EAutomation
Plastic
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2018
Hey guys,
We're a robotics startup and we're looking to gather feedback on a concept: Remote Robot Workforce / "Robot Call Center".
"Robot Call Center" - Album on Imgur
Essentially we are making more affordable robot arms with remote human operators. The idea is that for a significantly reduced upfront cost (think $3K instead of $30K) and using remote human operators for a few dollars an hour, we can provide value to various manufacturers and factories. The robot arms themselves will have human arm length, a payload of a few kilos, sub-millimeter precision, and cameras to help guide operators.
Here's how we'd summarize the benefits:
- Low upfront cost: e.g. a $3K arm instead of a $30K+ arm. The particular arm we're looking to provide has specs similar to (but slightly less than) a UR5 (human arm length, 5kg payload, sub millimter precision).
- No need to program, easy to integrate. You can talk to the remote robot operator over Skype/similar, and explain the task to them, and assuming it's a fairly mundane and repeatable task, they should be able to start work quickly.
- Task adaptability. Related to the above point, a human can learn to modify a task with slight variations no problem (e.g. switch from packaging item A to packaging item B later in the day). Also reduces the need for a perfect controlled environment.
- Advantage of cheap labor. Many diligent workers around the world will be happy to operate a robot for your business for a few dollars an hour.
- Flexible and scalable. These are contractors - no need to keep them on after a contract ends, no need to pay benefits, ability to circumvent local labor regulations (to some degree).
How it works:
Our robot arm has a "neck" with cameras overlooking the robot's workspace, plus a wrist-mounted camera so the end-effector interaction is easy to visualize. The remote workers control the robot like a video game intuitively with their keyboard and mouse, using the robot's cameras to see what they're doing.
As an employer you post a contract job (with a description and an hourly rate), pick a contractor, then get talking to them directly over video chat.
Request for feedback:
Very happy to hear your thoughts on this concept, and your potential willingness to try out such a concept. If you could, please post a summary/description of where you work/have worked in a field with physical labor and production (e.g. metal shop, injection molding plant, chemical production lab, etc) and your work experience (e.g. manager, line worker, foreman, etc).
Quick background - our startup is going from prototype to production quality products soon, and looking to begin pilot testing our solutions in the right initial market(s).
Cheers =)
We're a robotics startup and we're looking to gather feedback on a concept: Remote Robot Workforce / "Robot Call Center".
"Robot Call Center" - Album on Imgur
Essentially we are making more affordable robot arms with remote human operators. The idea is that for a significantly reduced upfront cost (think $3K instead of $30K) and using remote human operators for a few dollars an hour, we can provide value to various manufacturers and factories. The robot arms themselves will have human arm length, a payload of a few kilos, sub-millimeter precision, and cameras to help guide operators.
Here's how we'd summarize the benefits:
- Low upfront cost: e.g. a $3K arm instead of a $30K+ arm. The particular arm we're looking to provide has specs similar to (but slightly less than) a UR5 (human arm length, 5kg payload, sub millimter precision).
- No need to program, easy to integrate. You can talk to the remote robot operator over Skype/similar, and explain the task to them, and assuming it's a fairly mundane and repeatable task, they should be able to start work quickly.
- Task adaptability. Related to the above point, a human can learn to modify a task with slight variations no problem (e.g. switch from packaging item A to packaging item B later in the day). Also reduces the need for a perfect controlled environment.
- Advantage of cheap labor. Many diligent workers around the world will be happy to operate a robot for your business for a few dollars an hour.
- Flexible and scalable. These are contractors - no need to keep them on after a contract ends, no need to pay benefits, ability to circumvent local labor regulations (to some degree).
How it works:
Our robot arm has a "neck" with cameras overlooking the robot's workspace, plus a wrist-mounted camera so the end-effector interaction is easy to visualize. The remote workers control the robot like a video game intuitively with their keyboard and mouse, using the robot's cameras to see what they're doing.
As an employer you post a contract job (with a description and an hourly rate), pick a contractor, then get talking to them directly over video chat.
Request for feedback:
Very happy to hear your thoughts on this concept, and your potential willingness to try out such a concept. If you could, please post a summary/description of where you work/have worked in a field with physical labor and production (e.g. metal shop, injection molding plant, chemical production lab, etc) and your work experience (e.g. manager, line worker, foreman, etc).
Quick background - our startup is going from prototype to production quality products soon, and looking to begin pilot testing our solutions in the right initial market(s).
Cheers =)