Archives for July 14, 2017

DHL and Wärtsilä complete tests of mobile robots from Fetch Robotics for warehouse operations

Industrial technology company Wärtsilä and the world’s largest logistics company, DHL, say they have been utilising mobile robots from Fetch Robotics to streamline warehouse operations. (See video below.)

The companies say they have completed a “successful pilot”, where they tested autonomous vehicles from Fetch Robotics.

The pilot was carried out in Wärtsilä’s central distribution centre in Kampen, the Netherlands, where the entire logistics chain of Wärtsilä’s spare parts, from order intake to customer delivery, is managed.

As Wärtsilä’s partner, DHL runs the warehouse operations. [Read more…] about DHL and Wärtsilä complete tests of mobile robots from Fetch Robotics for warehouse operations

Dassault Systèmes boss talks about generative design and whether humans are necessary

Nothing is as straightforward as it might first sound. So, for example, one might imagine that, by using generative design software, a designer could set parameters for the computer to produce a structure and then use a 3D printer to output that structure, whether that structure is a single molecule of steel or a larger, more complex structure, like a car body. Basically, you could get the computer to do almost all of the design work.

The technology is available to do those things. And any designer who’s produced countless iterations of one basic design would certainly appreciate such powerful software. But is it really as simple as that? Probably not.

If anyone would know the answer for sure, it would be Stephen Chadwick, managing director of Dassault Systèmes for the north European region, or EuroNorth, and he says it’s possible to remove humans from the design process completely. [Read more…] about Dassault Systèmes boss talks about generative design and whether humans are necessary

WTWH Media buys The Robot Report

Business-to-business publisher WTWH Media has bought The Robot Report for an undisclosed sum.

TheRobotReport.com was founded in 2008 by Frank Tobe, and is one of the leading websites in this growing sector of publishing.

The website covers robotics in a variety of business segments, including transportation, agriculture, manufacturing and even outer space. It has an international perspective, covering many countries around the globe. [Read more…] about WTWH Media buys The Robot Report