When that happens, he predicts, Japanese construction companies will be able to complete a building in half the time and half the cost of companies working with old-fashioned humans. Already, he reported, prototype robots spray insulation on structural steel, install ceiling panels, smooth concrete, paint walls and handle a host of other jobs now done by humans. Because of that, they are aggressively moving in the direction of automation and robotics. Many poultry jobs involve complex repetitive motions which put a strain on workers, while the moisture and cold make attracting employees more and more difficult. One answer might be to automate poultry processing, but those same working conditions also pose serious challenges to robots.
Moisture is a natural enemy of the electrical actuators, vision systems and computer equipment.
The soft and slippery nature of the product, along with its variations in size, requires a degree of flexibility difficult to attain in robots. And the work must be done in clean conditions to prevent food contamination. Chris Thompson and other engineers of the Georgia Tech Research Institute have built a prototype robotic work cell which takes a big first step toward solving those problems. The work cell has attracted visitors from around the world, and Thompson believes the lessons learned may one day help move humans out of the more unpleasant parts of the poultry- processing plant. Boosting productivity has been a major goal of U.S. companies over the past decade.