From robots to penguins in our automotive world

Isuzu assisted with renovation of penguin enclosure

The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) hosted a celebratory opening event with ISUZU MOTORS South Africa and various stakeholders to officially open their newly renovated Home Pen enclosure at its Gqeberha premises.

The new home pen enclosure is an important feature as it houses 44 African penguins and one Cape Gannet that permanently reside at the Gqeberha facility. These seabirds unfortunately are not fit to be returned to the wild, for various reasons, so they will spend their remaining years at the centre.

The renovated home pen not only provides the permanent seabirds with a more spacious area to call home but allows tour groups and environmental education programmes to get closer to view these incredible seabird species.

"We received a very generous donation from ISUZU MOTORS South Africa, which covered the costs for the renovation of the home pen. We are very grateful for their support to make this project a reality. We’re excited about the impact that this home pen will have on the welfare of our permanent residents and on our environmental education programme and visitor experience," says, Natalie Maskell, SANCCOB's Chief Executive Officer.

Collaborative robots assist on production line

Working shoulder-to-shoulder with workers on the door assembly line at Ford’s Silverton Manufacturing Plant are two cobots (collaborative robots) that are used for the installation of weatherproof shields into Ranger doors, a process requiring pin-point accuracy, strength and dexterity.

This process does not replace employees but allows operators to use their time more efficiently on complex tasks, like installing wiring looms and avoid suffering the strains associated with repetitive tasks.

With a reach of one metre, the UR10e cobots’ work is spaced out along the door assembly line. A sensor detects the arrival of the door and its millimetre-perfect positioning. This synchronisation ensures the precision of the path the cobot takes in the installation of the weatherproof liner.

“The cobots know exactly how much force to apply (up to 5 kilogrammes) and can apply this force more easily and precisely than we can,” says Suresh Babu, Plant Manager Silverton Vehicle Operations. “They can follow a complex path avoiding any no-go zones on the door, ensuring the shield is completely sealed against water ingress. And they can do it the same every single time which means we can achieve the quality expected.”