Robotic Collaboration Launched for Maintenance in Chip Production

Lam Research, the $100 billion company that produces semiconductor manufacturing equipment, introduced what it called the industry’s first collaborative robot, or ‘cobot’, made to handle maintenance on wafer-fabrication equipment.

The cobot, appropriately named Dextro, can perform accurate, high-precision maintenance work on Lam’s equipment, which is deployed in semiconductor fabrication plants around the world. 

As fabs continue to grow, geographic range and equipment complexity to keep up with the AI boom, Dextro’s role in the chip-manufacturing process is critical, Lam said, noting that the number of positions in the semiconductor industry outpaces the current pool of skilled engineers.

“With the enormous increase in demand that AI is bringing to the semiconductor market, it's critical for chipmakers to keep all their manufacturing equipment working as efficiently as possible to minimize downtime,” said Bob O’Donnell, president of Technalysis Research.

“Dextro can automate tedious, time-consuming and often intricate cleaning and maintenance tasks on chip-fabrication equipment so that manufacturing output can be maximized. It offers a huge benefit for companies that choose to deploy it.”

Keep reading this article in AI Business