Skip to main content

Cars have airbags, so why shouldn’t your robot co-worker?

End-Effector Airbags to Accelerate Human-Robot Collaboration in Industrial Scenarios
Cars have airbags to protect us vulnerable humans from damage, so why shouldn’t robots offer similar protection? After all, as we work more closely than ever with robots in a
Recommended Videos
growing number of areas, the chances of something going wrong increases. This is exactly the thinking behind a project at Germany’s Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics, where researchers have developed inflatable airbags designed to offer an extra level of protection for humans who might otherwise wind up the victim of a robot-induced injury.

“The main difference between airbags in cars and the Robotic Airbag is that a car airbag is triggered in case of an accident,” Roman Weitschat, one of the investigators behind the project, told Digital Trends. “That means the airbag is mainly hidden and designed for single use only. With the Robotic Airbag, we pursue a different strategy. We want the co-bot (read: collaborative robot) to be always intrinsically safe, so the airbag is always inflated when the robot is moving in order to allow for high velocities, without extra sensors required for detecting dynamic environmental conditions robustly.”

When the robot is still, the airbag deflates in a process that takes less than a second. It’s a neat solution, which is superior to some of the other ones researchers have presented, such as covering sharp tools with foam or making the robot move at well below its full speed. While both of these solutions can work, they also make the robots inefficient and limited.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

“Currently, we are in the founding process of the DLR spin-off Cobotect, and are planning to commercialize such solutions for various designs and sizes,” Hannes Höppner, the other researcher behind the project, told us. “Together with certification authorities, we are working to make a certified product for collaborative robotic applications [available] within the next two years. In the future, we think this solution will be applied to any kind of flexible manufacturing processes with collaborative robots, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. We think that these cobots — easily taught by hand-guiding — can be flexibly placed wherever they are needed into human work cells without requiring fences. The airbag will enable people to use robots and tools full functionalities, and allow for a safe and efficient co-existence of humans and co-bots in [the same workplaces.]”

Luke Dormehl
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.
costco ev charging us electricera fast station 1260x945

Costco, known for its discount gas stations, has left EV drivers in need of juicing up out in the cold for the past 12 years. But that seems about to change now that the big-box retailer is putting its brand name on a DC fast-charging station in Ridgefield, Washington.
After being one of the early pioneers of EV charging in the 1990s, Costco abandoned the offering in 2012 in the U.S.
While opening just one station may seem like a timid move, the speed at which the station was installed -- just seven weeks -- could indicate big plans going forward.
Besides lightening-speed installation, Electric Era, the Seattle-based company making and installing the charging station, promises to offer “hyper-reliable, battery-backed fast charging technology in grid-constrained locations.”
Its stalls can deliver up to 200 kilowatts and come with built-in battery storage, allowing for lower electricity rates and the ability to remain operational even when power grids go down.
If that sounds like it could very well rival Tesla’s SuperCharger network, it’s no coincidence: Quincy Lee, its CEO, is a former SpaceX engineer.
Costco also seems confident enough in the company to have put its brand name on the EV-charging station. Last year, the wholesaler did open a pilot station in Denver, this time partnering with Electrify America, the largest charging network in the U.S. However, Costco did not put its brand name on it.
In an interview with Green Car Reports, Electric Era said it was still in talks with Costco about the opening of new locations. Last year, Costco said it was planning to install fast chargers at 20 locations, without providing further details. It has maintained EV-charging operations in Canada, the UK, Spain, and South Korea.
Meanwhile, the wholesaler’s U.S. EV-charging plans might very well resemble those of rival Walmart, which last year announced it was building its own EV fast-charging network in addition to the arrangements it already had with Electrify America.

Read more
The UK’s Wayve brings its AI automated driving software to U.S. shores
wayve ai automated driving us driver assist2 1920x1152 1

It might seem that the autonomous driving trend is moving at full speed and on its own accord, especially if you live in California.Wayve, a UK startup that has received over $1 billion in funding, is now joining the crowded party by launching on-road testing of its AI learning system on the streets of San Francisco and the Bay Area.The announcement comes just weeks after Tesla unveiled its Robotaxi at the Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California. It was also in San Francisco that an accident last year forced General Motors’ robotaxi service Cruise to stop its operations. And it’s mostly in California that Waymo, the only functioning robotaxi service in the U.S., first deployed its fleet of self-driving cars. As part of its move, Wayve opened a new office in Silicon Valley to support its U.S. expansion and AI development. Similarly to Tesla’s Full-Self Driving (FSD) software, the company says it’s using AI to provide automakers with a full range of driver assistance and automation features.“We are now testing our AI software in real-world environments across two continents,” said Alex Kendall, Wayve co-founder and CEO.The company has already conducted tests on UK roads since 2018. It received a huge boost earlier this year when it raised over $1 billion in a move led by Softbank and joined by Microsoft and Nvidia. In August, Uber also said it would invest to help the development of Wayve’s technology.Just like Tesla’s FSD, Wayve’s software provides an advanced driver assistance system that still requires driver supervision.Before driverless vehicles can legally hit the road, they must first pass strict safety tests.So far, Waymo’s technology, which relies on pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), is the only of its kind to have received the nod from U.S. regulators.

Read more
Aptera’s 3-wheel solar EV hits milestone on way toward 2025 commercialization
Aptera 2e

EV drivers may relish that charging networks are climbing over each other to provide needed juice alongside roads and highways.

But they may relish even more not having to make many recharging stops along the way as their EV soaks up the bountiful energy coming straight from the sun.

Read more