Archives for March 21, 2019

Collaborative robot maker Kassow Robots to make its Hannover Messe premiere

March 21, 2019 by David Edwards

Collaborative robot manufacturer Kassow Robots will make its first appearance at the Hannover Messe event this year.

The technology trade fair takes place from 1 to 5 April 2019. It will be the first chance to visit the company’s own booth since Kassow’s market launch at Automatica in Munich last summer.

The Danish start-up will be attending Hannover Fair together with Project Automation & Engineering. The partner from Kranenburg, Germany, will showcase an automated banding application. [Read more…] about Collaborative robot maker Kassow Robots to make its Hannover Messe premiere

Airbus’ Skyways drone trials world’s first shore-to-ship deliveries

March 21, 2019 by Anna

Airbus has begun shore-to-ship trials in Singapore with its Skyways parcel delivery drone.

This marks the first time drone technology has been deployed in real port conditions to deliver a variety of small, time-critical maritime essentials to working vessels at anchorage.

The maiden shore-to-ship delivery flight was made to the Swire Pacific Offshore’s Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessel M/V Pacific Centurion, 1.5 km from the shoreline of Singapore’s Marina South Pier, carrying 1.5 kg of 3D printed consumables.

Omron to demonstrate flexible manufacturing solutions at Automate Show

March 21, 2019 by Mai Tao

Automation solutions provider Omron Automation Americas will demonstrate a diverse solution portfolio encompassing traceability, flexible manufacturing, human-machine collaboration and more at the upcoming Automate Show in Chicago this April.

The company says it will showcase “applications for the factory of today and that of the future”.

The biennial Automate Show gives attendees the opportunity to see many of the world’s cutting-edge manufacturing technologies in action. [Read more…] about Omron to demonstrate flexible manufacturing solutions at Automate Show

EnerSys to launch next-generation power solutions at ProMat

March 21, 2019 by David Edwards

EnerSys, a provider of stored energy solutions for industrial applications, is planning to launch its next-generation power solutions at this year’s ProMat Show.

EnerSys is inviting attendees of ProMat to experience “What’s Happening NexSys” in the company’s line of intelligent and flexible power solutions.

To kick off this year’s show, EnerSys will formally launch its NexSys battery solutions on April 8, 2019 at 11 am CDT in booth S612. [Read more…] about EnerSys to launch next-generation power solutions at ProMat

Teradyne and Silan collaborate on testing automotive and high power electronics

March 21, 2019 by Anna

Teradyne, Inc., a leading supplier of automated test solutions, has announced, with Silan Microelectronics, the release of the new Silan Intelligent Power Module (IPM) test cell for automotive and high power devices. The IPM test cell is supported by Teradyne’s ETS-88TH Power Discrete tester.

The synergy will allow customers to grow on one test platform as product requirements change, while supporting both industry leading quality of test and throughput.

Xinwei NI, assistant production director and chip testing department manager at Silan said: “With the modularity of the ETS-88TH, our customers will have access to standard or custom solutions for their automotive and high power devices.”

E-commerce to accelerate application of droids and drones, says Zebra study

March 21, 2019 by David Edwards

The e-commerce sector is accelerating the need for droids and drones, according to a new report, which adds that seven in 10 enterprises say e-commerce is also “driving the need for faster field operations”.

Zebra Technologies, a business technology provider, has published the results of its latest vision study on the Future of Field Operations.

The study reveals mobile technology investment is a top priority for 36 percent of organizations and a growing priority for an additional 58 percent to keep up with rapidly evolving and increasing customer demand. [Read more…] about E-commerce to accelerate application of droids and drones, says Zebra study

Scientists take first step towards creating terrifying liquid metal robot last seen in Terminator 2

March 21, 2019 by Sam Francis

Researchers create new kind of robot composed of many simple particles with no centralized control or single point of failure

The concept of “gray goo”, a robot comprised of billions of nanoparticles, has fascinated science fiction fans for decades. But most researchers have dismissed it as just a wild theory.

Current robots are usually self-contained entities made of interdependent subcomponents, each with a specific function. If one part fails, the robot stops working. In robotic swarms, each robot is an independently functioning machine.

In a new study published today in Nature, researchers at Columbia Engineering and MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab demonstrate for the first time a way to make a robot composed of many loosely coupled components, or “particles”. (See video below.) [Read more…] about Scientists take first step towards creating terrifying liquid metal robot last seen in Terminator 2

Autonomous space robots to debut at Hannover Messe 2019

March 21, 2019 by Anna

Today, robots in space are mostly either passive observers or controlled by humans from Earth. Soon they will have to operate independently and over long periods of time under extreme conditions.

In order to meet the high demands on the systems, the Robotics Innovation Centre of the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) is developing innovative hardware and software concepts that it is testing on Earth as part of so-called analogue missions.

The scientists will be presenting their research as well as robotic space systems at the DFKI booth at the Hannover Messe from 01 to 05 April 2019.

IMI Precision Engineering to launch electric actuator solution at Hannover Messe

March 21, 2019 by Sam Francis

IMI Precision Engineering is preparing to launch its new electric actuator solution at the Hannover Messe industrial technology show.

The company says its new actuator, called the IMI Norgren Elion, is designed to reduce energy consumption and total cost of ownership.

It adds that it is “ideally suited” for applications within the automotive, packaging and labelling, materials handling, machine tools and food and beverage sectors. [Read more…] about IMI Precision Engineering to launch electric actuator solution at Hannover Messe

Lumotive launches new LiDAR to enable autonomous vehicles

March 21, 2019 by Sam Francis

Lumotive, the Bill Gates-funded startup developing LiDAR systems for autonomous vehicles, has launched a beam-steering technology which it claims will “significantly improve” the performance, reliability and cost of LiDAR systems for the emerging self-driving car industry.

Initially targeting the robo-taxi market, Lumotive’s patented system uses liquid crystal metasurfaces (LCM) and silicon fabrication to achieve “unmatched levels” of manufacturing efficiency while simultaneously delivering unprecedented range, resolution and frame rate.

Dr William Colleran, Lumotive co-founder and CEO, says: “Lumotive’s solution is ideal for automakers and Tier-1s seeking safer yet more cost-effective perception solutions for their vehicles. [Read more…] about Lumotive launches new LiDAR to enable autonomous vehicles