March 23, 2015Rethink Robotics announces more dextrous Sawyer one-armed robot

Sawyer is designed to perform intricate tasks that are beyond the capabilities of other industrial robots (Photo: Cassandra Zampini)

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It was three years ago that we first heard about Rethink Robotics' Baxter industrial robot. Priced at US$22,000 and requiring no programming expertise on the part of its users, it was intended to bring robotic automation to manufacturers who would otherwise not be able to afford it. Now, Rethink has announced the more compact and agile Sawyer robot.

Like Baxter, Sawyer runs on Rethink Robotics' Intera software system. Among other things, this allows it to learn tasks by having a human trainer physically guide its articulated arm through a specific activity. It can then build on what it's learned, adapting its behavior to complete the same task while compensating for changing variables.

Also like Baxter, it has built-in safety features that allow it work side-by-side with humans, instead of being sectioned off in a cage. If its arm should accidentally come into contact with a person, for instance, it will automatically stop whatever it's doing.

The actual 19-kg (42-lb) robot itself has the same animated expressive eyes as Baxter, intended to make it a little easier for its non-robotic co-workers to relate to. It also utilizes a vision system that consists of a wide-angle video camera in its head, along with a camera and light source in its wrist for getting close-up views of intricate tasks.

Its arm has a reach of just over one meter (3.3 ft), seven degrees of freedom, and can lift up to 4 kg (8.8 lb). Each of the joints on that arm contain high-resolution force sensors, which let it "feel" its way into tight spaces without wrecking anything. According to the company, "This enables an adaptive precision that is unique to the robotics industry and allows Sawyer to work effectively in semi-structured environments."

Rethink Robotics also claims that Sawyer is particularly well-suited to precise tasks such as machine tending and circuit board testing, that have previously been impractical to automate using regular industrial robots – or even a Baxter.

The company plans on an initial roll-out this summer (Northern Hemisphere) in North America, Europe, China and Japan, with prices starting at $29,000. Wider availability should follow shortly after.

Sawyer can be seen in action, in the video below.

Rethink Robotics宣布更灵巧Sawyer独臂机器人问世

3月23日，2015Rethink机器人宣布更灵巧索亚独臂robot

索耶被设计来执行，超出了其他工业机器人（摄影：卡桑德拉Zampini）的功能，复杂的任务

图片廊（6图像）

那是三年前，我们第一次听说反思机器人“巴克斯特工业机器人。售价为US $ 22,000，要求其用户的一部分，没有编程经验，它的目的是让机器人自动化制造商谁否则将无法负担得起。现在，反思已经公布了更紧凑，更灵活的索耶机器人。

像巴克斯特，索耶运行在反思机器人“的Intera软件系统。除其他事项外，这允许它由具有人教练物理通过特定的活动引导其关节臂学习任务。然后，它可以继续发展它的教训，调整自己的行为来完成相同的任务，同时补偿变化的变量。

也像巴克斯特，它内置的安全功能，使得它的工作并排侧与人类，而不是关在笼子里被切片了。如果它的手臂要小心接触到人的接触，例如，它会自动停止不管它在干什么。

实际的19公斤（42磅），机器人本身具有相同的动画表现的眼睛，巴克斯特，旨在使轻松一点了其非机器人同事涉及到。它还采用了视觉系统，包括在其头部广角摄像机，还有一个摄像头和光源的手腕越来越近距离欣赏复杂的任务。

其手臂有一个范围仅一个多米（3.3英尺），7个自由度，并且可以抬起至4千克（8.8磅）。每一个在该臂关节含有高分辨率力传感器，这让他“感觉”的方式进入狭小的空间不破坏任何东西。据该公司，“这使自适应精度所特有的机器人产业，并允许锯工，以半结构化的环境中有效地工作。”

反思机器人还声称，锯工是特别适合于精确的任务，例如机抚育和电路板的测试，以前已不现实使用常规的工业机器人自动化 - 甚至是巴克斯特

在初始转出今年夏季（北半球）在北美，欧洲，中国和日本公司的计划， ，起价为$ 29,000名。更广泛的可用性后不久，应遵循

索耶可以看出，在行动，在下面的视频