Cobots Take on Grueling Work
In the February issue of Maritime Reporter magazine Nirav Patel, Nuclear Navy Segment Director at Fairbanks Morse Defense, takes a look at the cobots (cooperative robots) that are being used for welding in the ship repair industry.
He explains: “As a long-time principal supplier of propulsion systems for the U.S. nuclear navy, FMD is responsible for sustainment of a fleet of diesel engines that provide emergency backup power to onboard nuclear reactors. These 30–35-year-old engines pose a unique welding challenge. Years of service have degraded the engine blocks and the series of crank line saddles.
“Traditionally, repairing these components meant a human welder had to squeeze into a tight engine room to operate a multi-thousand-degree welding arc and achieve precision within a thousandth of an inch. Completing repairs on a single engine block with about a dozen crank line saddles would take around three weeks of grueling work. Robotic welding is reducing that time down to one week.”
Australian welding robot OEM Orbimax explains the difference between a cobot and a robot: “Robots operate at high speeds, so extensive safety measures are required. As a result, they are often zoned off and work independently from users. Robotic welders also require larger investments and specialized training.
“The cobot has a lower operating speed and more safety measures in place to remove the potential for accidents and hazards. This allows the user to work alongside the cobot, making it a collaborative part of the team and another tool in your workshop.”
Cobots are being tasked with shipbuilding work as well as ship repair.
Chinese shipbuilder Xinneng Shipbuilding is introducing a robotic welding system for ship block production. Trials are underway, and the yard is collecting data on welding pass rate to confirm the advantage it brings.
Fincantieri has launched a partnership with Generative Bionics aimed at developing a humanoid welding robot that can work alongside human workers in shipyards. As a first application, the partners will focus on a robot specifically engineered to support selected naval welding tasks that will incorporate AI, advanced manipulation and perception capabilities and vision systems dedicated to monitoring weld seams. Initial trials are expected this year.
Meanwhile, the MARIOW project, led by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, has developed a robotic system capable of performing underwater welding tasks on port or offshore structures largely autonomously. The robot’s underwater manipulator is designed for operation at depths of up to 6,000 meters.
One of MARIOW’s most significant advances lies in how the system determines where—and how—to weld. A stereo camera system developed by Fraunhofer IGD provides high-resolution imagery directly at the welding torch. Using this visual data, AI models developed by the Laboratory for Autonomous Systems at TH Köln autonomously identify weld joints, as well as their start and end points.
The fully integrated MARIOW system has been demonstrated in DFKI’s underwater test basin in Bremen. According to Christian Koch, project manager at the DFKI Robotics Innovation Center, the demonstration confirms that automated underwater flux-cored arc welding is not only feasible but commercially promising for the maritime sector.
