Manufacturers and factory owners needn’t worry about pesky human workers for too much longer.
ABB has introduced FRIDA, a half-humanoid robot designed for the industrial life.
Although FRIDA could easily replace a horde of human workers, it’s actually designed to work side-by-side with its mortal counterparts. The robot features a human-like torso with padded arms that are capable of a wide range of motion, a flexible gripper for handling small components, and cameras for identifying and locating parts.
FRIDA’s humanoid build makes it easy to be interchanged or inserted between human workers. It has a convenient handle placed where a head would normally go, which makes the worker bot easy to carry while eliminating that nasty uncanny valley problem.
FRIDA, a “harmless robotic coworker”, has already left the research stage, with prototypes currently being tested in pilot applications.
Perhaps FRIDA will be the one putting together the components of your next smartphone or tablet.
designosity 