Rose State College, Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance Announce Educational Partnership in Collaborative Robotics Published April 15, 2019 by Daniel Beck

(Photo of collaboration with a Universal Robots UR5)

Rose State College and the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance have formed a new educational partnership.

Rose State will be providing training in collaborative robotics for manufacturers across Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance will provide subject matter experts to assist with curriculum development and delivery to reach their goal of automation integration across the state.

Collaborative robots, or “cobots”, are different from the huge industrial robots used by other industry in that they are smaller, intended to physically interact with humans in a shared space, and easy to program on the fly. Force sensors and machine vision enable the robots to operate outside cages and their systems are interoperable with other programs currently being utilized in the manufacturing industry.

“Moving Oklahoma to the next level of industry is critical to the growth of the state and collaborative robots are one step in that process,” stated Jeanie Webb, President of Rose State College. “We are pleased to partner with the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance on this project that will produce a more robust workforce through automation allowing skilled workers to problem solve in other areas.”

“It’s imperative that small and medium-sized manufacturers are exposed to the potential offered through collaborative robots,” said Dave Rowland, president of the Manufacturing Alliance. “It is even more important these manufacturers are provided appropriate technical assistance and training. This innovative partnership with Rose State College is critical to filling a fundamental void and will help companies everywhere thrive in an increasingly high-tech world.”

A kickoff event, is scheduled for May 16^th, 2019 at Rose State College for invited industry partners to hear from companies that have successfully integrated collaborative robots into their workforce.

Rose State is expected to start delivering the first of its collaborative robot training courses in the fall of 2019.

Collaborative robots can be used in manufacturing, aerospace, defense, machining and metal, healthcare, law enforcement, construction, and agriculture.

The market for collaborative robots is surging and could be worth $4.3 billion by 2023.