Nokia and UTS explore 5G technology to boost robotic capabilities – PACE Today
UTS PhD student, Aron Turner, uses a cobot in the UTS Industry 4.0 Test Lab at UTS Tech Lab. Image: UTS.
A new partnership between the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Nokia will explore ways in which 5G technology can be harnessed to make robots better co-w…….
UTS PhD student, Aron Turner, uses a cobot in the UTS Industry 4.0 Test Lab at UTS Tech Lab. Image: UTS.
A new partnership between the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Nokia will explore ways in which 5G technology can be harnessed to make robots better co-workers.
It’s mid-afternoon at the UTS Tech Lab and a robot is navigating a small room, picking up objects and moving them in a repetitive motion. In place of hands, the robot has a specialised gripper that enables it to sort and place items, functions researchers have pre-programmed the machines to perform.
One of those researchers is Dr Marc Carmichael, a senior lecturer at the UTS Robotics Institute. He and his team are exploring how to build the next generation of robots that will be able to better navigate a changing environment and interact with people.
“Designing collaborate robot (cobot) systems to have complex and natural interactions with humans requires a lot of sensory data and computational power,” Carmichael said.
“Adding powerful computers into a robot is often not possible due to cost, size, weight, or power consumption. We believe with 5G we can make powerful computing resources available wirelessly to the robot, or multiple robots, avoiding many of these barriers. In essence, we want to give robots a larger brain, using 5G as a wireless spinal cord.”
The “5G Connected Cobot” project is a partnership with tech giant, Nokia, bringing together the research fields of robotics and telecommunications. Carmichael says this intersection of expertise is a game-changer.
“I believe this will change the way many robotics systems are implemented in the future and move us a step closer to building robots that can act just like a friend or co-worker,” he said.
It’s just one of the projects underway at the new 5G Futures Lab, which was officially opened at the UTS Tech Lab campus by Paul Fletcher, federal minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts.
“I congratulate everyone at Nokia and UTS …….
Source: https://pacetoday.com.au/nokia-uts-explore-5g-technology-boost-robotic-capabilities/
