LEAD FEATURE THE PROMPT FOR ROBOTIC INNOVATION
instant visual playback of the program, with any changes
required, such as speed of motion, made before the
program is used to drive the robot. Conditional inputs and
reactions to those are also simply programmed in similar
visual manner, as are loop paths that interpolate points
between say, three points, so not demanding the teaching
of hundreds of path points. Programming end-effectors is
similarly easily accomplished by de ning I/O states.
Remote monitoring of units is possible via a
dashboard app that even allows for scheduling of starts
and nishes, while Automata can undertake various
remote tasks for customers. And in the event of failure,
a new robot can be despatched by parcel post.
Venture capital backed, it should be noted that ABB
Technology Ventures, for one, has invested in Automata
Technologies, backing the company in two rounds of
nancing.
Speaking at a July event, Chandra revealed progress
and uptake for Eva: “Four years ago there were two of us,
the two founders, two architects that were trying to build
a robotics company and we had little more than a 3D-
printed prototype back then, which could ship in a
backpack. Today, we are a 48-employee company with a
product that has been shipping for three months running
in factories for about nine months.”
Co-founder Mostafa El Sayed told Machinery in mid-
October that the company had delivered some 60 units
and that close to one hundred are anticipated for the
year, adding: “We’re still servicing a gigantic backlog of
orders.” He states that the aim is to offer Eva in very high
volumes, available on two- to four-week lead times.
Applications so far take in UK-based manufacturer of
specialised metal components Qualitech, which produces
parts for products ranging from satellites to hair dryers.
The company’s implementation of Eva uses a four-cup
vacuum gripper to safely and accurately pick up metal
sheets and place them on a conveyor belt (video: https://
is.gd/oqujuz). So popular is Eva with its users there that
the initial idea of moving it around the factory is likely to
be shelved and more robots purchased.
At Nextgen Technology, a multinational company
headquartered in the UK, Eva is supporting automated
testing and fault analysis, helping Nextgen’s customers
validate and launch new products in industries from
automotive to smartphone development. Using provided
SDK and API capabilities (“radically more simple than
what most other robots provide”), python is used to drive
the robot. Eva adds physical interaction to the company’s
proprietary testing platform ATAM – allowing it to simulate
real end-user behaviour (video: https://is.gd/yudeda).
Also in the UK, chemical etching company ACE is
employing Eva to pick and load sheet metal, while in
Spain, Visdeltex is employing Eva to take parts from one
location, load them to a press and then unload and place
in a bin nished pressed components. The company
manufactured its own endeffector
tooling for the task.
Reasons for purchase fall
into three basic areas:
throughput throttling;
to monotony; and retraining
existing staff to perform
manufacturing companies to
just a few months, he adds.
In the manufacturing industry generally, pick-and-place,
machine tending, product testing, inspection and spot
dispensing are favoured tasks. Automata doesn’t
guarantee in- ight accuracy, so won’t recommend
welding, milling, 3D printing, laser cutting, drawing or inline
gluing applications. And, by viewing use case videos
available at the company’s website, customers are
currently buying a robot in under three months, without
even seeing it in person, Chandra highlights, saying:
“That is quite new to the industry, people don’t do that
now; they want to be walked through the journey. We are
nding ways of educating them and helping them decide
whether Eva is right for them or not.” El Sayed adds that
probably 80% of current installations were made without
physically viewing Eva. And once a company has bought
one, they often return to place orders for multiple units.
A full list of questions that prospective customers might
have is available online (https://is.gd/gabuxe).
But what exactly prompted the pair to tread this robotdevelopment
path and how have they achieved the end
result, which is very de nitely a disruptive development
that clearly has much promise? Well, as the Venice
sculpture was self-supporting, it relied upon many pieces
subcontracting
fi rm Qualitech
is an early
adopter of Eva
Below: Mostafa
El Sayed, left,
and Suryansh
Chandra,
founders of
Automata
Technologies,
set up in 2015
Grant Smith-VIEW / Alamy Stock Photo
avoidance of loss of staff due
higher skilled jobs. Eva allows
leverage their core value-adding manual
processes, says El Sayed. And return on investment is
Above: UK
www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets November 2019 11
/yudeda)
/gabuxe)
/www.machinery.co.uk