Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Archives for October 2016

Igus introduces its largest energy chain for light robotic applications

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Motion plastics specialist says new energy chain allows for easy assembly and cable routing

Igus has launched triflex TRLF.125, extending the TRLF family to include its largest 125mm nominal diameter e-chain, in addition to existing 65, 87.5 and 100mm internal diameter sizes.

These TRLF energy chains are ideally suited for robotics and other applications that require electrical power cables, data cables and hoses to remain secure and protected during multi-axis movement.

The company – which likes its name written as igus, with a small i – that with this new 125mm size, even stiff or large hoses, or indeed large numbers of individual cables, can be inserted quickly and easily, reducing labour costs and assembly time.   [Read more…] about Igus introduces its largest energy chain for light robotic applications

Harman and Airbiquity launch ‘first end-to-end cyber intrusion detection system’ for connected vehicles

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Harman, a provider of connected technologies for automotive markets, and Airbiquity, which specialises in connected vehicle services, have launched what they claim is the first automotive grade end-to-end intrusion detection system for connected vehicles.

The companies say that with the increasing dependency on software to power vehicle systems and features, cybersecurity has become a threat to connected vehicles and the introduction of new driving assistance, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and autonomous driving capabilities.

By combining Harman’s Intrusion Detection and Prevention System inside the vehicle with Airbiquity’s cloud-based Choreo service delivery platform and software and data management solution, the two companies say they now deliver “the most robust connected vehicle security threat detection and response capability for automotive customers and their consumers alike”.  [Read more…] about Harman and Airbiquity launch ‘first end-to-end cyber intrusion detection system’ for connected vehicles

Additive manufacturing: Renishaw to showcase new technologies

 

Renishaw to demonstrate new tech for additive manufacturing process chain at formnext 2016

Global engineering and technology company Renishaw will showcase its latest developments and highlight the role that metal additive manufacturing plays in the manufacturing process chain at formnext, taking place between the 15th and 18th of November, 2016, in Frankfurt, Germany.

Renishaw will exhibit in Hall 3.1, on stand F68. Highlights on the stand will include a Moto 2 motorcycle and the Robot Bike Company R160 bespoke mountain bike frame, one of the latest innovations to come out of Renishaw’s global network of Solutions Centres.

The show comes soon after the inauguration of the first of Renishaw’s Solutions Centres, a global network of facilities aimed at making metal additive manufacturing more accessible to industry.  [Read more…] about Additive manufacturing: Renishaw to showcase new technologies

Connecting to the cloud is improving manufacturing, says Plex

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Plex Systems, a provider of cloud enterprise resource planning software for manufacturing, says its annual survey examining the use of technology by leading manufacturers shows that increasing levels of connectivity is leading to dramatic improvements.

The 2016 Plex State of Manufacturing Technology study provides real-world insight from nearly 200 manufacturing organizations that are using technology today to meet the demands of customers, drive product innovation and improve operational efficiency.

Among the key findings, Plex found was that “cloud technology improves manufacturers’ ability to manage changing business needs”.

With the cloud, manufacturers connect the plant floor with the top floor, providing everyone access to one version of real-time data. [Read more…] about Connecting to the cloud is improving manufacturing, says Plex

Board leader: 10 million Raspberry Pi units sold and new kit launched

Raspberry Pi sold its 10 millionth unit last month, four years after its founders launched the tiny computer, expecting to sell only a few thousand. 

Writing on the company’s blog, one of the founders, Eben Upton, says “imagine how strange it feels” to announce having sold 10 million, and that the figure has “beaten our wildest dreams by three orders of magnitude”.

Raspberry Pi was originally started to provide encourage to more people to join the Computer Science courses at Cambridge University, UK.  [Read more…] about Board leader: 10 million Raspberry Pi units sold and new kit launched

All’s well that ROS well: Robot Operating System taking over the world

If aliens from beyond our solar system or even our galaxy were to land on Earth and wanted to communicate with intelligent machines that can move around and shake hands, chances are that one of the first in line to greet our otherworldly visitors will be a robot with a brain built using the Robot Operating System. 

The simple reason for this is that ROS is one of the most ubiquitous platforms for robotics in the world today, helped largely by the fact that it is an open-source project, in contrast to the majority of robot operating systems which are proprietary and closed.

Described as a collection of frameworks for robot software development, ROS was originally developed in 2007 at Stanford University’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. ROS was then extended by Willow Garage, and that’s when it really started taking off.  [Read more…] about All’s well that ROS well: Robot Operating System taking over the world

Qualcomm confirms it is buying NXP for $47 billion

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Qualcomm and NXP Semiconductors have announced a definitive agreement, unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, under which Qualcomm will acquire NXP.

Qualcomm will pay $110 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $47 billion.

NXP is a specialist in high-performance, mixed-signal semiconductor electronics, with innovative products and solutions and leadership positions in automotive, broad-based microcontrollers, secure identification, network processing and RF power.  [Read more…] about Qualcomm confirms it is buying NXP for $47 billion

New flavour of Robot Operating System launched

A new version of the Robot Operating System has been launched, and this is one for the machines. 

Officially called the Hardware Robot Operating System, the new solution is described as “a standardized software and hardware infrastructure to easily create reusable and reconfigurable robot hardware parts”.

Writing on Robohub.org, Victor Mayoral, CEO of Acutronic Robotics and a researcher at the Open Source Robotics Foundation, says H-ROS means “constructing robots will no longer be restricted to a small elite with high technical skills”.

H-ROS was initially funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency through the Robotics Fast Track program in 2016 and developed by Erle Robotics.

TheConstructSim launches beta of its IDE for ROS

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The Construct has launched a beta version of its integrated development environment. 

The company says users of the IDE don’t need to code, and can develop Robot Operating System programs “graphically”.

TheConstructSim.com is an online robot simulation environment in which users can develop and test their systems.