Universal Robots expands its online robot progamming curriculum

Universal Robots introduced the online learning platform to ensure that everybody with a desire to learn the concepts of robots get the introduction necessary to master basic programming skills. More than 14,000 users from 132 countries have joined the Universal Robots Academy to become robot programmers, since then.

Now, adding to its basic training, the Universal Robots Academy is now launching three new modules that focus on mastering more advanced features of collaborative robots.

The nine Universal Robots Academy modules are available in English, Spanish, German, French and Chinese. The basic training, that the three new modules are building upon, include adding end-effectors, connecting I/Os, creating basic programs in addition to setting up tools and safety zones.

Esben Ostergaard, CTO and co-founder of Universal Robots said that it is unusual in the industry to make robot training curriculum of this caliber available for free: “This is a long-term investment for us. We want to raise the robot literacy and the reason for speeding up the entry of cobots is not only to optimize production here and now,” says Esben Østergaard. “We are facing a looming skills gap in the manufacturing industry that we need to bridge by all means possible. Facilitating knowledge creation and access to our cobots is an important step in that direction.”

Stefan Stubgaard, Head of Global Competence Center at Universal Robots said, “This learning resource is now also reaching small and medium-sized manufacturers that up until now regarded robotics as costly and complex,” says Stefan Stubgaard. “By simply logging into the Academy they experience first-hand how simple the setup can be and they can easily envision what production tasks could be automated with our cobots.”

One of the early adopters of Universal Robots Academy is the Whirlpool Corporation where the Universal Robots Academy modules now provide the basic foundation for all UR cobot training at the company’s plant in Ohio, USA.