Jobs. Most people have one. Not everyone likes it. If you fall in that latter category, know that things could be worse. Granted, the subject of this particular story isn't as bad as say, changing soiled deodorizers on the stand-up urinals at Pedro's Bargain Buffet and Beer Shack on the south side of Tijuana. But still, could you imagine standing in one spot, opening and closing car doors nine time a minute, all day long? Actually, we suspect there are some very active parents out there who feel they get close to such a record, shuffling kids between school, practice, and home. For your efforts, we salute you.
We also salute Nissan for giving us this neat-o glimpse into the more mundane aspect of automobile manufacturing. This yellow robotic arm is a new addition to the company's Technical Center in Michigan, and its mission is simple: Open and close doors. A lot.
The robotic arm is affectionately named Mrs. Doorboto – a joke which is probably lost on anyone under 30, or those who refuse to recognize the awesomeness of early '80's prog rock band Styx. For those unenlightened readers, you can simply refer to the robot as Rosie. According to Nissan, "she" answers to both names while working tirelessly to ensure the doors on various models open and close properly, over and over again.
Yes, it sounds terrifically mundane, but the reality is that doors are one of many things the motoring public takes for granted, until something happens. Shutting or even slamming a door once isn't a big deal, but barring unforeseen mishaps, that door and its related components will likely endure a decade or more of use. Nissan says that, over the course of 10 years, a door is opened and closed approximately 45,000 times.
Rosie, aka Mrs. Doorboto, can accomplish the same feat in just three days.
Auto designers may get the glory, and fabulous technical systems may get the attention. But watching this robot work gives us a whole new sense of appreciation for just how amazingly complicated vehicles are, and just how much work goes into building and testing them. Some of those tasks are handled by humans, and rightfully so. But for procedures like this that would drive people insane, we're glad robots like Rosie are on the job.
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