Robot working on the railway.
Keeping the tracks in good condition is crucial for West Japan Railway Company (JR), the largest rail operator in western Japan, so this month JR West (also known as JR West) hired a new maintenance worker: a robot maintenance worker.
Jointly developed by JR West, Nippon Signal and Shiga Prefecture-based robotics company Jinki Ittai (also known as Man-Machine Synergy Effectors Inc.), the unit is called a “multifunctional railway heavy equipment” and is an adaptation of a traditional rail-only design into a more flexible bogie-based system.
The robot’s torso is fitted with a crane-arm-like appendage that can extend to work up to 12 meters (39 feet) above the ground, and the arm can hold and manipulate equipment weighing up to 40 kilograms (88 pounds).
▼The cloth cover exudes an atmosphere reminiscent of the mecha designs from the ’80s and ’90s anime series Mobile Police Patlabor.
JR West hopes that the introduction of the robots will achieve three goals: improving productivity, reducing risks to workers, and increasing workforce flexibility, as controlling a robot requires much less physical strength than doing it by hand, allowing older employees or those with reduced mobility to carry out maintenance work.
▼Robot operation booth
Specialized hand controls allow the operator to adjust the robot’s gripping force, and a head-mounted camera array supports the use of “VR goggles” that allow the user to see things from the robot’s perspective, as shown in the demo video below.
Starting this month, JR West has begun using robots to cut down trees and grass that are in the way of the tracks, paint overhead wires, and more, and plans to expand the robots’ roles in the future by developing new hand attachments.
Source: PR Times , Robo Start , via Otakomu
Image: PR Times
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