Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Archives for January 5, 2017

Manufacturing: Trump tempts Toyota with tax break if it builds cars in US instead of Mexico

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toyota mexico
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto with Toyota North America CEO James Lentz last year during the start of building the facility in Guanajuato

lockAfter apparently pressuring Ford to change its plans to expand its manufacturing operations in Mexico, President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly putting pressure on Toyota to follow suit. 

Ford had intended to build a plant in Mexico, but is now applying the brakes on those plans, according to the Economist.

A couple of days ago, Ford said it would cancel its $1.6 billion project in San Luis Potosí, Mexico and instead invest $700 million in its plant in Michigan, in the US.  [Read more…] about Manufacturing: Trump tempts Toyota with tax break if it builds cars in US instead of Mexico

Qualcomm unveils first communications chip for connected cars

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qualcomm at ces

Chip giant Qualcomm has revealed its first communications chip for connected cars, a market in which it is soon to be dominant after its acquisition of NXP Semiconductor goes through. 

Presenting the new chip at CES, Patrick Little, Qualcomm’s senior vice president of automotive, said the chip can handle cellular signals at speeds measured in gigabits per second, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

“No longer will you be cranking windows and pushing buttons,” WSJ quoted Little as saying. “You’ll walk into your car and it will feel like a very seamless transition with your handset.”

Full report on Wall Street Journal

Tesla begins production at its Gigafactory – said to be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world

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tesla gigafactory
Tesla’s Gigafactory has almost 5 million square feet of operational space and when it’s completed, it will be the largest building in the world

lockTesla has started making lithium-ion battery cells at its brand new “Gigafactory” in Nevada, US. 

At almost 2 million square feet, the facility is said to be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world – and that’s just for starters.

In a statement, Tesla says: “The current structure has a footprint of 1.9 million square feet, which houses 4.9 million square feet of operational space across several floors. And we are still less than 30 percent done. Once complete, we expect the Gigafactory to be the biggest building in the world.”  [Read more…] about Tesla begins production at its Gigafactory – said to be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world

Sarcos Robotics raises $25 million in funding from the likes of Microsoft and General Electric

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Startup company Sarcos Robotics has raised another $15.625 million in financing, bringing its total funding to $25 million.

The company’s investors include Caterpillar, Microsoft and GE Ventures.

Sarcos is developing an exoskeleton which the company describes as a “dexterous robotic system for unstructured environments”.  [Read more…] about Sarcos Robotics raises $25 million in funding from the likes of Microsoft and General Electric

Hannover Messe: Making use of energy management systems

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power lines

Get your complementary ticket to Hannover Messe before they’re all gone – limited number

There is no question that energy is costly. Costs for this resource have quadrupled since 2000, according to the German Energy Agency, with the planned energy transition also contributing to this trend.

This development hits business particularly hard. Industry, trade and services account for some 45 percent of total energy consumption in Germany.

So efficient use of this resource makes economic sense, as well as being an environmental imperative. The German Energy Agency estimates that companies could reduce their energy needs by 30 percent using standard efficiency measures.  [Read more…] about Hannover Messe: Making use of energy management systems

Igus launches pre-assembled Robolink D 5-axis articulated arms

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igus robolink_D_roboter

Igus says the low-cost robot enables simple configuration, easy acquisition, and immediate connection 

Igus has launched its Robolink D 5-axis articulated arms as an assembly kit consisting of arm, motor and gearbox, or now as a ready-to-connect articulated arm, enabling machine and system builders to rapidly implement their own low-cost robotic automation systems.

Robert Dumayne, director of dry-tech bearings, Igus, says: “Robots are taking over more and more in automation tasks. Last year, sales of industrial robots exceeded 245,000 pieces, marking a new record.”

At the same time, Igus says, interest is also growing in simple and inexpensive robotics solutions. In the area of low-cost automation, engineers can increase the productivity of their machines with a flexible robot kit using Robolink D, says Igus.  [Read more…] about Igus launches pre-assembled Robolink D 5-axis articulated arms

Massive cyber attack affecting 500 industrial companies in 50 countries, says Kaspersky

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A globally co-ordinated cyber attack has hit 500 industrial companies in 50 countries in the past few months, according to security company Kaspersky. 

The worst affected were companies in the smelting, electric power generation and transmission, construction, and engineering industries.

The attacks take the form of emails purportedly from famous companies – such as DHL and Saudi Aramco – and most were sent from “legitimate email addresses belonging to valid organizations”, says Kaspersky.  [Read more…] about Massive cyber attack affecting 500 industrial companies in 50 countries, says Kaspersky

Rolls-Royce to open new research facility in US

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rolls-royce purdue
Rolls-Royce will house an R&D group for its jet engine component research in a 40,000-square-foot facility in the Purdue Research Park Aerospace District in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Purdue Research Park image)

Rolls-Royce is to open a new research and development centre in the US. The company formally received the keys to the 55,000-square-foot facility in the Purdue Research Park Aerospace District in West Lafayette. 

Purdue Research Foundation and Rolls-Royce are scheduled to celebrate the building’s opening late March.

David Waggoner, head of programs, customer and operations, control systems in North America for Rolls-Royce, says: “This facility is a great opportunity for us to create something unique to North America but also unique to Indiana, and allow us to strengthen our partnership with Purdue.  [Read more…] about Rolls-Royce to open new research facility in US

New $10,000 collaborative robot can build copies of itself

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FRANKA EMIKA industrial robot
The Franka Emika industrial robot

The makers of a new, collaborative robot called Franka Emika say the machine could build copies of itself. 

In an article published in the IEEE magazine, the robot’s creator, Sami Haddadin, is quoted as saying “there will be Frankas building Frankas”.

The article also suggests that Franka’s price is around $10,000 – and reveals the prices of other collaborative robots:

  • Rethink’s Sawyer ~ $30,000; and
  • Universal Robots’ best-selling UR5 ~ $35,000.

The collaborative robots market is currently dominated by Universal Robots, which has sold so many robots, it’s made it on the list of industrial robot manufacturers with the largest install base, with approximately 10,000 sold worldwide so far.

Full article on IEEE Spectrum