Engineering news
A centre to help businesses integrate robotics in their products and manufacturing processes has been set up in Bristol.
The Robotics Innovation Facility (RIF) is based at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory and aims to help any UK firm work with the latest robotic technologies in production and also for product development development and novel application areas.
The RIF is staffed by a dedicated team and engineers and scientists from the University of Bristol and UWE Bristol. It is funded by a €20 million EU project which has also set up similar centres in Italy and Paris. Access to all the robotics equipment and technical support from the staff is free.
Farid Dailami, head of the Bristol RIF, said: “SMEs, other businesses and manufacturers can sometimes find it difficult to access the latest technology, and understand the potential of robotics and how future deployment could help their business.
“A company may hear that an expensive robot could help their production capacity, but they are unable to access the equipment or software that would allow them to verify this before investing significant time and money in a new system.
“We would be able to carry out the necessary experiments and modelling to help them understand possibilities, and support them in getting extra funding to continue development.
Professor Chris Melhuish, Director of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, said: “The RIF is an opportunity for us to share the latest innovations in robotics and support existing and new businesses in an ever increasing competitive economy.”
Cleaning equipment manufacturer, Numatic International, which makes the Henry vacuum cleaner, is an early user of the RIF. Stuart Cochrane, Manufacturing Manager for Numatic International, said: “The RIF has helped us to evaluate appropriate solutions for our business and we have attended short courses on automation theory and practice. This process has enabled us to trial the effectiveness of automation on components that were not originally designed for this.
“Working with the RIF has also enabled us to explore opportunities to use automation to help staff in the assembly process that would allow us to maintain and enhance their capabilities throughout their working careers.”
Further information and contact details for the RIF can be found here. [ http://www.brl.ac.uk/echordplusplus/roboticsinnovationfacility.aspx]