The Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) recently established the Centre for Advanced Robotics Technology Innovation (CARTIN) with the aim of developing affordable, safe, and practical robotics technologies that will revitalize and rethink many industries in Singapore.
The Center for Advanced Robotics Technology Innovation (CARTIN) has officially opened. According to Professor Subra Suresh, President of NTU, “CARTIN’s opening is a timely and natural extension of NTU’s work to add to the existing robotics and autonomous systems research efforts in Singapore and create a critical mass for the development and deployment of ground-breaking and innovative technologies.”
One of the main tenets of the University’s five-year strategic plan, he continued, is to increase NTU’s influence on business and society by transforming innovations and creative ideas into products that improve living standards and economic advantages. Increasing NTU’s influence on industry and society by turning innovations and creative ideas into products that enhance economic advantages and quality of life is one of the core principles of NTU2025, the university’s five-year strategic plan, he stated.
The collaborative and human-centered robotics and autonomous system technologies that are being developed at the S$45 million research center will be employed in logistics, manufacturing, and eldercare. This is consistent with Singapore’s goals for Research, Innovation, and Enterprise 2025, which place a high priority on robots in the region.
Additionally, CARTIN aims to create a network of academic institutions, commercial partners, and governmental agencies that can identify the gaps that need to be filled and serve as a trial run for robotics solutions. Basic research can easily be transformed into technology that can be applied in industry in such an ecosystem.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) will also work closely with the NTU scientists to develop collaborative and human-centered robotics and autonomous systems for application in logistics, manufacturing, and eldercare industries.
Furthermore, infrastructure-based navigation systems, such as magnetic tracks put on the ground, are used to direct automated guided vehicles in shipping ports and warehouses. These systems are rigid and expensive to build and maintain.
Instead, CARTIN researchers are looking into how they may create an original and reliable navigation system for indoor and outdoor autonomous ground vehicles. Cobots, or collaborative robots, on the other hand, are designed to work safely alongside people. Cobots can be trained to perform repetitive operations like “pick and place” and product assembly (the process of picking up objects and placing them onto a surface in a set position and orientation).
CARTIN will look at ways to create algorithms and methods that let several robots and humans collaborate to manipulate and assemble parts in factories securely and effectively. This will boost cobot production and bring together human dexterity and robot speed and precision.
Robotic companions can help address the physical, emotional, and social demands of an aging population, allowing seniors to age with dignity and relieving caretakers of some of their job. The robustness and adaptability of the assistive robots created for this purpose are still lacking, making it hard for them to interact with people in real-world situations.
CARTIN scientists are creating, developing, and testing ways to integrate such robotic assistants to care for the elderly at home and in clinical settings. Through its Medium-Sized Centre financing program, which strives to combine research efforts across departments, faculties, and universities to develop a critical mass of elite researchers in strategic subject areas for Singapore, the National Research Foundation of Singapore sponsors CARTIN.
