German plastics manufacturer shows humanoid robot for industrial applications
The Cologne-based plastics manufacturer Igus has developed a robot that can be used in industrial environments and in service.
(Image: Igus)
The Cologne-based plastics manufacturer Igus has unveiled Iggy Rob, a humanoid robot developed in-house that is designed for industrial applications. The robot costs 47,999 euros and is suitable for companies that want to automate their production, service or logistics with humanoid robots.
The humanoid robot Iggy Rob is around 1.7 m tall. He has two ReBeL cobot arms and two bionic hands that are modeled on human hands, but have to make do with four fingers.
Strictly speaking, Iggy Rob is a semi-humanoid robot, as he has no legs but a mobile base with which he can move around. This comes from the autonomous mobile robot ReBeL Move from Igus. This trick means that costs can be kept lower than for humanoid robots with legs. However, if the robot is only supposed to move on flat surfaces, this is not a problem. The robot cannot climb stairs, but it should be able to use an elevator to reach other levels of a building, for example. Igus states that most industrial buildings already have the prerequisites for using robots with wheels.
Use in production, logistics and service
A face is displayed in the robot's head, which can apparently react to human employees and enables the robot to be used not only in production and logistics, but also as a service robot at reception. Igus does not provide any precise details about which autonomous functions are implemented using which artificial intelligence (AI) and how advanced they are.
Igus promises that Iggy Rob can do its job for around eight hours without interruption before it has to return to the charging station. The robot can move a maximum payload of 100 kg.
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Igus wants to further develop the robot together with its customers and adapt it to their wishes. To this end, the company offers a "test before invest" program prior to purchase. Interested companies can work with Igus robotics experts to explore the possibilities of the robot depending on the desired area of application and then purchase the robot. Igus itself intends to use Iggy Rob to insert components into plastic injection molding machines. The company is calling for a price of 47,999 euros for Iggy Rob.
(olb)
