Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Archives for February 2018

Faraday Future holds its first global supplier summit

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Faraday Future (FF) has held its first Global Supplier Summit at its headquarters in Gardena, California.

Nearly 200 representatives from more than 100 of its global suppliers joined the two-day event in February, a crucial gateway to achieving the first delivery of its flagship FF 91 vehicle by the end of 2018.

YT Jia, founder of FF, welcomed the participants and delivered an inspirational address to motivate the crowd at the event.

[Read more…] about Faraday Future holds its first global supplier summit

Bosch acquires US carpool start-up

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Bosch is entering the car-sharing business with the acquisition of Splitting Fares Inc. (SPLT), a U.S. start-up based in Detroit, that operates a platform that allows companies, universities, and municipal authorities to offer their workforces car-sharing services.

The B2B approach is designed especially for commuters. SPLT uses an app to connect people who share the same route to their place of work or study. An algorithm finds the best composition for the car-share, and computes the fastest route.

SPLT was founded in 2015. Around140,000 users in the United States, Mexico, and Germany currently take advantage of the service.

[Read more…] about Bosch acquires US carpool start-up

Faurecia to build $60 million manufacturing facility in Kansas City

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Car interiors manufacturer Faurecia is to build a $60 million, 250,000 sq ft facility in Kansas City. 

The company says the new factory will create 300 jobs.

Tim Cowden, president and CEO, Kansas City Area Development Council, says: “Kansas City offers a strong competitive advantage to growing manufacturing operations, particularly in the automotive industry.

“We are very proud to welcome Faurecia to our robust automotive cluster and look forward to the company’s success in our region.”  [Read more…] about Faurecia to build $60 million manufacturing facility in Kansas City

Robotic clones of dead family members on the way

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Swedish scientists are developing robotic clones to replace family members who have died, according to a report on Sputnik News.

It might sound macabre to some, but to others, it might seem a natural thing to want to hold on to whatever they can of loved ones they have lost.

Sputnik cites a report in Dagen daily which adds that the scientists plan to use artificial intelligence to make the androids speak like the dead people they replace, using their voices and mannerisms.  [Read more…] about Robotic clones of dead family members on the way

LG buys 10 per cent of Robotis for $8.5 million

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South Korean electronics giant LG has acquired a 10.12 per cent stake in Robotis, according to the Korea Herald. 

The website reports that LG paid $8.5 million for a share of Robotis, which is also a South Korean company.

Robotis develops a while range of robotics technologies, including robotic controllers and sensor modules.  [Read more…] about LG buys 10 per cent of Robotis for $8.5 million

Alien robot to visit International Space Station

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The International Space Station is to receive a visit from an alien robot called Cimon, pronounced Kimon, from Planet Earth. 

Cimon – Crew Interactive Mobile CompanioN – was developed by Airbus in cooperation with IBM, and is described as an artificial intelligence-based assistant for astronauts for the DLR, or German, Space Administration.

The technology demonstrator, which is the size of a medicine ball and weighs around 5 kg, will be tested on the ISS by Alexander Gerst during the European Space Agency’s Horizons mission between June and October 2018. [Read more…] about Alien robot to visit International Space Station

Infineon and Elektrobit team up to improve car data security

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Infineon Technologies AG and Elektrobit Automotive GmbH are teaming up long term to work closely together on the issue of cybersecurity for vehicles.

The companies are offering a hardware-software solution that is said to boost the performance of on-board communication and satisfies current and future security requirements.

It is based on the second generation of the multicore microcontroller family AURIX™ (TC3xx) from Infineon and, tailored to it, Elektrobit’s zentur HSM solution.

[Read more…] about Infineon and Elektrobit team up to improve car data security

GreyOrange to unveil new Butler XL for supply chain automation

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Robotics and supply chain automation company GreyOrange will unveil its expanded range of Butler robots capable of managing a variety of payloads from 100 to 1600 kgs (220 to 3500 lbs) at LogiMat 2018 in Germany.

The goods-to-person Butler™ system lets warehouses run high-speed operations by automating inventory storage (putaway) and order fulfilment. It has been deployed in distribution centers in Japan, Hong Kong, India, Europe and the Americas for industries such as 3PL, e-commerce and retail.

The robotics systems handle a variety of items including apparel, home furnishing and personal care, reducing cost per shipment and enhancing productivity of warehouse operations by more than four times, says the company. [Read more…] about GreyOrange to unveil new Butler XL for supply chain automation

Shadow Robot hands help new AI research

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The Shadow Robot Company, a leader in robotic hands, is working with OpenAI, a non-profit company focusing on the path to safe artificial intelligence, by supplying OpenAI its Shadow Dexterous Hands for AI research.

The research, led by OpenAI, has created eight newly released environments, four of which uses the Shadow Hand robot to solve realistic manipulation tasks. The Shadow Hand is tactile enough to rotate a block and a solid egg and flexible enough to move a pen between its fingers.

All the new tasks have the concept of a “goal” such as achieving the desired orientation of a block in the Shadow hand block manipulation task.

[Read more…] about Shadow Robot hands help new AI research

Hanwha partners with PBA Group to open collaborative robot production facility in Singapore

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Hanwha Robotics, part of the South Korean industrial giant Hanwha Group, is partnering with engineering company PBA Group to open a collaborative robot production facility in Singapore. 

The facility will be located at Yishun Industrial Park on the tiny island city-state, according to ChannelNewsAsia.com.

PBA is a Singaporean company and has also reached an agreement with local engineering giant ST Kinetics – part of the group which recently bought Aethon – covering a wide range of activities relating to robotics and automation projects.  [Read more…] about Hanwha partners with PBA Group to open collaborative robot production facility in Singapore