Hyundai Robots Launches New Remote Service Control Center for Industrial Robot Maintenance and Solutions

Hyundai Robot Management Service (HRMS)

The new HRMS uses smart glass or smartphones to connect technicians to the robots, allowing them to perform troubleshooting and basic maintenance tasks remotely.

 

The HRMS interface, complete with a chat window for customer support. Image courtesy of Hyundai Robotics. 

 

To interface with the HRMS, users can dial 1670-5041. This number will connect the robot directly to the centralized technical support center, which will begin processing the error logs, status messages, and data collected by the robot. This can offer time-saving over scheduling a technician visit or collecting and relay data via the phone and email. 

If you've ever called a technical support phone number, you can appreciate the time saving associated with the HRMS. Instead of listening to a customer support representative list off some simple tasks, such as unplugging, rebooting, the HRMS can see all tasks. How many hours spent waiting for a computer to reboot because it was the next step on the customer support representative's list of troubleshooting steps?

 

Hyundai Expands Data Collection Capabilities

The next issue in troubleshooting is concisely explaining the problem. Often, the robot owner or maintenance technician is too close to the problem to identify what is causing the issue objectively.

They may have to manually collect additional data (such as running test wafers in a semiconductor plant) or dig through a database to find the data needed for troubleshooting. The HRMS is designed to better grasp data collection and decide the next steps to solve potential problems.

 

Hyundai Robots featured in an assembly line on a factory floor. Image courtesy of Hyundai Robotics. 

 

Hyundai promises efficient solutions and data management to diagnose the problem. 

An official for Hyundai says that this move will "...bring about greater customer satisfaction because the headquarters staff will respond to after-sales services, which has remained at an inconsistent level so far, promptly and at low cost." 

 

Remote Access During COVID-19

Besides the time savings, the remote aspect of the HRMS may be a necessity for some facilities through the rest of the COVID-19 pandemic and future emergencies. Many factories are running with skeleton crews to maximize social distancing and limit exposure to COVID-19. 

 

A look into the new remote service control center. Image courtesy of Hyundai Robotics. 

 

Before the remote service, some troubleshooting and maintenance tasks would require a Hyundai technician to schedule a plant visit. With COVID-19, this is nearly impossible.

 Travel plans, federal, state, local, and company travel and visitor policies, absences due to the virus, and so on make scheduling a nightmare. Therefore, the remote HRMS has a distinct advantage: Hyundai technicians do not need to travel and potentially be exposed to the virus, nor do they have to plan around all of the unknown variables required to perform such travel.

Users can maintain and diagnose Hyundai's robots remotely, which may reduce the cost, time spent, and exposure to COVID-19.