| SUYIN at electronica 2008, Hall B4, Booth 614 |
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| Not your average trade show booth - connector manufacturer SUYIN presents design-to-order studies for the "My Private Robot" concept |
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- Multimedia presentation of selected design studies developed in cooperation with SUYIN, which commissioned the designs and will be hosting them in the “Future Zone” at Booth 614 in Hall B4.
- Sponsored by SUYIN: Final projects for completion of the degree program in Industrial Design at the FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences in Graz, Austria.
- Robot studies named “Amphibia,” “i.go,” “Botan” and “Pushya Pullya” are meant to spark ideas among trade show attendees and initiate a discussion about the interconnect needs of the future.
Pfarrkirchen, Germany, 9 September 2008 – Taiwanese interconnect specialist SUYIN, with European headquarters in the Bavarian town of Pfarrkirchen, is dedicating part of its booth at the world’s largest trade show for electronic components, systems and applications to a very special and forward-looking topic. At electronica 2008 (from 11 to 14 November 2008 in Munich, Germany), the company will be employing a range of media to present a selection of design studies that embody the “My Private Robot” concept.
Commissioned and financed by SUYIN, these studies were created by students in their final semester of the degree program in Industrial Design at the FH Joanneum University of Applied Science in Graz, Austria. The studies were developed under the guidance of Professor Gerhard Heufler and two visiting lecturers.
Peering into the future
Besides serving as eye catchers at the trade show, the purpose of the “My Private Robot” design studies is to initiate a discussion: What requirements will the electromechanical components of the future have to meet? What will electrical connectors in particular have to deliver? New form factors, increased resistance to mechanical shocks and vibrations, under water capabilities, and EMV stability represent just a few key issues here.
Peering into the future in this way is particularly important for business success. This correlation has been clearly demonstrated in an analysis of megatrends performed by Steria Mummert Consulting in cooperation with the IMWF Institute for Management and Economic Research. In Germany, profitable companies are three times more likely to be using future-oriented concepts for their own corporate strategy than companies with declining revenues. Nearly 30 percent have dedicated budget resources to efforts towards identifying trends and future developments. Consequently, the existence of separate funding for recognizing and exploiting future-oriented topics can be an indicator for the likelihood of business success. This fundamental principle holds true for the survey participants from all industries.
Interesting Market
Besides these future aspects, the market for components used in robots is already very interesting today, and we can expect it to become even more attractive as the demand for “private” or “personal” robots rises. According to the IFR Statistical Department within the VDMA Robotics and Automation Association, at the end of 2007, approximately one million industrial robots were employed in factories around the world.
The initial figures for 2007 show that about 118,000 industrial robots were put into service last year, which is 5% more than in the previous year. Estimates made in 2006 indicated that, between 2007 and 2010, approximately 35,000 service robots will be sold for professional applications (such as military robots, surveillance and security robots, robotic milking systems, underwater robots, and medical robots for operations or therapeutic treatment). Another 3.6 million will be purchased for private/personal use (including entertainment and toy robots, vacuum-cleaning robots, lawn-mowing robots, and robots for helping the elderly or disabled).
In the long term (about ten years from now), demographic shifts and technological advances can be expected to help make robots for assisting the elderly and disabled a key application in the field of service robotics. Prominent research institutes are concentrating on developing prototypes for this type of robot.
Conception and implementation of the “My Private Robot” project
The idea behind the “My Private Robot” project came from Tibor Kovacs, managing director of SUYIN GmbH: “We had already worked together successfully with FH Joanneum in Graz. This is one of Europe’s leading universities of applied science in the field of industrial design. Their design studies on the “Notebook 2011” concept from our joint project for electronica 2006 received a great deal of attention from the trade show attendees and from our customers. After that, we gave some thought to finding another attractive concept. The topic we found will be much more significant in the future than we can probably imagine today.”
“One of the developments that triggered this decision was a report from our own company,” continues Kovacs, “which explains that one of our new business areas, such as SUYIN Optronics, is manufacturing CMOS camera modules for laptops, security technology, and cell phones. Our core competency here lies in customer-specific product development, in tool making, and in manufacturing. Instead of conventional assembly lines, our production facilities are increasingly using production robots that can be retooled quickly and flexibly. If that is already the case, why shouldn’t there be robots for personal use in the future?”
Here, the aim was not merely to draft purely rational creations in strict adherence to the old “form follows function” guideline for design. On the contrary. “The robots absolutely needed to have their own emotive character,” explains FH Joanneum graduate and visiting lecturer Marc Ischepp. That was one important goal behind the project, “because the scope of this topic extends far beyond robotics functionality that is already feasible.”
The young design students themselves were given the freedom to decide just how far beyond this mark they would go. Visiting lecturer Marek Simko comments: “We were not expecting concepts that could be implemented immediately, but rather experimental solutions that offer surprising or even provocative approaches.”
That was also the special factor that the sponsor, SUYIN, was looking for. “Those of us working in the interconnect industry, says Tibor Kovacs, “do have tremendous technical knowledge and solutions in place for all the current challenges. Students, on the other hand, are able to enter such a project unhindered by preconceptions. They can make us aware of the technical challenges to come.”
In the end, the project delivered a remarkable diversity of ideas that clearly made it difficult for the jury to select just a few of the designs developed by the 17 participating students studying in their final semester. The ones chosen will be presented to a large audience of trade professionals at electronica 2008 in the “Future Zone” at the SUYIN booth.
“Amphibia” by Alexander Hesse (Images 1a and b)
The shape of “Amphibia” is vaguely reminiscent of a dolphin or a salamander. This is a diving robot with character and soul that divers can trust in potentially life-threatening situations. Constructed primarily of neoprene and hard plastic, “Amphibia” can move both in the water and on land. The center pivot axle for the 1.2-meter long robot contains an oxygen tank. This feature is joined by radar eyes, flood lights, electromagnetic wave emitters for warding off sharks, and many other functions. As one of the communication features, the entire surface is able to change color to transmit one of the eight basic diving signals, such as OK, danger, resurface, etc.
“i.go” by Markus Cäsar (Images 2a and b)
“i.go” is a foldable robot with a frog-like/human-like look. Its purpose is to help the elderly and others who need assistance in daily tasks. It uses its wheels to ride to the store to pick up needed items. Using a clever folding mechanism, it can reach goods that are up to two meters above ground level by shaping each wheel to form an ellipse. In bent mode, the wheels are locked. When folded, the i.go is 95 cm wide and 75 cm high, and it can independently transport goods weighing up to 30 kg at a speed of 50 km/h. At home, i.go can open up a backrest support from its own back, thus enabling the robot to serve as a rocking chair or a wheel chair while its battery is being charged – via an electrical outlet or by the rocking motion.
“Botan” by Johannes Diem (Images 3a and b)
The personal garden robot “Botan” removes weeds, trims the grass, and “vacuums up” leaves. Furthermore, with the aid of an integrated e-bug function, it localizes pests and either eliminates them or signals their position. At the same time, however, it guards and supports beneficial organisms. Drive power can come from different sources, including solar, wind and biomass power, or electricity from a normal power outlet. Using overpressure or a vacuum, a tank with a “trunk” is able to support the scythe, chopper and lawn-mowing functions (via a “mowing lasso” beneath its belly). “Botan” (46 cm high, 52 cm long) moves almost silently through the garden on its four crescent-shaped rotating legs.
“Pushya Pullya” by Paul Grader (Images 4a and b)
The social interaction robot couple “Pushya Pullya” is a sly pair. The dark-colored Pushya always has a trick up its sleeve. The light-colored Pullya, on the other hand, seeks to assist and bring joy.
For example, they feature a “motivator” function: Pushya breaks the walking stick used his elderly and somewhat immobile owner. Pullya offers help for the initial steps without a cane and encourages the owner to do without the cane completely. Then there is the “teacher/coach” function: Pushya is a difficult opponent in chess. The owner would normally have no chance of beating Pushya, but Pullya offers hints to enable the owner to beat the robot. In the process, the owner becomes a better chess player. There is also a “contacting agent” function: Pushya sends out e-mails on its own to everyone in its owner’s e-mail address book. What might otherwise have remained just a good intention turns into a surprise party with old friends and acquaintances. Pullya prepares and cleans up.
SUYIN invites all trade show attendees who are interested in this topic to visit the booth, and especially the “Future Zone.”
About FH Joanneum, Graz, Austria
Offering 30 degree programs oriented toward specific occupational areas within the fields of “health science,” “information, design & technology,” “international business,” and “life, building, environment” along with two postgraduate programs, FH Joanneum is one of Austria’s leading universities of applied science. The FH Joanneum campus in the western part of Graz hosts the largest (47.255 m²) center for a university of applied sciences in Austria. The Industrial Design degree program is one of the world’s top educational programs in the field of design. A survey conducted by the renowned US magazine “Business Week” ranks FH Joanneum Graz with its “Industrial Design” program among the 60 best design schools in Europe, Asia and North America. Further information is available at http://www.fh-joanneum.at
Press contact for FH Joanneum, Graz
Alte Poststrasse 149
8020 Graz, Austria
FH-Prof. DI Gerhard Heufler
Tel.: +43(0)316-54538110
Fax: +43(0)316-54538101
Email: gerhard.heufler@fh-joanneum.at
Internet: www.fh-joanneum.at |
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About SUYIN
Founded in 1981, SUYIN Corporation is headquartered in Taipeh/Taiwan and employs over 11,000 people around the world in six production plants in Taiwan and China (Dongguang and Changshu) and in nine branch offices (China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, USA, Europe, Israel). With a turnover of 205 million US dollars (2007), the company is among the top ten in its industry in the Asian/Pacific region. SUYIN’s product range begins with electromechanical connectors of all types (including both standard and custom versions) for use in consumer electronics, automotive electronics and industrial electronics. However, it extends all the way to optical and optoelectronic products such as CMOS camera modules for applications in products such as cell phones, cars, and computers/notebooks. The company’s strengths include a strong commitment to its customers that the company will maintain a high degree of flexibility with constant investment in state-of-the-art technology in order to meet customer expectations with regard to design, functionality, quality, service and cost efficiency. With the aid of rapid prototyping, high-precision machine tools and automated robotic assembly lines, SUYIN is able to help ensure the global success of its customers in Europe, the USA and throughout the Asian Pacific region. Additional information is available at http://www.suyin-europe.com |
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