CONTROL SYSTEM SKILLS

Robots and Humans Interact Safely

Current trends in robotics will enable better human-robot interaction, making robots easier and safer to use.

Joe Kraus, product manager with Kuka Robotics Corp. (www.kuka.com), Clinton Township, Mich., mentions three trends. First, there is the growth of industry-specific and application-based robotic arms and software. He believes these will allow quicker automation implementation and greater ease of use. He forecasts automotive as the biggest initial end-user of those developments.

Another trend is high-payload, six-axis robots that will let those automotive manufacturers use a single robot in certain material handling and other applications, such as glass handling, body-in-white and construction.

These trends reflect the movement away from one-size-fits-all use of robotics approaches, Kraus thinks. That’s because each industry sector now has a different level of robotic acceptance and sophistication, as well as differing needs, he says. “This [trend] is possible because specialized robots are variations on standard and proven robotic systems.” Read more

» BUSINESS SKILLS: Effective KPIs Bring Amazing Changes -
What is most important about key performance indicators (KPIs)?

“If people set up operational KPIs effectively, what they can achieve is an amazing change in employee behavior, to better match up with company goals,” contends Julie Fraser, principal and industry analyst with market research firm Industry Directions Inc. (www.industrydirections.com), Cummaquid, Mass. “But that is, [only] if done effectively.” Read more

» IT SKILLS: Ethernet Shoulders e-Communications -
Mnemonics such as “all people seem to need data processing” or “aliens probably stole the Ninja Dew pop” make it easy to recall the seven layers or levels of the International Organization for Standardization’s (www.iso.ch) Open System Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model - application, presentation, session, transport, network, datalink and physical.

The stack’s highest three levels comprise the applications-layers set, whose applications generally execute through software. From the top down, that set includes applications, or Layer 7; presentation, or Layer 6; and session, or Layer 5. Interfacing with end-users through software, Layer 7 contains familiar Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suites such as hypertext transmission protocol (HTTP); simple network management protocol (SNMP); simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), for e-mail; file transfer protocol (FTP); and others... Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT

Compliant packaging through extension of SAP to the shop floor

Learn about McNeil Consumer Healthcare’s success with integrated systems technology at this year’s Pharmaceutical Packaging Forum. March 12, Philadelphia, PA
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