Centre Director, Jonathan Roberts  was joined by Human-Robot-Interaction Program co-lead, Jared Donovan and industry partner, Cook Medical‘s Alex Buddery at the 2021 Centre for Biomedical Technologies conference.

Although the conferenced was focused on the biomedical technologies Jon highlighted that the aim of the Centre is for the outcomes to be translated to different manufacturing industries.  The focus of cobotics is not to replace the human worker but to create a safer environment, the ability to work longer and an opportunity to increase skills.

Associate Professor Jared Donovan presented on the importance of considering the design and human interaction when creating robotic systems.

Continuous Innovation Manager at Cook Medical talked about the challenges that could not be addressed by fully automated solutions and highlighted the importance of their staff and where cobotics could assist.

The Australian Cobotics Centre features in the latest edition of Australian Welding Magazine, the Official Journal of Weld Australia! 

Weld Australia are one of the Centre’s industry partners and represent the welding profession in Australia. Their primary goal is to ensure that the Australian welding industry remains both locally and globally competitive, both now and into the future. 

One of Weld Australia’s members, IR4, is also an industry partner. IR4 offer flexible automation solutions that seek to leverage industry 4.0 technology as well as machine learning and Artificial Intelligence. The Centre’s research programs complement the work of IR4 by providing human intent considerations and the research and development experience required for capability advancement. CEO Geoff Crittenden notes that Weld Australia is able to offer practical solutions to industry that flow on from the work of the Centre. 

The article also features an interview with Australian Cobotics Centre Director, Jonathan Roberts, who highlights the holistic and multidisciplinary approach the Centre will take in addressing the technological advances and the human and design factors that need to be considered when implementing collaborative robotics.

Click below to read the full five page feature article titled ‘Australian Cobotics: Safer More Efficient, Globally Competitive, Manufacturing Industry’

Read our feature article

Find out more about our Programs and Industry Partners

For more information on Weld Australia visit weldaustralia.com.au

Centre Director Jonathan Roberts and Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing  (ARM) Hub CEO Cori Stewart recently visited the Resources Centre of Excellence in Mackay to discuss how technology can help businesses stay ahead
of global competition.

ARM Hub works with small to to medium-sized businesses to help them embrace robotics and new technologies.  By seizing new opportunities in technology, workers will be upskilled, enabling them to perform functions that are otherwise unreachable.

Professor Jonathan Roberts has previously worked with Brisbane-based UAP Company on projects including a machine that could linish steel and also teaming up with Airlie Beach Consolidated Linen Services on a towel sorting robot. Both innovations reduced the manual labour associated with the tasks but not the need to human interaction in the tasks.

“UAP for instance, for every piece of robotic machinery that they put on, they’ve employed at least six new people,” Ms Stewart said. “They’ve got better capability, they’ve been more competitive, they’ve won different jobs.

Read more: How robotics could help alleviate Mackay’s skill shortage | The Courier Mail

We’re hiring!

We are currently recruiting for postdoctoral Research Fellows (LEVB) to work across each of our five research programs across our three Australian partner universities (QUT (Queensland University of Technology), University of Technology Sydney and Swinburne University of Technology.

We are committed to training and developing our researchers. The Centre offers a training program which has a strong emphasis on professional development as well as technical skills and includes opportunities to build knowledge, skills, experience, and professional standards through on-the-job tasks, social learning and formal training opportunities. There is also opportunities for postdocs to undertake placements at one or more of our partner organisations.

For information on each role available and link to apply, please visit our Postdoc Recruitment Information page.

Applications now open for:
– Human-Robot-Interaction Program based at QUT with supervisor and program co-lead Markus Rittenbruch and second program co-lead Jared Donovan
– Designing Socio-technical Robotic Systems Program based at QUT with supervisor and program co-lead Glenda Caldwell and second program co-lead Matthias Guertler from UTS – https://lnkd.in/giSdWkAS
– Human-Robot Workforce Program based at QUT with supervisor and program co-lead Paula McDonald and other program co-leads, Penny Williams and Greg Hearn (both QUT)

Applications opening soon for:
– Biomimic Cobots Program based at UTS with supervisor and program co-lead Teresa Vidal Calleja and second program co-lead XiaoQi Chen from Swinburne
-Quality Assurance and Compliance Program based at SUT with supervisor and program co-lead Nico Adams and second program co-lead Mickey Clemon from UTS.

We are pleased to announce the Australian Cobotics Centre is officially in operation!

The Centre is funded for 5 years as part of the Australian Research Council’s Industrial Transformation Research Program scheme and is focused on collaborative robotics in advanced manufacturing.

Centre Director Professor Jonathan Roberts leads a multidisciplinary team of researchers from QUT (Queensland University of Technology)(where the Centre is headquartered), University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Swinburne University of Technology who will work in collaboration with industry partners (B&R Enclosures, Cook Medical, Weld Australia, InfraBuild, IR4, TU Dortmund University, ARM Hub (Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing)).

The Centre aims to improve the collaborative robotics capability within Australian manufacturing by training the next generation of manufacturing leaders, researchers, and technicians with collaborative robotics expertise.

The research programs address both the technological advances and the human and design factors that need to be considered when implementing collaborative robotics. Through this research and its implementation, the Centre will support manufacturers in creating a digitally-capable workforce of the future and a safer, more efficient and globally competitive Australian manufacturing industry.

We are currently recruiting Postdoctoral Research Fellows and PhD students at all our partner universities and all research programs (including Industrial relations, robotics, design, and more).

Follow us on Twitter @AusCobotics and LinkedIn.

Congratulations to the Australian Cobotics Centre Chief Investigators and Research Program Co-Leads Jared Donovan and Matthias Guertler on their recent promotions.

• Jared Donovan co-lead of the Human-Robot Interaction program was promoted to Associate Professor.  Jared was successful in the recent QUT promotion round
• Matthias Guertler, co-lead of the Designing Socio-Technical Robotic Systems program was promoted to Senior Lecturer in UTS’s recent promotion round.

These promotions are an acknowledgement of both of their extensive contributions to their university’s educational, research and leadership goals. The Centre will benefit immensely from their expertise and leadership.

The Centre is incredibly lucky to have both of these researchers on board!