Scania Created a Futuristic Factory Manned by Smart Robots

www.chinatrucks.com: Scania’s remodelled cab factory has been the company’s largest industrial investment in 20 years, but in doing so they’ve created a futuristic factory manned by 283 state of the art robots that wouldn’t look out of place in a science fiction film.

 

The light grey robots are highly articulated and dexterous, but also smart, and can learn to execute just about any operation asked of them

“It’s completely clear to me that a premium product needs to be built in a premium plant,” says Marcus Holm, Site Manager within Cab Body Production. So, we have built the most modern cab factory in the world.”

Robots have long been used to carry out what are known as 3D-tasks, work that is dirty, dull and potentially dangerous. But in line with technological development, they are becoming increasingly advanced and interactive with help from sensors, and can now be used for more advanced tasks as well. In the assembly workshop, Tom Petersson works together with two robots gluing and fastening windscreens to the cabs. One of Tom’s two assistants picks up and moves around the heavy glass windscreens.

The other fetches a camera, takes photographs and readings, and then says exactly where the windscreen should be glued, down to the millimetre. “I sometimes think of them as smart, agile cats, because they are so flexible and nimble,” says Tom. “At the same time, they feel almost human and always do whatever they’re asked to do. Then, I think of them as two brothers.

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