Posted to News on 30th Jul 2024, 12:00
Mitsubishi Electric partners with HAL Robotics for non-uniform applications
Mitsubishi Electric has partnered with HAL Robotics to extend the rollout of operator-controlled industrial robots capable of executing variable, complex and uncommon tasks and applications.
Founded in 2014, HAL Robotics' recently launched 'decode' software was developed to give operators and those with expert process knowledge the ability to adapt robotic tasks without any programming.
Based on the HAL Robotics Framework, it gives systems integrators and robot users the means to set up complex robotic toolpaths, simulate and validate procedures, and automatically send programs to the robots for execution. As a result, 'decode' helps remove hard-to-automate, varied and laborious tasks that previously required constant human input.
HAL Robotics' partnership with Mitsubishi Electric means the software can now be integrated across the company's range of small-scale 6-axis MELFA industrial robots. This provides stakeholders from across industry the ability to automate non-uniform tasks without the extensive set-up and training investments normally associated with bespoke solutions.
Sebastian Andraos, CEO and Co-Founder of HAL Robotics comments: "Automation has traditionally been associated with repeatable applications. By contrast, many manufacturing tasks requiring intricate manipulation of parts and non-uniform results are often viewed as too complex to be carried out by industrial robots. Our 'decode' software aims to upend these assumptions.
"By giving operators the opportunity to rapidly influence and change processes to suit the nuances of individual applications, reliance on integrator input can be reduced. Our new partnership with Mitsubishi Electric will allow us to increase access to automation technologies and plug a skills gap often found on factory floors regardless of sector."
Barry Weller, Product Manager for Mechatronics at Mitsubishi Electric Automation Systems UK, comments: "The importance of HAL Robotics' 'decode' software cannot be underestimated. Allowing operators to more easily integrate their human experience and industry knowledge into key processes and non-uniform manufacturing will be key to improving end-user efficiency, especially given the skills shortage that continue to affect the manufacturing sector.
"We're looking forward to the future with HAL Robotics and excited to see how its 'decode' software will be implemented across multiple sectors."
