Hedge fund managers were early adopters of AI and financial advisors are on just about everyone’s list of jobs soon to be taken over by robots. But it was still a first when a cobot rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. The robot was the UR5e robot arm from Universal Robots, and the special day was October 17th, the five-year anniversary of ROBO Global, a robotics, automation, and AI index investing in more than 80 companies.
Rethink Robots, Baxter’s creators, gave up earlier this month, but cobots — robots designed to work with human beings — are still the fastest growing category in automation. Universal Robots was the first cobot builder, and still carries a 60% market share. Their nameless automated device was surrounded by clapping people as it rang the historic bell.
The bell (or, more correctly, bells, since there are four which ring simultaneously) has been a symbol of the NYSE since it came into use in 1903. Celebrity bell ringers include Snoop Dogg, Journey, the Cat in the Hat, Ronald Reagan, Darth Vader, Nelson Mandela, boxer Manny Pacquiao, and many, many more.
Sometimes the closing bell draws awareness to a charity event or an upcoming movie opening. In this case, the UR5e brought awareness of new directions in automation, or an early hint of the response we’ll have to our robot overlords.
Whether your Rexroth drive and control systems run robots, cobots, or printing presses, we can keep them going. We are Rexroth specialists, just as comfortable with the legacy Indramat components as with the new Industry 4.0 devices. We offer phone support, field support, factory repair and reman, and replacement units for those times when you’re really in a hurry.