Welcome, and on this video we are doing product review for the Nextage Robot, which is a Robot developed by Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Kawada Industries! So if you want to learn how this two armed Robot is working alongside Human workers,  then please stay tuned!

Hi Guys, I’m Philip English from robophil.com, now on this video we are looking at the AIST and Kawada Developed, Nextage Robot!

The Nextage is a factory robot intended to operate safely around people. It has two arms and multiple cameras and can partner with (or take over from) humans at different step-by-step assembly tasks.

It is design to liberate humans from menial repetitive labor, allowing us to focus on areas that require creativity and generate added value, such as process management and improvement activities.

The Company have said that, NEXTAGE coexists with human beings, at the same time it collaborates with conventional industrial robots and specialized equipment. Industrial robots are now in the next phase of their evolution, from mere “equipment” to becoming a “partner”.

Kawada Industries Robotics Division has a unique background and expertise in the fields of aeronautical, mechanical, control, and electrical engineering whilst diversifying cutting-edge technologies and knowledge accumulated in such fields into a wide variety of industries.

The humanoid robot has been developed in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), an independent administrative legal entity, which assumes responsibility for total specification design while Kawada focuses upon the handling of the robot hardware and the fabrication of the robots themselves.

The Main Feature of the Nextage are: 

• The Compact line Layout
• The ability to move easily & Free from location
• And the Standard specifications include image recognition system.

Looking in to the Specifications of the Nextage, and starting with the Stereo Vision, the robot has 4 main advantage :

1. With the global eye in the head, there is no need to re-educate the robot when it is out of alignment with the work flow.
2. The robot can attain 3D coordinates with high precision by placing “cross marks” that allow it to maneuver well in midst of varying brightness in the surroundings.
3. The robot is able to correct minor deviations in its positions by associating the tasks with certain cross marks.
4. A stereo camera attached to the head detects changes in the work environment and allows the robot to respond to shifts in the production line or handle simple installations.

The main 3 features of the Hand Cameras are:

1. Design and manufacture of attaching parts, for Hand Camera is available as an option
2. The hand cameras at the ends of both arms help determine the specific position of the object being worked on.
3. The camera captures the object three-dimensionally utilizing the arm’s full range of motion

For the Control Software:

• The accompanying software provides superb visibility and usability, making the operation and instruction of NEXTAGE easy with the image recognition system.
  (The photo shows the control box and vision PC stored in the platform.)
• The software Suite includes, NxUI: GUI allows you to operate the robot intuitively. HALCON: employs the tried-and-trusted vision software. NxSDK: allows programming in the .net development environment.
• The last and most important part of Nextage is the the Safety:
• All 15 operational shaft consist of low-power motors of 80 watts and under.
• The highly visible LED display lamps on the front and back indicate the current status of NEXTAGE.
• The axises configuration designed that the elbows don’t jut outwards even when both arms are in operation.

The goals of Kawada and AIST are clear: with safe robots like the Nextage they will be able to place machines in the same environments, even side by side, with humans to create the future hybrid workforce.

Thanks Guys, I hope you enjoyed the overview of the Nextage, from (AIST) and Kawada Industries.

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Please have a look below, where I have put links relating to this videos , as well as other information about the “Nextage”.

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Thank you guys! And I will see you next time.

Philip English: https://philipenglish.com

Sponsor: Robot Center: http://www.robotcenter.co.uk