Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Archives for July 2018

Neanderthals may have had larger brains but environmental changes favoured homo sapiens

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New research by the Max Planck Institute suggests it was ecological changes that ended the Neanderthals

Neanderthals have generally had a bad press since they were discovered more than a century ago.

Pictured as little more than apes, our closest human cousin has always been pictured as a stupid brute – almost twice our size and several times our strength – who failed to adapt to circumstances as cleverly as homo sapiens did.

One widely-taught example was that Neanderthals could not think ahead and, therefore, did not understand or perceive seasons and annual movements of animals, so did not plan for them.  [Read more…] about Neanderthals may have had larger brains but environmental changes favoured homo sapiens

Volvo receives Sweden’s largest order ever for electric buses

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Gothenburg in Sweden now takes the lead in the transition to electrically propelled urban bus traffic in Sweden. The order for 30 all-electric Volvo buses from GS Buss, subsidiary of Göteborgs Spårvägar, and Public Transport Authority Västtrafik, is the biggest order so far for all-electric buses in Sweden.

It is also Volvo Buses’ biggest order to date. The buses will run on route 60 in Gothenburg from next autumn.

Västtrafik, the public transport provider in the Västra Götaland region, has high sustainability targets. Among other things, carbon dioxide emissions are to be cut by 80% by 2020, 95% of all transport shall use renewable energy by 2025, and noise from transport is to be reduced.

[Read more…] about Volvo receives Sweden’s largest order ever for electric buses

Arm and Samsung Foundry ‘push the possibilities’ of semiconductor manufacturing

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Arm and Samsung Foundry say they are “pushing the possibilities” of semiconductor manufacturing with industry’s first embedded magnetoresistive random-access memory compiler and new physical IP offerings on advanced process nodes including 7nm and 5nm. 

What researchers have predicted for several years is now a reality – the end of Moore’s Law is approaching and will impact performance power and area (PPA) across all computing applications.

This includes embedded products used throughout consumer and industrial markets requiring reliable, yet low-power, complex-memory systems to support a spectrum of applications but are limited by the speed, power, and scalability offered by non-volatile mainstream memory options, such as eFlash.  [Read more…] about Arm and Samsung Foundry ‘push the possibilities’ of semiconductor manufacturing

ABB invests in soft robotics to transform pick and place processes

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ABB is backing a new technology which will enable robots to pick up and handle fragile items that would be damaged if current grippers were used. 

ABB Technology Ventures is ABB’s strategic venture capital investment arm. ATV finds the startup partners from which ABB can best benefit, both strategically and financially.

ABB’s partnership with Soft Robotics provides a perfect example of how proactive engagement with a startup can make all the difference when it comes to improving innovation processes.  [Read more…] about ABB invests in soft robotics to transform pick and place processes

Continental begins construction of its first plant in Lithuania

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Continental is expanding its European production capacities, celebrating the groundbreaking ceremony for its first plant in Kaunas, Lithuania.

From the second half of 2019, electronic components for the European market will be manufactured in the technology company’s new electronics plant.

Components will include door and seat control units as well as gateways and units for intelligent glass control, whose film technology allows the vehicle glazing to be darkened automatically or via user input.

[Read more…] about Continental begins construction of its first plant in Lithuania

Robots in space: Russians to send Fedor the humanoid robot to the International Space Station

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The Russian space agency is planning to send its humanoid robot Fedor to the International Space Station.

Fedor stands for Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research and seems to have been developed as a fighting robot.

Fedor can shoot guns, drive cars and use a variety of tools, including drills, according to a video by Interesting Engineering (video below).  [Read more…] about Robots in space: Russians to send Fedor the humanoid robot to the International Space Station

Biology and robotics enter into an unholy union to bring forth nightmare creatures from the very depths of hell

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The worlds of biology and robotics are increasingly merging and the end result will inevitably be the creation of hellish creatures that will be called “androids”, “cyborgs” or even simply “robots”. 

And with the growing capabilities of additive manufacturing or 3D printing which use sophisticated materials and techniques, the knowledge and the tools will be more widely available to create these creatures more easily than ever before.

In a recent development, a brand new, combined biomedical engineering and robotics centre was opened in Australia.  [Read more…] about Biology and robotics enter into an unholy union to bring forth nightmare creatures from the very depths of hell

Autodesk uses Lego method to develop modular assembly system for real factories

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Software maker Autodesk is using machine learning and lessons learned from Lego to develop robotic systems for modular assembly in the real world. 

Lego, as most people will know, is the company which makes small toy bricks and other objects which can be connected to each other in simple ways to create complex structures, such as toy houses, cars and so on.

Most adults will have played with Lego at some point in their lives, and the companies toys are still popular with today’s kids.

The Lego world has always interested other companies, some of which have copied the to create modular systems in many areas, including large-scale real building construction.  [Read more…] about Autodesk uses Lego method to develop modular assembly system for real factories

Robot treasure hunter finds $17 billion worth of booty at the bottom of the ocean

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A Kongsberg-made robot has discovered a 300-year-old Spanish shipwreck in the Caribbean Sea which could be worth $17 billion. 

This made us wonder whether such autonomous underwater vessels could help more light on the ancient world, of more than 3,000 or even 30,000 years ago.

Deep sea divers and archaeologists have found literally hundreds of complex architectural structures in the world’s oceans, hundreds of feet below the surface of the water. [Read more…] about Robot treasure hunter finds $17 billion worth of booty at the bottom of the ocean

Apple releases new ‘fastest, most powerful’ MacBook Pro

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Apple has updated MacBook Pro with faster performance and new pro features, making it the most advanced Mac notebook ever.

Apple is, by some accounts, the world’s largest manufacturing company, certainly by such measures as market capitalization and perhaps revenues.

The company is continually launching new products and updating its existing ones, which often means changing of suppliers.  [Read more…] about Apple releases new ‘fastest, most powerful’ MacBook Pro