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|  OC Robotics receives Queen’s Award for Enterprise in InnovationOC Robotics has received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category. The award was presented to OC Robotics in recognition of the innovation that has gone into making snake-arm robots a commercial reality.
By: OC Robotics OC Robotics was founded by Rob Buckingham and Andrew Graham. They first met in 1991 at the University of Bristol when Rob was a research assistant and Andy a third year engineering student. They conducted some research into software for redundant manipulators (robot arms with many joints, or “snake-arm robots”) and published a paper in ‘Mechatronics’ After leaving academia and going their separate ways, Rob and Andy reunited in 1997 and set up Oliver Crispin Consulting Ltd. Back then, the company operated out of Rob’s attic in Henleaze, a quiet suburb of Bristol, and their work consisted of designing special machines for companies such as Hewlett Packard and Rolls Royce. At the turn of the millennium Rob and Andy made the decision to leave the world of consulting and try to design a snake-arm robot. Rob and Andy moved from the attic to the garage, renamed the company OC Robotics, and developed their ideas into a business plan to make snake-arm robots a commercial reality. At the beginning of 2001 OC Robotics raised venture capital and started to design the first prototype. In the last 8 years, OC Robotics has filed many patents and has grown to be a 17 person company delivering cutting-edge robotics to some of the world’s biggest companies. For the last 3 years both revenue and employee numbers have increased by 50% per year. Customers include UK Ministry of Defence, US Department of Defense, Airbus, Ontario Power Generation, Areva and others. This is not the first time that OC Robotics has received Royal attention. In September 2007, OC Robotics was visited by HRH The Duke of York in his capacity as UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. His visit to OC Robotics formed part of a tour of several aerospace companies in the South West of England. Rob Buckingham commented “It was an honour to host His Royal Highness, especially considering we were only 11 people at the time and by far the smallest company in the tour. OC Robotics is standing tall in a flattening world.” The Queen’s Award is the most prestigious business accolade in the UK. OC Robotics is among an elite group of winners recognised for outstanding success in their field. Rob Buckingham said “The Queen’s Award recognises the hard work that has gone into putting OC Robotics on the path to commercial success.” --- About snake-arm robots The name ‘snake-arm’ The structure of a snake-arm robot is similar to a human spine in that it is comprised of a number of vertebrae. It is a tendon-driven arm with wires terminating at various points along the length of the arm – three at the end of every ‘segment’. The result is that the curvature and plane of curvature of each segment can be independently controlled (see downloadable diagram at http://www.ocrobotics.com/ A motor is used to control the length of each wire independently. The control software calculates the necessary lengths of all the wires to produce the desired shape. While the operator uses a joystick to drive the tip, the computer does the maths to make the arm follow. This tip-following capability enables a snake-arm robot to avoid obstacles and “follow its nose” into complex structures. The operator can also control the arm in tool or world space, whilst continuing to avoid obstacles. All OC Robotics snake-arm robots have a hollow bore that runs the length of the arm. This means that all services can be carried within the arm so that the external surface is smooth and continuous. It also means that the arm can be used as a steerable hose-pipe or a vacuum cleaner! The technology is very scalable and OC Robotics has designed arms to be large and durable as well as small and compliant. Snake-arm robots can combine a significant payload with precise positioning and still snake into confined spaces. --- Recent projects Ontario Power Generation: OC Robotics is currently working with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to design and build a snake-arm robot mounted on a mobile vehicle that will be used to inspect complex pipework and structures within CANDU reactors. The snake-arm will be 2m (7') in length and will have a rectangular cross-section measuring 25mm (1") in width and 50mm (2") in height. In the first instance the snake-arm will be equipped with tip cameras for pipe inspection. This is a breakthrough contract for OC Robotics as this is the first time they have been the prime contractor to a nuclear utilities company. OC Robotics won the contract by demonstrating previous nuclear experience and the ability to meet the stringent quality requirements including ISO9001. This contract is a huge achievement considering the company currently employs only 17 people and was bidding against some of the largest companies in the world. [Image available] US Department of Defense: In 2008 OC Robotics developed a snake-arm robot that is only 1/2" (12.5mm) in diameter. The arm is the smallest snake-arm robot to date and uncoils out of a briefcase-sized box where it is stowed. The arm is 24" (610mm) in length, with longer arms under development, and was designed for the US Department of Defense who needed a way of inspecting and working inside confined or cluttered spaces - a capability not previously available. The snake-arm is deployed out of a fully portable box weighing 10kg excluding internal batteries. Power is supplied via mains, external battery or internal battery. The device is joystick-controlled via a laptop. At the tip of the arm is a camera and tool. The first device of this type was recently delivered to the US Department of Defense for operational evaluation. This technology also impacts on other industries where confined spaces must be routinely inspected. Having personnel working inside confined spaces incurs significant Health and Safety costs in industry, but snake-arm robots can enable personnel to conduct work remotely from outside the hazardous area. In many cases snake-arm robots also offer the potential to speed up processes, especially where space restrictions prevent employees from working efficiently. The scale of this device is also ideal for minimally invasive surgical applications including the rapidly emerging field of natural orifice surgery (often called NOTES). [Photos available] Airbus: OC Robotics has been working with Airbus UK and KUKA for a number of years to develop aerospace robots to deliver end effector packages capable of inspection, drilling, sealing and swaging in confined spaces such as in a wing. More information at http://www.ocrobotics.com/ # # # OC Robotics helps companies reach the unreachable. Snake-arm robots are flexible robotic arms that don't have 'elbows', so they can follow their nose into confined spaces. OC Robotics is the only commercial manufacturer of snake-arm robots in the world. End
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