Discusses process automation in bakery manufacturing. States that although automation has occurred in the preparation and process areas, packaging has remained a manual operation. Presents a flexible automated packaging system which can cope with the demanding variables encountered when dealing...

Reviews the application of industrial robots in cleanroom environments. Outlines how trends in electronics design are increasing the demand for cleanroom robots. Reviews how cleanroom robots can be used in disk drive and semiconductor production. Outlines how cleanroom robots are also necessary...

Discusses the use of robots in pharmaceutical laboratories for repetitive tasks and dealing with dangerous substances such as radioisotopes. Presents a project undertaken by BNFL, Amercare Ltd and Middlesex University to develop a fully automated radiopharmaceutical dispensing system. Discusses...

The accurate measurement of the position and orientation of a robot end‐effector is the most critical issue for calibrating of robotic devices. Calibration methods provide tools to improve the accuracy of robots without modification to the mechanical unit or its control architecture. However,...

Robot calibration and metrology systems vary widely in performance, but, as a general rule, they are considered to be expensive systems that are normally beyond the budget of the average company. A market survey involving some of the leading systems available reveals that the leading performers...

Industrial robots have found great potential in applications to assembly‐line automation. Programmable robot‐based assembly systems are often needed, in particular for circumstances in which special assembly equipments is not available or well‐trained operators could not be employed...

The idea of robotic floor cleaning landed on the housekeeping industry like an alien from outer space in the early part of the decade. An industry that had seen little progress in the past 100 years suddenly was faced with a method of scrubbing and sweeping floors without a human being trailing...

With almost a decade of experience, HelpMate is a material transport service robot that works in hospitals, side‐by‐side with human co‐workers, delivering equipment and supplies to and from nursing units. Much has been written about the technology that allows HelpMate to navigate...

Mechatronics, the art of combining robotics, computer control, and electronics, was the topic at the recent annual M 2 VIP conference (mechatronics and machine vision in practice) held at the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia, 23‐25 September. This was the fourth...

A report on robots at the Manufacturing Week exhibition, highlighting some of the developments on show in the man‐machine interface field. This reveals that the Windows environment is becoming increasingly popular for robot manufacturers. Special attention is given to the exhibits of two robot...