Universal Robots (UR)
When Universal Robots (UR) recently surveyed 1,200 manufacturers across North America and Europe about their use of technology and future investment plans, over 50% of the respondents indicated they are now using AI and machine learning in their production processes.
“AI isn’t just hype,” says Ujjwal Kumar, Group President of Teradyne Robotics, parent company of Universal Robots. “We’re seeing significant interest in physical AI. By adding high-performance computer hardware to our control systems and investing in targeted software upgrades, we’re establishing UR as the preferred robotics platform for developing and deploying AI applications.”
At UR’s IMTS booth, the company showed a machine-tending application with new AI-based perception capabilities running on NVIDIA Jetson and Isaac acceleration libraries integrated into UR’s new PolyScope X platform. This combination enables dynamic path planning, ensuring the robot takes the most effective, collision-free paths in and out of the machine without requiring extensive user configuration. UR plans to make this cutting-edge technology available for a wide range of applications, including machine tending and other material handling tasks.
An important production parameter is cobot uptime. To ensure seamless operations and increased efficiency, UR has launched the enhanced UR Care Service Plans that now offer preventive field service, onsite break-fix, dedicated remote support and secure cloud connectivity-based cobot service/performance monitoring through UR Connect, showcased for the first time at IMTS.
“We want to be our customers’ steadfast ally, helping them optimize performance, maintain peak hardware condition and uptime, and extend the lifespan of their cobots,” says Anurag Thakur, VP of Service & Aftermarket at UR, who also emphasizes UR Care’s new Field Service program, an offering that both ensures prompt onsite repairs with industry-leading response times and preventive maintenance visits by skilled automation experts.