Robots take over Rosemont this week

The white shiny robot, only 4-foot-9, walked slowly up the stage, extended his arms, propped up his trumpet and began to play "It's a Small World" and "Limelight."

His chest heaved in his 88-pound frame, pushing enough air to his lips and into the horn so he could smoothly deliver the classics. There were no recordings. No secret player behind the black curtain.

That's how Toyota's Partner Robot made his local debut Tuesday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Robots, devices and related equipment are being featured through Thursday at the Robots & Vision Motion Control trade show. Companies from around the world, and several from area suburbs, showed off their new technology to intrigue visitors and capture sales.

The Partner Robot is an experiment by Toyota using automotive devices such as vehicle stability control to avoid slipping and other technologies to create robotic assistance for people in hospitals or at home.

While it has a repertoire of 25 songs, the robot is actually an experiment in dexterity, said Tania Saldana, a spokeswoman for Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America in Erlanger, Ky.

"We're testing for coordination, stability, walking and arm movements," Saldana said. "This is mostly for the health care field."

While the Partner Robot was the featured attraction, numerous companies with suburban connections showed just how much their work mattered in the booming robotics industry.

Near the Toyota stage, a white fur-covered robot that looked like a baby harp seal, squirmed, purred and even turned its head when called. It's a therapeutic device that goes to "sleep" at night after a pacifier-like plug is inserted into its mouth for recharging.

Paro Robots U.S. Inc., based in Japan with offices in Itasca, makes the robotic animals and sells them to hospitals in Japan and elsewhere for roughly $6,000 each. It's also hypoallergenic, eliminating concerns over infection or injury associated with real pets.

The robotic animal was recently introduced to elderly patients with dementia in a Washington, D.C.,-area hospital to provide therapy and companionship, said Christine Hsu, general manager of the Itasca office.

"Caregivers use this robot to stimulate conversation with residents," said Hsu.

A relatively new company in Elgin called Compass Automation, provides robotic solutions for industry that include spindles that etch into glass, wood and marble.

The company was started by Bill Angsten of Elburn and Patrick O'Rahilly Jr. of St. Charles. The childhood friends partnered with other investors and launched Compass in January.

"We provide the spindles for another company's robotic arm, attach it and design it for a specific purpose," said Angsten.

Glen Ellyn-based MCS Vision provides quality control vision equipment for assembly lines at food companies, including Nestle, Coca-Cola, Welch's, Meow Mix and Iams pet foods, said co-owner Kathy Tryner. Her husband Jim O'Reilly also owns the firm.

MCS, which has only five workers, designs and manufacturers the system that watches food packages go at high speeds through assembly lines.

"It looks at products and compares them to images and then decides if it's good or bad. If it's bad, it rejects it and it comes off the conveyor belt," said Tryner.

Another company that is a distributor for devices that work with high-speed assembly lines is RSA, or Right Solutions for Automation, in St. Charles.

Discreet sensors are placed in strategic locations around an assembly line and can spot problems in 10 microseconds, said Bill Johnson, RSA vice president.

"It can deliver a signal that fast, if something happens," Jonson said.

Buffalo Grove-based Epix Inc. designs and makes frame grabbers, known as tiny circuit boards that help capture video to play in a notebook.

NASA as well as research universities, industrial and medical companies buy their frame grabbers, which can range from $500 to about $1,500, said spokesman Charles Dijak.

"This allows computers to look at products and determine if they're built (well). It's for quality control," said Dijak.