide and thirty feet long and can hold hundreds of different kinds of medications and thousands of doses.

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In Japan, several health care robots for the home are already on the market. Japanese engineers expect robots to be available for commercial household use by 2010. The domestic market for Japanese commercial and industrial robots may be as high as $8 billion dollars by this time, and like most Japanese electronics, will be marketed to the industrialized world shortly thereafter.

More and more we will be cared for by intelligent machines. Thank you for visiting and supporting Healthcare Robot!               

Mar 30, 2010 Posted by admin in Articles

Assistive Technology ? Robots are the Future

Imagine a world where you have a faithful aide by your side that can assist you with just about anything from moping up the floors, washing the dishes, patrolling your house, providing elder care to being you best buddy by being ready to help whenever you need it. It seems that after the dog, robots are going to be man’s most faithful friend.

We seem to have come far from the times when robots or mechanical servants were only heard of in ancient mythologies, such as the robots built by the Greek god Hephaestus to the age of patient aid and assistive devices. While, modern robotics has come a long way, there was a lot of buzz recently about the “uBOT-5” – the robot, supposed to be an awesome robotic assistant for the elderly in future.

The State-of-the-art Robotics

And it’s not without a reason because computer science researchers are well set on their path to endow these “mechanical servants” with never seen capabilities. For instance the uBOT-5 would not only be able them to assist the elderly but Robot UBot-5 would also act to help them, e.g. dialing 911 in case of emergencies. Or they could send out reminders to patients when its time for their medication. To top it all, they could even help them with grocery shopping in addition to allow them to talk to their friends ‘n’ family including healthcare providers.

However, this is only one side of the story, because when a patient’s friends, family or medics need to talk to their loved ones – they too can initiate a conversation via the assistant. For instance, a concerned family member who wants to know about whether their elderly relative is ok or not? They can establish a link with any Internet connection, or better still navigate around the house to look for mom or dad. This can be especially useful if a patient needs help and is unable to take the call.

At the same time, while the technology may have advanced, cost concerns still seem to persist for these patient aids. For instance, at present the prototypes at University of Massachusetts Amherst cost close to $65,000 for a unit. However, experts believe that with commercialization the robots may cost about $5,000. That’s less, but lesser still would be be better.

Till the time that happens, perhaps cutting edge enhancements to the already existing patient aid equipments aren’t bad either – as some interesting gadgets came to life at this year’s Assistive Technology Exposition of the Saint Francis University’s CERMUSA – including retina-steered wheelchairs, digitized and synthesized speech-generating devices and pressure sensing prosthetic limbs that could fill up a glass or water or wine!