Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Archives for June 21, 2016

Some people are willing to put their lives in the hands of robot cars, says survey

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Public attitudes to robotic advances in medicine, transport and the home polled ahead of first ever UK Robotics Week – 25th June to 1st July 2016 

More than a quarter of UK adults polled in the UK Robotics Week survey believe that the biggest benefit of driverless cars will be fewer road accidents, a survey has found.

The research, commissioned by the EPSRC UK-RAS Network, is being released ahead of the first ever UK Robotics Week (25 June to 1 July 2016).   [Read more…] about Some people are willing to put their lives in the hands of robot cars, says survey

Apple robot plunders $40 million worth of gold from discarded iPhones

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apple liam robot
The Apple Liam robot deconstructs iPhones and saves components and materials for recycling

An Apple master robot with 29 arms and modules has looted $40 million worth of gold from discarded iPhones, according to a report by CNN. 

The exverimental robot, named Liam, is reportedly able to disassemble an iPhone and recover all of the components and materials inside within 11 seconds.

Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, says Liam is designed to help recover and recycle material, as part of the company’s eco-friendly policies, or a “circular economy”, as Jackson calls it.

Apple is said to be using 100 per cent renewable power in 25 countries including the US and China.

Liam is currently operating in California and the Netherlands, and Apple plans to introduce the robot into other territories around the world.

Yaskawa launches new collaborative industrial robots at Automatica

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Yaskawa has launched a new collaborative industrial robot range at Automatica, along with a number of other innovations, including a new compact controller. 

The hotly anticipated collaborative Motoman HC10 is consistent with the plan to position Yaskawa as one of the world’s leading robot manufacturers in the area of human-robot collaboration.

The manufacturer of Motoman industrial robots is presenting the new development outside Japan for the first time at its stand in the new robotic technology hall (B6-502).  [Read more…] about Yaskawa launches new collaborative industrial robots at Automatica

Universal Robots launches app store and developer program

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Universal Robots, has launched something it calls “Universal Robots+” at the Automatica event in Munich. Basically, it’s a sort of app store aimed at creating an ecosystem around UR’s collaborative robots. 

In a statement, the company says Universal Robots+ is “a showroom of plug and play application solutions offering a new level of simplicity for companies that want to hit the ground running when installing their next UR robot application”.

By choosing accessories, end-effectors, and software solutions from Universal Robots+, both distributors and end users get “high security and predictability that applications will run well from the start, saving weeks and months in the integration process from concept to operation of the UR cobots”, says Universal Robots.

The company has also launched the associated +You developer program, which  is free-of-charge and offers a “powerful marketing and support platform for the flourishing eco-system of UR-robot application developers”.  [Read more…] about Universal Robots launches app store and developer program

Robotiq launches camera system for industrial robot hand

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Robotiq, a maker of robotic grippers for industrial robots, has launched a vision-guidance system for pick and place robots. 

The company, which mainly makes 2-finger and 3-finger grippers for Universal Robots, says its camera can be set up in “five minutes and makes vision easy to integrate”.

The new camera component was developed as part of the URCaps, an app store and software and hardware developer program launched by Universal Robots.

Robotiq had made its vision system available to some of its customers, including Continental, known for making car tyres among other things.  [Read more…] about Robotiq launches camera system for industrial robot hand

Automatica: The greatest show of robotics and automation technology on Earth. Probably

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automatica munich

Now in its seventh year, Automatica is one of the most eagerly-awaited trade fairs in the robotics and automation industry events calendar. 

The four-day show will be hosted in Munich, Germany, and its organisers say it provides a “comprehensive look at the latest developments” in the sector, with around 1,000 companies taking part.  [Read more…] about Automatica: The greatest show of robotics and automation technology on Earth. Probably