One of my hobbies is teaching. I have been blessed with many great teachers over my life and feel obligated to share what I have learned. I teach kayaking, self-defense, welding, race track driving, and robotics, which is today’s topic.
Ron Whitman, Welding Engineer LeTourneau University 1956 passed away last year and we miss him. He was the most inspiring teacher I have ever known. My success is due in no small part to the knowledge and passion he instilled in me.
In my 40 years as a roboticist, I have seen robots become simpler, cheaper, and more capable. They have evolved to the point of nearly being a commodity. But a robot needs tooling, software, fixturing, and ancillary process equipment to become a good robotic system.
Dr. Stefan Kreuzer has seen his fellow surgeons shrug at advancements involving robots in surgery.
If they can drive home without a GPS, why involve robots in a process that already leads to a good outcome?
Sitting in a classroom and learning about engineering is much different from actually being on the job.
ARC Specialties President Dan Allford often refers to the “three Ds” of automation, looking into industries that are dirty, dull, and dangerous and seeing if robotics can step in.
Often, we work as hard as we can to make things as perfect as we can. But, as Dan Allford, President of ARC Specialties, is finding, there are times when a little imperfection can be a good thing.
We all can use a little help from our friends – but what if that friend is a robot?
With collaborative robots, robots with safety features that allow more human interaction or for humans to work nearby, that’s possible.
Two Leading Automation Minds on Race Car Driving and Robotics
If there’s one thing Dan Allford, president of ARC Specialties, and Josh Sooknanan, an aerospace engineer with NASA, can agree on, it’s a need for speed.
Is the answer I dread when I ask a technical question. Unfortunately when customers ask: “How accurate can you plasma cut parts with a robot?” I reply: “It depends”.
