Industrial Activities
Robotics and Automation Ac tivities in South Africa By Simukai Utete, Jeremy Green, Ashley Liddiard, and Chris R. Burger
Second in the series of articles focusing on the state of robotics and automation in the BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, this article provides an overview on South Africa written by researchers from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. The objective of this series is to inform the readers of the unique challenges
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outh Africa sits at the southern tip of Africa. The country has a population of 52.98 million, according to 2013 statistical estimates [1]. South Africa comprises nine provinces, with major cities including Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, and Durban. Sectors such as mining and agriculture have traditionally been large, but the government is working to move more from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. The country is involved in major science projects, such as the Square Kilometre Array, and there is a significant research taking place in a range of areas including biology and medical sciences. Robotics is also gaining importance in South Africa’s science and technology landscape in industry as well as in academic institutions and science councils. This introduction to robotics and automation in South Africa seeks to give a flavor of some of the developments in the country. It is by no means exhaustive. The importance and potential of robotics are recognized by South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology (DST). The DST, which has previously supported strategies for nanotechnology and photonics, is now considering stakeholder submissions toward the formulation of a national robotics strategy. A strategy
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2013.2272204 Date of publication: 11 September 2013
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that these countries have faced and the solutions they have adopted to solve their problems and to facilitate discussions with the interested members of the community. Please send your comments and feedback to the IEEE Robotics & Automation Society (RAS) Vice President of the Industrial Activities Board Raj Madhavan at
[email protected].
development process involving interactions of potential stakeholders has been running for more than two years and has identified areas where robotics could be important for preserving jobs and creating new ones, as well as improving productivity and competitiveness [2]. Given South Africa’s history and the need for development to widen the scope of opportunity, the human angle is key. Human capital development would be a thrust of any strategy. This would encompass tertiary study as well as the training of technicians and artisans who could maintain robotics infrastructure, allowing for a larger share of demand for maintenance activity to be met from within South Africa. In general, a discussion of robotics in many contexts raises the issue of employment, the question of whether robots will reduce jobs. There are specific jobs in certain industries where this might be an issue, but robotics can also be a driver for the creation of new jobs, and new types of industry, as well as a force to improve certain types of jobs. Stakeholder engagements around the robotics strategy brought out many advantages, which a robotics focus could confer, including improved competitiveness in certain industries and the provision of better working environments for certain types of activity. One example of the latter is the potential for the use of robotics to enhance safety.
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The strategy discussion to date has identified the initial focus areas for potential impact in South Africa as mining, flexible manufacturing, and medicine and health care [2]. Mining Robotics Mining robotics is one of South Africa’s biggest opportunities for robotics research and development to promote greater safety, extend the life of mines, and improve competitiveness. One reason is that there are large reserves of gold in underground deposits, which might become feasible to mine through new technologies, including robotics. Unexploited deposits are located in stability pillars, in areas that are unsafe for people, or found to be nonprofitable for extraction because of low grade or narrow deposit using existing mining technologies [3]. South African gold and platinum deposits share characteristics in that they are narrow (5 cm to 1.5 m) bands of ore hundreds of kilometers wide, dipping into the earth at between 12° and 30° from the surface to as yet uncharted depths. Challenges in mining at extreme depths of more than 5 km underground are such that the use of people to mine, as in the traditional narrow stoping, is not feasible. At this depth, the rock stresses make it unsafe for people to be near the rock face because of the high risk of a rock
burst, and the environment is extreme, with temperatures reaching higher than 50 °C and almost 100% humidity. This presents significant opportunities in the area of robotics [3]. Robotics activities could unlock reserves that could extend mining operations and enhance safety and productivity. Robotics applications include remote sensing of reef grade and hanging wall stability, autonomous ore transport, and access to extreme depths, among others. A number of mining houses have robotics programs. For example, Anglo American recently announced that they will work with Carnegie Mellon University on mining robotics interventions aimed at enhancing safety. Among science councils, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) undertakes research and development in robotics. For example, a partnership among different CSIR groups (involving its Centre for Mining
Innovation, Mobile Intelligent Autonomous Systems Field Robotics Group, and Mechatronics and Micromanufacturing Group) recently produced a prototype mine safety platform, which is aimed at inspection of the hanging wall (ceiling) in underground mines to identify high-risk areas before people are allowed to enter [5]. Automotive Much of the robotics activity in South Africa is currently focused on automation, particularly in the automotive industry. Major automotive plants exist across the country, including Volkswagen in Port Elizabeth and BMW in Pretoria. The potential for and use of robotics is not only in the plants but in supporting industries, which also employ automation and robotics. Although there are large bodyshops, supporting hundreds of robots, relatively few local companies
install and comprehensively maintain robots, a potential area for a national robotics strategy to address. Outside the automotive sector, there is also potential demand from sectors as varied as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and the food and beverage industry. Human Capital The sustainability of a robotics program depends on the people, including the engineers, researchers, technicians, and artisans who will make it happen. To this end, there have already been many human capital initiatives around robotics. At the tertiary level, one example of a human capital development program has been activity based around RoboCup [6]. The DST and the National Research Foundation (NRF) set up a program to encourage robotics research. In 2007, Alexander Ferrein, a German researcher involved in robotics research, visited South Africa at the
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invitation of the German Embassy in Pretoria. Ferrein was sponsored by the NRF and hosted by the CSIR through its Meraka Institute. After Ferrein’s visit, CSIR Meraka submitted a proposal to the DST for a multiyear robotics research project in South African universities. The robotics research would revolve around participation in RoboCup’s Small Size League, in which each university would field a team of robots to play soccer according to standardized rules. The league was specifically selected to ensure that each team would have to learn about robot construction, image processing, and decision-making strategy, all elements that are important for real-world robotics. The DST provided funding for a project, resulting in the establishment of four teams: 1) Stellenbosch University, 2) the University of Cape Town, 3) University of KwaZulu Natal, and 4) the University of Pretoria. Activity commenced in the 2008 academic year and terminated in 2012. Over its duration, the project has supported at least five Ph.D. and 17 master’s students. In addition, many undergraduate students were involved in aspects of the research. Several dozen research publications have resulted directly or indirectly from the research. Pending the completion of reporting, it is estimated that more than 80% of the supported students have graduated. Research at tertiary institutions around South Africa is varied, with groups focusing on a variety of applications, from ground vehicles to unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). For example, the University of Johannesburg has been a key participant in the South African solar challenge with a dual drive vehicle that it aims to drive autonomously using vehicle-following technology. Efforts in aerial autonomy have been under way at several universities. With support from the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy, reconfigurable production robotics has been a focus of work at other tertiary institutions.
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Future robotics programs would seek to expand robotics education and research, including involving previously disadvantaged universities. The robotics strategy proposals also identify a need to train technicians, artisans, and others to create a sustainable base for robotics work in industry. The multidisciplinary nature of robotics also means that developments in this area translate into skills, which can be used in sensor system development, signal processing, mechanical design, and other applications. The Robotics Conversation In addition to work directly in robotics, a range of robotics-relevant research also takes place in South Africa, for example, in artificial intelligence [7]. There are also national conferences in robotics and related areas. RobMech (www.robmech.co.za), an annual robotics and mechatronics conference, is perhaps the most robotics themed. RobMech aims to bring together industry and research and encourage collaboration. The conference is supported by organizations such as the South African Chapter of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS), and in the past has also been supported by the Technology Innovation Agency. There is also a well-established annual pattern recognition conference, the Pattern Recognition Association of South Africa Symposium (www.prasa. org). Related international conferences have also been hosted in South Africa, bringing the opportunity for engagement with robotics-relevant areas of engineering; for example, the 2014 International Federation of Automatic Control World Congress will take place in Cape Town. There is significant IEEE activity in South Africa, including in robotics. The South African Chapters of RAS and the Control Systems Society merged in 2009 to form a joint Chapter. The current focus includes supporting RobMech and helping build a robotics community that has more interaction between the various aspects of robotics.
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Conclusions One role envisaged in the submissions for a national robotics strategy is an integrative one, which would bring together academic, industrial, and other roboticsthemed programs to create greater impact by helping to support work across groups focusing on specific areas, such as biomedical applications or flexible manufacturing [2]. Robotics in South Africa is poised at an interesting point, where submissions for a national strategy are being sought and coordinated. Discussions among stakeholders from a range of application areas, and the DST’s interest in considering submissions, show a recognition of the important role robotics can play in promoting social good and economic productivity. Acknowledgment The authors would like to thank Matlho J. J. Molapisi and Xolani Makhoba, from the South African DST, for discussions on this theme. References [1] Statistics South Africa. (May 2013). Statistical release P0302—Mid year population estimates [Online]. Available: http://www.statssa.gov.za/ publications/P0302/P03022013.pdf [2] N. Tlale, R. Coetzee, I. Craig, R. Kuppuswamy, M. Reis, T. van Niekerk, and D. Waller, “A national robotics strategy for South Africa,” Draft version for discussion, Version 3.0, Nov. 2012. [3] J. Green and D. Vogt, “Robot miner for low grade narrow tabular ore bodies: The potential and the challenge,” in Proc. 3rd Robotics Mechatronics Symp., Pretoria, South Africa, Nov. 8–10, 2009. [4] Anglo American. (June 2013). Anglo American and Carnegie Mellon University collaborate on robotics development to improve safety in its mining operations, press release [Online]. Available: http://www.angloamerican.co.za/media/pressreleases/2013/pr16-01-2013.aspx [5] J. Green, P. Bosscha, L. Candy, K. Hlophe, S. Coetzee, and S. Brink, “Can a robot improve mine safety?” in Proc. 25th Int. Conf. CAD/CAM, Robotics Factories Future, Pretoria, South Africa, July 13–16, 2010. [6] RoboCup South Africa. (June 2013). [Online]. Available: http://robocup.org.za [7] A. Ferrein and T. Meyer, “A brief overview of artificial intelligence in South Africa,” Artif. Intel. Mag., vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 99-103, Spring 2012.
