Tools that support virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) could make automation and robotics more practical for poultry processing environments.
“Good, reliable labor is getting harder and harder to come by. This is a key reason the industry is adopting as much automation as they can. However, there are still tasks that robotics and automation has not solved that are still fully manual,” Colin Usher, research scientist, Georgia Tech Research Institute, explained.
“Our virtual reality based robotic control system has the potential to bridge the gap between fully manual and fully autonomous operation, utilizing human-in-the-loop decision making.”
At the 2023 Poultry Tech Summit, Usher will present a proposed prototype solution that uses a virtual reality interface to connect a human operator with a factory robot designed to handle loading and transfer operations within a poultry processing plant.
The Poultry Tech Summit, scheduled for November 6-8 at the Hilton Atlanta Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, focuses on the transition of innovative technologies into commercial applications to advance the poultry industry.
Registration for this event is now open. Early bird savings are available until September 29th.
Collaborative robots at work
The prototype system involves a robot on the processing line and a user wearing VR located in a nearby room. Sensors enable the user to experience a virtual workspace and provide input to the robot, allowing it to automatically pick and load.
“By allowing humans to make high-fidelity decisions that the systems lack, we can enable tasks currently unapproachable in robotics. Taking this a step further, we can then crowd-source human decision making along with the data streams and use these to generate artificial intelligence-based approaches towards full-automation,” Usher said.
“In the end, we envision enabling a new type of workforce: a gig-economy of labor, where users can virtually provide key missing pieces of information robots need to enable them to successfully perform tasks on processing lines,” he added.
Attend the 2023 Poultry Tech Summit
Join an exclusive international gathering of industry-changing innovators, researchers, entrepreneurs, technology experts, investors and leading poultry producers at the 2023 edition of Poultry Tech Summit on November 6-8 at the Hilton Atlanta Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.
Attendees can expect the same groundbreaking innovation and insightful presentations that made the previous events well-attended with deep dialogue on new prospective solutions and next-generation technologies. Poultry Tech Summit focuses on the transition of innovative technologies into commercial applications to advance the poultry industry.
Registration for this event is now open. Early bird savings are available until September 29th.
