Archives for July 25, 2018

Automakers’ own predictions on when driverless cars will arrive

New study by BDO shows when driverless cars will arrive – but does that matter?

Car companies, ride-hailing services and car industry technology suppliers each have their own prediction for when driverless cars will be ready to take to highways and city streets.

Audit and accounting company BDO carried out an analysis of the predictions and found that driverless cars will arrive: in early 2021.

There are some differences though. Averaging out the predictions, car companies think that driverless technology will be ready around 2 am on June 11th, 2021.

Ride-hailing services and technology suppliers are a bit more optimistic. They predict that driverless car technology will be ready by midnight, March 14th, 2020. [Read more…] about Automakers’ own predictions on when driverless cars will arrive

Flying cars: A ‘near-term’ vision of a world where people get around in electric and autonomous cars and drones

Airbus and the German car manufacturer Audi have teamed up to develop what they describe as “real, near-term urban mobility solutions”, which features electric and autonomous cars and drones – sometimes operating together as flying cars (main picture and video below).

Beginning this summer, Airbus – through its on-demand helicopter platform Voom – will partner with Audi to deliver an end-to-end transportation service, starting in São Paulo and Mexico City.

This partnership will provide premium ground transportation serviced by Audi vehicles and helicopter transport via Airbus’ Voom service, allowing customers to have a seamless and ultra-convenient travel experience. [Read more…] about Flying cars: A ‘near-term’ vision of a world where people get around in electric and autonomous cars and drones

Cars of the future will be ‘self-driving and electric’

NetworkNewsWire commentary

Self-driving and electric cars are poised to combine production efforts as both technologies mature.

Investment in self-driving vehicles is growing, leading to the emergence of specialist companies.

Electric cars are also on the rise, supported by the infrastructure of apps and charging points. [Read more…] about Cars of the future will be ‘self-driving and electric’

Boston Dynamics prepares to unleash at least 1,000 of its robot dogs every year until the end of the world

Boston Dynamics says it is preparing to unleash as many as 1,000 of its robot dogs into the world every year, according to a report on Inverse.com.

We’ve called them robot dogs, but we actually don’t really know what these infernal machines are meant to resemble – dinosaurs from hell might be more accurate.

Boston Dynamics is the company which has been developing a wide range of canines and humanoids which are widely regarded as the scariest robots ever made outside of science fiction. [Read more…] about Boston Dynamics prepares to unleash at least 1,000 of its robot dogs every year until the end of the world

Agility Robotics raises $8 million to develop its two-legged robot

Agility Robotics has raised $8 million to develop its two-legged walking robot, called “Cassie”.

The legs of the robot look like they’re modeled on the way a bird’s legs move, or the hind legs of a horse.

Agility designs and builds walking and running robots for advanced mobility in human environments. [Read more…] about Agility Robotics raises $8 million to develop its two-legged robot

Sony starts taking orders for its new AI-powered Aibo robot dog

Sony has started taking orders for the new version of its artificial intelligence-equipped Aibo robot dog, according to The Japan Times.

A limited number have gone on sale and some customers can now pre-order on Sony’s website, although only in Japan at the moment.

Japan Times says decisions as to which customers get to buy the robot dog may be made on a first-come-first-served basis or by lottery. [Read more…] about Sony starts taking orders for its new AI-powered Aibo robot dog

Okuma launches new CNC machine with additive manufacturing functions

Okuma America Corporation is introducing the new MU-8000V Laser EX multitasking CNC machine, combining the latest laser additive technology with subtractive manufacturing capabilities. The machine is said to enable complete part production on one machine.

The MU-8000V Laser EX revolutionizes production by using laser metal deposition (LMD) technology with the ability to cut unique parts of many different sizes and shapes. LMD supplies powder from nozzles and performs laser melting and bonding to parent material.

This allows for various types of materials to be combined and layered in addition to the possibility of three-dimensional fabrication and cladding.

True innovation: Three big ways drones are changing the way we live

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Life changes rapidly these days. The world is full of creation and innovation, all of it happening at a speed so breakneck it can be hard to tell which developments are set to change the world and which ones are essentially the Segway of 2018.

Modern unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as UAVs or drones, have been on the military scene since 2001 and started to go mainstream in the industrial and commercial markets in 2011, with fervor for these flyers steadily increasing to the point that drones are expected to have an economic impact of $82 billion dollars by 2025 in the United States alone.

In short, drones are here to stay. They’re also here to change the way we live and work, for the better.

Here are three big ways drones are in the process of reshaping the world we know. [Read more…] about True innovation: Three big ways drones are changing the way we live

Spirit AeroSystems uses robots for quality inspection of large aerospace parts

Spirit AeroSystems is using robotics hardware and software technologies to inspect its composite aerospace components such as fuselages, wings and substructures.

The company is using the new robotic non destructive inspection (NDI) technology at its headquarters location in Wichita, Kansas, US, and plans to use similar technology at its Prestwick, Scotland, facility.

“Typically, inspections for meeting customer requirements have been done by large, fixed systems that are difficult to adapt to new applications,” said Dan Caughran, Spirit vice president, Global Quality.