Ford uses robot Fluffy and Spot for factory scanning

MANILA: Ford has a couple of new "pets." Two dog-like robots named Fluffy and Spot that were specifically hired to laser scan their large factories in preparation for upgrading and retooling.

“We design and build the plant. After that, over the years, changes are made that rarely get documented. By having the robots scan our facility, we can see what it actually looks like now and build a new engineering model. That digital model is then used when we need to retool the plant for new products,” says Mark Goderis, Ford’s digital engineering manager.

Fluffy and Spot are four-legged, headless units that can perform 360-degree camera scans, climb stairs and 30-degree grades, on top of obeying the sit, stand, and roll over commands. It travels up to 4.8 kilometers per hour and runs on batteries that last nearly two hours.

These 70-pound robots are currently being used in the automaker’s Van Dyke Transmission plant, scanning the floor and assisting engineers in updating the CAD (computer-aided design) that will be used to prepare the plant for retooling.

Doing it manually with tripods and engineers walking around and then stopping at various locations to scan can take two weeks. Using these robots cut the work in half the time and saved Ford some US$300,000.

Ford aims to make this a global project, sending robots to plant missions and receiving reports remotely.

The robots have three operational gaits – a walk for stable ground, an amble for uneven terrain and a special speed for stairs. They can change positions from a crouch to a stretch, which allows them to be deployed to difficult-to-reach areas within the plant. They can handle tough terrain, from grates to steps to 30-degree inclines. If they fall, they can right themselves. They maintain a safe, set distance from objects to prevent collisions.

Photos from Ford

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