Augmented reality is coming to vocational classrooms to help educate welding students in a safe and practical environment.
Two companies, zSpace and Mimbus, industry-leading educational augmented reality and simulation innovators, have come together to design a platform for future welders to warm up and gain safe experience.
THE Journal reports a statement on this collaboration. “Using the zSpace platform, students receive a multi-sensory training experience, welding from multiple angles while using their eyes, ears, and hands to master core skills of the welder’s trade such as concentration, precision and dexterity.”
This is good news for everybody. In fact, over 50% of U.S. made products require welding. The market is growing as well, with U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting employment for cutters, solderers, brazers, and welders to reach 412,300 in 2024.
Welding is a highly skilled job, one which many might feel is mostly immune to looming threats of automation. While augmented reality is being utilized for vocational training, a new welding robot has been launched that showcases how far technology has come.
QIROX QRC-290 is this robot’s name, and it is little more than a six axis arm with a welding torch attached, or so it would seem. As it turns out, Cloos, a welding and robot manufacturer, has partnered up with automation expert Baumuller to create one of the most rapid and precise welding robots yet.
There are many technological approaches to solve rising demand for high quality welded products. The automation route might have rapid fire machining and production capacities, yet it remains to be seen if robots can match the versatility of an eager student learning on an augmented reality platform.
What we do know for certain is that society’s growing needs for welded goods will not go unmet, at least not in the foreseeable future.