I recently returned from the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) in Anaheim, Calif., and one of the more interesting trends that I kept running into was the rise of power electronics for robotic applications. In fact, it was one of the topics for the plenary sessions.
In the session, “The Future of Power Electronics in Robotics Applications,” Peter Wawer, division president of Industrial Power Control for Infineon, posed the question, “What do you associate with the word robot?”
Typically one of three images comes to mind:
- The humanoid robot: Hollywood’s portrayal of robots ranging from C3PO to those white, sleek, futuristic machines.
- The industrial robot: those robots that you find on the factory floor, assembling cars and other products.
- The service robot: this is the category where you would find Roomba vacuums.
Robots, or at least the concept of robots, have been around since time of Leonardo DaVinci, in 1495, with a sketch that he made. However, the first industrial robot wasn’t developed until 1961 with the Unimate at GM for the assembly of vehicles.
As the demand for robots continues to grow, making them more efficient and powerful is essential for their functionality. This leads us to the trend that I kept hearing over and over at APEC—increasing power density. Power density is the idea of getting more power packed into a smaller space. This concept applies to more than just robotic applications, and wide-bandgap semiconductors (WBGSs) are the next tool to increase power density and performance. WBGSs permit devices to operate at much higher voltages, frequencies, and temperatures than conventional semiconductor materials like silicon and gallium arsenide. Silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) make power supplies more efficient, extend performance time, and reduce charging time.
The move toward Industry 4.0 is definitely charging the rise of robot adaptability. Industry 4.0 is ditching conventional conveyor belt and manufacturing processes in favor of collaborative robots (cobots). Making robots real co-workers requires the interaction of sensors and new power technologies.
