Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Archives for July 12, 2018

America’s Summit named world’s fastest supercomputer

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The US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is once again officially home to the fastest supercomputer in the world, according to the Top500 List, a semiannual ranking of the world’s fastest computing systems.

The recently launched Summit supercomputer was announced as number one at the ISC High Performance conference in Frankfurt, Germany. The designation recognizes the IBM-built system as the science community’s most powerful computational tool for solving problems in energy, advanced materials, artificial intelligence, and other domains.

Summit is the third ORNL system to be ranked number one by Top500, following in the footsteps of the Jaguar and Titan supercomputers. Jaguar ranked as the world’s fastest system in November 2009 and June 2010, while Titan held the title in November 2012.  [Read more…] about America’s Summit named world’s fastest supercomputer

Daimler obtains road test licence for highly automated driving in Beijing

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Daimler has become the first international automaker to receive a road test licence for highly automated driving research vehicles (level 4) in Beijing, marking a major new milestone in the company’s research and development efforts in China.

Urban traffic is one of the biggest challenges to autonomous driving. With this approval, Mercedes-Benz test vehicles will now begin real road tests to further perfect the technology in the Chinese capital of Beijing, a metropolis with unique and complex urban traffic situations.

Daimler has already obtained automated driving test licences in Germany and the U.S., and has continuously pushed forward automated driving development in China, working together with its local partners to adapt its technologies to China’s traffic environment.

[Read more…] about Daimler obtains road test licence for highly automated driving in Beijing

Groupe PSA increases SUV production capacity in Europe

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The recent introduction of 11 SUV models by the PSA Group’s five brands – Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles, Opel and Vauxhall – has led to an increased share of the European SUV market, rising to 16.9% at the beginning of 2018 with 250,000 registrations in Europe in the first quarter of 2018.

As of end-March, the Group was among segment leaders and the offensive was being pursued, with the upcoming roll-out of the Citroën C5 Aircross in September in Europe.

The Group has decided to increase its production capacity in Europe, with the Citroën C5 Aircross starting production in Rennes (France), along with the Peugeot 5008.

[Read more…] about Groupe PSA increases SUV production capacity in Europe

New BMW 8 Series Coupé in production at Dingolfing plant in Germany

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The BMW Group‘s Dingolfing plant began series production of the new BMW 8 Series Coupé, the sportscar that will launch the BMW model offensive in the luxury segment.

A large number of digital innovations have also been integrated into the production process, including self-driving transport systems and smart devices.

Intelligent lightweight construction, with a clever mix of materials, including steel, plastic, aluminium and carbon fibre, is used in the body of the new sportscar.

[Read more…] about New BMW 8 Series Coupé in production at Dingolfing plant in Germany

Record sales of industrial robots in China reported

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Chinese companies bought a record number of robots in 2017, according to the country’s main robotics association, as reported on the Sputnik website. 

Sputnik, which is a media outlet of the formerly communist country of Russia, says China purchased 141,000 industrial robots in 2017, which is an increase of 58 per cent compared with 2016.

Foreign industrial robot makers accounted for nearly three-quarters of the sales figure, but an increasing number of Chinese robot makers are emerging.  [Read more…] about Record sales of industrial robots in China reported

Hasbro developing robot cats and dogs to keep people company

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Hasbro, one of the world’s largest toy manufacturers, is developing robotic cats and dogs that it says will be better able to keep people company. 

The company is working with Brown University on the project to add more artificial intelligence to Hasbro’s Joy for All range of companion pets, whose slogan is “No vet bills, just love”.

The robot pets appear to be aimed mainly at the elderly, although there doesn’t seem to be any reason that they could not appeal to younger people.

The National Science Foundation of the US has awarded a grant of $1 million to develop the toy companions, especially the cats, to be more responsive and lifelike, according to a report on The Independent website.

MIT demonstrates four-legged robot that can jump like a cheetah

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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has demonstrated a four-legged robot that can jump around like a cheetah. Indeed the robot itself is called Cheetah and is being developed as a first responder to help in emergencies.

This is the third version of the Cheetah robot and it looks like other four-legged robots being developed by companies such as AnyBotics and Boston Dynamics.

They look like hugely complex machines and the manoeuvres that they can perform – from simple walking to jumping around – are highly sophisticated and represent great technical achievement.  [Read more…] about MIT demonstrates four-legged robot that can jump like a cheetah