iMachines

Robots that are providing supports for various services are called Service Robots. They are designed to support a wide range of applications such as transporting, cleaning, inspecting or repairing, assisting and surveillance. In U.S. Postal Service a host of robots are used to sort, lift, and stack trays of parcels.

These robots are not only providing various services, they even greet guests. Example is the Fujitsu Service Robot that provides support for various services in offices, commercial facilities, and other public areas. This robot is developed to enable it to provide such services as greeting and escorting guests onto elevators, operating the elevators, moving parcels using a cart, and security patrolling of buildings at night.

Other Service Robots

Pharmacy Robots are robots having mechanical arms that retrieves and dispenses medication within seconds. They are designed to stays in inpatient pharmacies all day and to eliminate the possible medication errors for patients safety and satisfaction.

Snake-Arm Robots are robots that can reach into confined spaces performing inspections and repairs inside airplane wings or inside fission reactors. Snake-arm robots can move in up to 30 different directions at once. Their supple bodies can bend and flex to fit the shape of the confining space.

Future Use of Snake-Arm Technology

The Snake-Arm technology is expected to be use for bomb disposal robots and on a portable device that can be carried by soldiers or in the back of a police car to allow the first inspection of a suspicious package or vehicle. Now, some experiments are being made. For Airline manufacturers like Airbus, they are also looking at the technology for inspecting the inside of the wings of some of their future aircraft. They would also like to use them to routinely check the inside of jet engines, cutting down on maintenance time. For surgeon pokes, they are interested to use it for medical applications.