Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Archives for January 24, 2019

Australians developing robotic sheep-shearing system

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Australia is facing a human labor shortage in the area of sheep-shearing, just at a time when demand for wool has been increasing. The country has around 73 million sheep and approximately 2,800 shearers.

To try and tackle this problem, the industry association Australian Wool Innovation has been researching and developing robotic sheep-shearing systems. (See video below.)

The organization has been testing delta robots as well as robotic arms. The ones shown in the main picture above were made by Rethink Robotics, which was recently effectively taken over by Hahn Group.  [Read more…] about Australians developing robotic sheep-shearing system

Crouzet extends its range of intelligent electric motors

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Industrial automation company Crouzet has extended its range of intelligent electric motors.

The company says its SQ75 DCmind Brushless 600W motor has integrated electronics and “knows no limit”.

The new motor’s onboard intelligence, its safety functionalities and its communication capabilities, SQ75 offers new applications to Crouzet. This new addition of the DCmind Brushless range is manufactured in France and is available in three versions from 310 W to 600 W.  [Read more…] about Crouzet extends its range of intelligent electric motors

Startup company says its AI system enables robots to follow instruction manuals

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A startup company called Vicarious says the artificial intelligence system it has developed enables robots to follow instruction manuals. 

This means that, for the first time ever, all the efforts of the writers of instruction manuals will not be totally wasted.

However, actually reading the words is still a way off. Vicarious’ AI enables robots to simply look at diagrams and follow those.  [Read more…] about Startup company says its AI system enables robots to follow instruction manuals

Samsung presents range of robotic solutions

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Smartphone giant Samsung presented a range of robotic solutions at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.

Mostly they were robots designed to be helpful around the home, and the company billed them as “your companions of the future”.

All of the robots used Samsung’s Bixby artificial intelligence platform as their operating system.  [Read more…] about Samsung presents range of robotic solutions

Toilet-cleaning robot goes on sale at Amazon for $500

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Amazon is selling a portable toilet-cleaning robot for $500.

The robot, called “Giddel”, was developed by service robotics company Altan Robotech.

Altan says Giddel scrubs hard to reach places, and that its efficacy has been tested by SGS, an industrial product testing organization.  [Read more…] about Toilet-cleaning robot goes on sale at Amazon for $500

Boeing autonomous passenger air vehicle completes first flight

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Boeing says it has successfully completed the first test flight of its autonomous passenger air vehicle prototype in Manassas, Virginia.

Boeing NeXt, which leads the company’s urban air mobility efforts, utilized Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences to design and develop the electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and will continue testing to advance the safety and reliability of on-demand autonomous air transportation.

The passenger air vehicle prototype completed a controlled takeoff, hover and landing during the flight, which tested the vehicle’s autonomous functions and ground control systems.  [Read more…] about Boeing autonomous passenger air vehicle completes first flight

Schenker to build automated warehouse for Apohem

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Apohem, an online pharmacy launched by Axfood, Novax and the e-commerce entrepreneurs behind LensOn, has selected DB Schenker’s automated warehouse solution.

Apohem chose the solution because it offers a more effective picking and packing process than in a standard shelf warehouse, says DB Schenker. It will also allow Apohem to scale up volumes based on the company’s expected growth.

DB Schenker’s automated warehouse management solution is ideally suited to Apohem, which has a wide range of products and the goal of delivering orders to customers in less than the time it would take them to get to a physical chemist.

[Read more…] about Schenker to build automated warehouse for Apohem

Velodyne Lidar sensors enable Postmates autonomous delivery rover

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Postmates has included Velodyne Lidar’s intelligent, versatile lidar technology in its innovative self-driving rovers for short-distance deliveries, Postmates Serve.

Equipped with Velodyne’s compact, powerful lidar sensor, Serve combines autonomy and emission-free robotics for movement of goods in cities.

Serve’s architecture includes Velodyne’s VLP-16 Puck sensor, which has been designed into the rover. The VLP-16 Puck is built into the top of the rover for a high-performance surround view, enabling Serve to detect people and objects as it completes local deliveries.

[Read more…] about Velodyne Lidar sensors enable Postmates autonomous delivery rover

Omron releases new collaborative robot in partnership with TechMan

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Industrial automation giant Omron has released a new collaborative robot in partnership with TechMan. (See video below.)

The companies say the Omron-TM collaborative robot automates repetitive tasks and enhances human-machine collaboration, and is now available worldwide.

Omron Automation Americas says the release of its new TM Series collaborative robot will facilitate collaboration between humans and machines.  [Read more…] about Omron releases new collaborative robot in partnership with TechMan

Essentium closes $22.2 million in Series A funding

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Essentium, a provider of 3D printing solutions for industrial additive manufacturing, has closed $22.2 million in Series A funding.

The round was led by BASF Venture Capital with participation from Materialise, Genesis Park, and previous seed round investors.

BASF Venture Capital Investment Manager, Sven Thate, will join the Essentium board.  [Read more…] about Essentium closes $22.2 million in Series A funding