Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Archives for January 2018

Omron releases new ultra-thin tactile switch

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Omron Electronic Components Europe is releasing a new ultra-thin sealed surface-mounting tactile switch rated at 1 million operations.

The new Omron B3SE delivers high durability with a minimum of 1 million operations, offering a long product life cycle. The tactile switch height of just 2mm contributes to the development of incredibly slim devices.

The button gives the user positive tactile feedback, contributing a quality feel to the user interface. With a surface-mounting pin type, it’s suitable for high-density mounting.

[Read more…] about Omron releases new ultra-thin tactile switch

Ping pong robot comes to ATX West

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Omron Automation will showcase Forpheus, the world’s first AI-equipped table tennis tutor, at Automation Technology Expo West (ATX West) in California, USA.

Visitors to Omron’s booth, #4395, at the Anaheim Convention Center will experience how Omron technology enables flexibility, traceability and creates the factory of the future through innovative solutions that are integrated, interactive and intelligent, says the company.

“We’re excited to bring Forpheus to ATX West this year,” said Robb Black, President and CEO of Omron Automation Americas. “This is a great opportunity for us to highlight our advanced technologies and we look forward to showcasing our Automation solutions with industry audiences.”

[Read more…] about Ping pong robot comes to ATX West

Start-up launches smart connected fashion mannequin

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In 2018, French start-up Euveka is bringing to market its first version of a scalable and connected mannequin. Hailed as one of the most promising French start-ups, Euveka is developing a model that can recreate all female morphologies for use in the fashion industry.

In the coming years, Euveka wants to further develop the mannequin, adding fully robotized body parts such as legs, arms and feet, and adapt it to specific morphologies to address common challenges like pregnancy, weight gain and more.

After a first round of 1.1 million euros investment in 2015 and a second round of 2.4 million in 2017, the extremely innovative concept that emerged after seven years of research was recently awarded at CES 2018 in Las Vegas.

[Read more…] about Start-up launches smart connected fashion mannequin

Nuro raises $92 million to develop autonomous delivery vehicle

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A company called Nuro has raised a massive $92 million to develop its autonomous delivery vehicle for commercial applications.

Speaking to IEEE Spectrum, co-founder says the company’s vehicle is “poised to change the way that businesses interact with their local customers”.

The vehicle itself is about half the size of small car and is designed for short journeys.  [Read more…] about Nuro raises $92 million to develop autonomous delivery vehicle

Unex Manufacturing marks second year of record growth

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Unex Manufacturing, a provider of order picking solutions, is celebrating its second consecutive year of record business growth in 2017.

The company says it has added dozens of new products and solution patents, major industry awards and global sales throughout North America, Central America, Europe and Asia.

Unex now employs over 100 people, making the company one of the largest employers in Ocean County in New Jersey.  [Read more…] about Unex Manufacturing marks second year of record growth

Harvard researchers demonstrate tiny, super-fast delta robot

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Harvard University boffins have demonstrated what must be the world’s smallest Delta robot. 

The university says the tiny machine opens up new possibilities for applications in microsurgery, microassembly and micromanipulation.

Not only is the robot – called “milliDelta” – tiny, it’s also extremely fast. It’s too fast for the human eye to see what it’s doing. (See video below.)  [Read more…] about Harvard researchers demonstrate tiny, super-fast delta robot

Seoul University designs tiny robot that powers itself

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It’s only a few centimetres long and looks about as complex as a paperclip mechanically, but a tiny “robot” developed by Seoul University boffins is apparently able to power itself.

The miniature robot uses moisture from its environment to generate the power it needs to move itself forward, which it does, like a caterpillar.

The team which designed the creepy little thing is led by Ho-Young Kim, who says they used nature as the inspiration for their “microbot”.  [Read more…] about Seoul University designs tiny robot that powers itself

Humanoid roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro unveils news-reading android

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Dr Hiroshi Ishiguro, one of the world’s leading humanoid roboticists, has unveiled his latest creation, a news-reading android. 

Innocuously named “Erica”, the terrifying robot will be reading the news to the Japanese nation from April this year, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In comments reported by the Mirror, Dr Ishiguro says Erica is “the most beautiful and most human-like autonomous android in this world”.  [Read more…] about Humanoid roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro unveils news-reading android

New tax rules allow total and immediate deduction of costs of robotics and automation equipment

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New tax rules introduced by the US government would allow companies to immediately deduct all of the costs of investing in robotics and automation equipment, according to a report on Wall Street Journal. 

In fact, the tax break could extend to other types of equipment as well.

Previously, companies were only allowed to write down investments and not have to pay tax on them slowly over the course of a year.  [Read more…] about New tax rules allow total and immediate deduction of costs of robotics and automation equipment

Investment funds linked to robotics and AI raise hundreds of millions of dollars in January

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Exchange-traded funds which concentrate on robotics and artificial intelligence investments have raised a total of $870 million in January alone. 

This is according to a report on CNBC, which says one fund – called the Global X Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Thematic ETF, or BOTZ for short – attracted $650 million from investors in January.

There’s still one more day of January to go, but meanwhile, Robo Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF – or ROBO – has taken in almost $220 million.  [Read more…] about Investment funds linked to robotics and AI raise hundreds of millions of dollars in January