The use of collaborative robots (cobots) in an analog modeling laboratory

During the last decades, analog models have taken extraordinary advantage of new technologies. High-resolution cameras, analytical methods to extract quantitative data from the experiments (e.g., Digital Image Correlation), and new analog materials are only a few examples of the new improvement. The ease of extraction of quantitative data means that the modeling results can be used to provide new views on natural processes. Reducing unwanted uncertainties is crucial to propose robust new theories. One of the main difficulties for analog modelers is reducing the uncertainties related to the initial setup arrangement. Most of these uncertainties are classically referred to the handmade processes, such as handling analog materials. In the Analog Modeling laboratory of the University of Trieste, we tested the use of a cobot (a cobot is a robot for direct physical interaction with a human user within a shared workspace) to simulate pre-existing faults in wet clay boxes. We present two different sets of experiments. The first set has been designed to evaluate the kinematic efficiency of Riedel shears. The second reproduces differently oriented inherited dip-slip faults in an experimental box reproducing extension. In both cases, we reproduced the same setup more than one time. The collaborative robot reduced the variability of the results, demonstrating the effectiveness of the use of cobots in analog modeling laboratories.