Universal Robots’ successful online robot training program, Universal Robots Academy, now offers training in two additional languages, Korean and Japanese, which means that the training platform boasts seven languages.
Universal Robots introduced the online learning platform, Universal Robots Academy, in the beginning of 2017 to ensure that everybody with a desire to learn the concepts of collaborative robots (cobots) gets the introduction necessary to master basic programming skills. A year later, more than 24,000 users from 130+ countries have joined the Academy to become robot programmers.
Due to popular demand Universal Robots has now added Korean and Japanese to its curriculum which means that the nine modules, which the full training program consists off, can be done in seven different languages: Korean, Japanese, Chinese, English, Spanish, German and French.
In fact, Universal Robots Academy is so popular that it was awarded “Silver” in the category “Excellence in the design of learning content - international commercial sector” – ahead of IKEA and other big brands – at the prestigious “Learning Technologies Award” in London, UK, at the end of 2017.
“It is unusual in the industry to make robot training curriculum of this caliber available for free. However, we want to raise the robot literacy as we are facing a looming skills gap in the manufacturing industry that we need to bridge. By adding Korean and Japanese to our training program we will be able to offer training in countries where the adoption of robots is very high,” says Esben Østergaard, CTO & co-founder of Universal Robots.
Popular around the world
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 robot training at the company’s plant in Ohio, USA. Tim Hossler, Controls Engineer at Whirlpool, emphasizes the great convenience of being able to offer this resource to employees in-house.
“Now we don’t have to wait and send them out for basic training elsewhere. The modules can be completed at our own pace and we can even pick and choose which modules we offer different personnel depending on skill sets and their level of interaction with the robots,” says Tim Hossler. “I really like the interactive approach, it makes learning very hands-on and transferable to what we would actually be doing here at our plant. I was also pleasantly surprised that the modules were free of charge for anyone to use. It definitely increases the accessibility of the UR robots.”
Mathieu Spinnler, CEO of Spinnler Cartonnages in France, was looking for information about the UR robots when he came across the UR Academy.
“With more than 150 co-workers in our company, the idea of self-government and free training in apprenticeships of robots was appreciated by everyone,” says Mathieu Spinnler, who explains that the modules also helped him realize what areas of the robot applications installed he needed to discuss with an integrator.
At Vira Brands, a Spanish confectionary and chocolate manufacturer, the robotics modules gave the company’s area manager, Joan Teixidó, the insight to implement a UR robot in the production line.
“We decided to opt for this technology and doing the free online Universal Robots Academy course helped us take the step,” says Joan Teixidó. “The ease with which we could interact with the platform and the clarity of the information offered in the e-learning modules gave us the confidence to go ahead and install a UR cobot.”
We believe that collaborative robotic technology can be used to benefit all aspects of task-based businesses – no matter what their size.
We believe that the latest collaborative robot technology should be available to all businesses. The nominal investment cost is quickly recovered as our robotic arms have an average payback period of just six months.