Archives for March 5, 2018

Toyota to invest $3 billion in driverless car company

March 5, 2018 by Sam Francis

Toyota is establishing a new company to develop autonomous driving technologies and says it will invest almost $3 billion into it.

The new company will be based in Tokyo and will start operating later this month. It will be named “Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development” (TRI-AD), and will accelerate the company’s efforts in “advanced development for automated driving”.

To enable the new efforts at TRI-AD, Toyota Motor Corporation, Aisin Seiki, and Denso have reached a provisional agreement on the joint development of fully-integrated, production-quality software for automated driving. [Read more…] about Toyota to invest $3 billion in driverless car company

PalExpo to showcase jewellery-making expertise

March 5, 2018 by Sam Francis

The world of high-quality jewellery- and watch-making has always been labour-intensive, requiring many people with intricate skills all along the manufacturing process.

And while making jewellery still involves many people, increasingly sophisticated instruments, robotics and automation technologies, as well as new materials and additive manufacturing are taking the sector to a whole new level.

An industry event in Geneva, Switzerland called EPHJ-EPMT-SMT describes itself as “the only trade show in the world [which showcases] all high-precision skills in the areas of watchmaking and jewellery, microtechnology and medical technology”. [Read more…] about PalExpo to showcase jewellery-making expertise

Opinion: Robots help close the gap between designing and making

March 5, 2018 by Sam Francis

Andrew Watts, CEO Newtecnic, discusses the construction industry’s move towards robotics and mass-customization that brings designers and makers together for positive disruption within and beyond the industry

Digitalization, robotics and automation, have produced significant quality and productivity benefits in manufacturing over several decades.

In construction, however, while digitalization has very successfully automated design, the disconnect between designing and making is ripe for an industrial revolution.

And while innovative product manufacturers use technology to move from mass-production to mass-customization, the construction industry is only just picking up on DfMA (Design for Manufacture and Assembly) for repetitive mass production of standardized components.

This use of what can be considered an outmoded idea seems to be a retrograde step because the opportunity now exists for construction to deploy the very latest technology and thereby take the lead in manufacturing. [Read more…] about Opinion: Robots help close the gap between designing and making

The X-Files: The robotics and automation episode

March 5, 2018 by Sam Francis

If Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, the two main characters in The X-Files, were to do nothing but chill out and drink coffee for the entire 45-minute duration of a show, nobody would care – they’d still watch it.

Having been in so many powerful and captivating storylines over the course of the 11 series since 1993, the world’s most famous FBI agents probably have nothing left to prove to the audience. Been there, done that – and with more charisma than probably any other characters in TV history.

The fundamental basis of the show – the investigation of paranormal phenomena, aliens, and the conspiracies connected to them, as well as the typical gruesome crimes the FBI must deal with – was expertly blended by its makers, and the acting and style of the show have always been engaging. [Read more…] about The X-Files: The robotics and automation episode

Siemens to present digital enterprise solutions at Hannover

March 5, 2018 by Anna

At the Hannover Messe 2018, Siemens will be showcasing a comprehensive series of examples which demonstrate how users can harness the potential of Industrie 4.0 by implementing digital enterprise solutions.

The focus will be on industry-specific implementation of digital enterprise solutions over the whole life cycle.

Examples from aerospace, automotive, food and beverage, electronics and machine building as well as the chemical, fiber and oil and gas industries illustrate how companies of any size and from any industry can increase their competitiveness with individual digital solutions – through greater flexibility, efficiency and quality as well as shorter times to market.

Pick robot launched for warehouse automation

March 5, 2018 by Anna

SSI Schaefer has launched a new robot, SSI Robo-Pick, for warehouse automation that can carry out up to 2,400 picks per hour. The company claims it is the first fully automatic picking robot.

Picking,or putting together an individual item selection for a customer, is the most demanding task of warehouse automation.

All attempts to make order picking through pick automation more cost-effective and simpler have so far failed because of the lack of flexibility in image processing, says the company.

Universal Robots to show mobile Plug-and-Produce solutions at Hannover

March 5, 2018 by Anna

At the Hannover Messe 2018, Universal Robots will be demonstrating how ‘Plug-and-Produce’ facilitates simple and flexible automation solution implementation.

The collaborative robots company will be displaying practical application examples to show how integrated components are allowing companies to meet challenges, such as a growing variety of products and increasingly flexible batch sizes. Most of the applications’ accessories come from the Universal Robots+ ecosystem.

It will also show three UR3 robots that collaborate to screw torches together, insert a battery, and subsequently use a laser to label the lamps – an example of how complex applications are easy to automate with UR+ components (e.g., grippers from Schunk and Dahl, a laser from Telesys, and a force-torque sensor from OptoForce).