World's Strongest Robot Ousted by New Champ

Oct. 15, 2008 -- The 16-month reign of the world's strongest robot -- the KUKA Titan -- has been overthrown by Michigan-based Fanuc Robotics' M-2000iA/1,200.

"We've got a new challenger," joked Mike Beaupre of Germany-based KUKA. "The robot wars have begun."

The two robots aren't mere muscle-bound brutes. Both posses artificial intelligence systems and sensors that enable them to make independent decisions while twirling a car chassis or, in KUKA's case, your kids, in mid-air.

Both the Titan and the M-2000iA were originally designed to lift and position machinery for spot welding, assembly and other industrial functions. The Titan's nine motors can lift nearly a ton of metal more than 13 feet into the air. Before the Titan, it would have taken two robots working in sync to manipulate, for instance, a tractor body or airplane frame.

The M-2000iA can raise 2,645 pounds 20 feet into the air. It's also equipped with video cameras and touch-sensitive "fingers."

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"We could roll a pipe across a table top, and the robot could track it, pick it up, and move it to a new location," said Richard Johnson of Fanuc Robotics. "The artificial intelligence gives the robot the ability to adapt to new environments and new situations."

Both robots have six axes of movement. Three axes move the robot arm, and three manipulate whatever object the "hand" is holding.

KUKA and Fanuc representatives describe those six axes as equivalent to a human waist, shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingers. The Titan is even more flexible than a human shoulder; like a contortionist, it can even bend over backwards.