Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Archives for December 2018

Nvidia system picked by Chinese e-commerce firms for robot delivery

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Leading China e-commerce companies JD.com and Meituan have selected the Nvidia Jetson AGX Xavier platform to power their next-generation autonomous delivery robots.

Over the past decade, China’s e-commerce has grown to more than 40 percent of the world’s online transactions, accounting for hundreds of billions of dollars in trade annually.

To support this tremendous growth, China’s leading e-commerce companies are developing AI delivery robots to move goods to and from warehouses, speed up last-mile deliveries and deliver products to consumers and businesses.

[Read more…] about Nvidia system picked by Chinese e-commerce firms for robot delivery

First cellular vehicle-to-infrastructure trial in Japan

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Continental has announced the completion of a joint Cellular vehicle-to-infrastructure trial in Japan, together with Ericsson, Nissan, NTT DOCOMO, OKI and Qualcomm Technologies.

The companies have successfully conducted Japan’s first C-V2X testing in the country using 5.8 GHz as the experimental radio frequency for direct communication.

The use cases were designed to address various aspects of V2X communication, such as Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Vehicle-to-Pedestrians (V2P) direct communications, as well as Vehicle-to-Network (V2N) operations.

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Magna opens new mechatronics engineering centre in China

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Magna was joined by customers and local government officials at a ceremony to announce the opening of a new mechatronics engineering centre in Suzhou in the Jiangsu Province, China.

Automakers around the world are looking to mechatronics as an opportunity to improve getting in and out of vehicles both today and in the future.

Mechatronics products, such as power doors and liftgates, work through a combination of mechanical systems, electronic control units and embedded software to offer consumers unique vehicle access experiences.

[Read more…] about Magna opens new mechatronics engineering centre in China

Webcast: An introduction to AR, VR and MR for industry

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In this presentation and interview, James Kerr, senior product marketing manager at Tech Soft 3D, provides a thorough overview of augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality technologies, as well as an insight into the company. (See video below.)

Tech Soft 3D is a provider of software development tools and 3D PDF solutions to the engineering software industry. Recently, it introduced augmented and virtual reality support for Hoops Visualize, its graphics engine for developing high-performance applications.

Tech Soft says Hoops Visualize now enables rapid development and deployment of 3D engineering applications on the HTC Vive, Microsoft HoloLens, Oculus Rift and Meta 2.  [Read more…] about Webcast: An introduction to AR, VR and MR for industry

Remote-controlled boat to remove oil spills

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The world’s first unmanned oil spill boat has been shown to the environmental authorities and future customers in California.

The technology was developed at Norwegian research institute SINTEF and commercialised through the spinoff company Blue Impact AS.

The six-meter boat looks like a racer boat, but is something completely different: It’s the world’s first unmanned oilseed ship.

[Read more…] about Remote-controlled boat to remove oil spills

ZF invests €800 million in Saarbrücken plant in Germany

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Over the next four years, ZF will invest €800 million in its Saarbrücken site in Germany, the lead location of ZF’s transmission technology, in production plants and systems, infrastructure, and its supplier network for the transition from conventional to electric car drives.

“The share of hybrid drives in production will increase tenfold over the next few years – from five to 50 percent,” said Wolf-Henning Scheider, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen AG.

ZF is investing more than €3 billion worldwide in new products and its production network for transmission technology.
[Read more…] about ZF invests €800 million in Saarbrücken plant in Germany

Daimler spends €20 billion on battery cells

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Daimler is taking the next step towards securing its CASE- connectivity, autonomous, shared & services and electric – corporate strategy.

The company is investing ten billion euros in the expansion of the Mercedes-Benz Cars electric fleet and another billion euros in the global battery production network within the worldwide production network.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: “Our electric offensive continues to gain momentum. After investing billions of euros in the development of the electric fleet and the expansion of our global battery network, we are now taking the next step.

[Read more…] about Daimler spends €20 billion on battery cells

Autonomous vehicles: A future without humans

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Automotive companies are showcasing driverless vehicles in a wide range of environments all around the world.

From busy, urban roads in overpopulated cities to remote, desolate landscapes where no human has ever set foot, autonomous vehicles are almost everywhere now.

Almost 400 companies are working towards making autonomous vehicles part of modern society, but the vast majority of their innovations are still in the testing phase, awaiting technical and regulatory approval.  [Read more…] about Autonomous vehicles: A future without humans

Magna seeks design inspiration for tomorrow’s vehicles from today’s students 

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To showcase tomorrow’s vehicle designers’ vision of the future, Magna is launching a new global automotive design competition.

Larry Erickson, global director of the Magna Exteriors Design Group, introduced the inaugural Global Bold Perspective Award during his closing keynote address at the Car Design News LA Forum during the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show.

“We are always looking ahead to understand how innovations in materials, surfaces and technology can influence future automotive design and help automakers achieve their design goals,” said Erickson.

[Read more…] about Magna seeks design inspiration for tomorrow’s vehicles from today’s students 

Scania and Rio Tinto trialling autonomous truck in Western Australian mine

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Truckmaker Scania and mining giant Rio Tinto are trialling an autonomous truck in a Western Australian mine. (See video below.)

The first phase of the trial started in August 2018 and involves a Scania XT 8×4 autonomous tipper truck working separately from Dampier’s active operations.

During this initial stage, a safety driver rides in the vehicle to observe the truck’s performance and, if necessary, intervenes. In subsequent phases, additional autonomous Scania trucks will be added to develop vehicle-to-vehicle awareness and intelligent fleet supervisory controls. [Read more…] about Scania and Rio Tinto trialling autonomous truck in Western Australian mine