Baxter is good at grabbing objects from a conveyor belt, but can’t perform many of the tasks that manufacturers are eager to automate. Sawyer is designed to perform so-called “machine tending” tasks, which generally require a human to stand next to a piece of machinery inserting and removing parts. One prominent example, from the electronics manufacturing industry, is called an in-circuit test: a worker inserts a newly produced circuit board into a machine, waits for the machine to run a brief test of the part’s quality, and then takes the part out and moves it down the line.
In-circuit testing can be almost like placing a puzzle piece, and if the positioning of a circuit is just slightly off, the test won’t work. Sawyer relies on an advanced force-sensing system to “feel his way” into the testing machine without damaging it or the part, and place it in the desired position, says Benoit.