Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Archives for April 29, 2019

Festo looks to AI to make automation more profitable

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Festo is looking to implement artificial intelligence systems to make automation even more productive and efficient.

The company says it currently offers intelligent component and process monitoring. But Festo intends to further increase the productivity of its customers by means of self-learning machines.

The company is relying here on AI at three network levels:

  • on edge;
  • on premises; and
  • in the cloud.

In addition to the complex services that can be offered in a cloud, Festo sees great potential in simple real-time data analysis by means of AI – either directly on the field component (AI on edge) or in the control of either the system or a production plant (AI on premises).

[Read more…] about Festo looks to AI to make automation more profitable

Dyndrite in line to raise $10 million for its 3D design software

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A startup company called Dyndrite is set to raise more than $10 million to bring its computer-aided design software to market.

The privately held Dyndrite says Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused investment fund and an early Dyndrite investor, will lead the company’s $10 million+ Series A financing round.

Cota Capital joins existing investors, Amplify Ventures, The House Fund, and private investor and former president and CEO of Autodesk, Carl Bass.

[Read more…] about Dyndrite in line to raise $10 million for its 3D design software

Okuma and Hartwig open tech centre in Houston

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Okuma America Corporation, a world leader in CNC machine tool manufacturing, and Okuma distributor Hartwig, have opened a new Okuma Tech Center at Hartwig Houston in Texas, USA.

The 23,000 sq ft showroom which features more than 20 machine tools – including larger machines specifically built for the oil and gas industry.

Wade Anderson, Okuma Product Specialists Sales Manager and Tech Centers Manager, said: “The new space allows us to show the larger machines that are significant to the oil and gas industry, and our customers can see live-cutting applications demonstrated on these Okuma machine tools.”

WeRide to launch first commercial autonomous taxi service in China

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A startup called WeRide is set to become the first company to launch a commercial autonomous taxi service in China, according to a report on Nikkei.

WeRide is developing Level 4 technology, which is “full autonomy with human”, and is the second-highest level of autonomy, or L5, on engineering association SAE’s list.

WeRide will demonstrate its L4 sensor suite and pre-commercial solutions during the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference, scheduled for late June.

[Read more…] about WeRide to launch first commercial autonomous taxi service in China

Robotic lawn mower market forecast to grow to $1.3 billion

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The robotic lawn mower market is projected to grow from the current $533 million to $1,262 million by 2025 at annual growth rates of around 13 percent, according to a new report by ResearchAndMarkets.com.

Increase in labor cost, safety concerns over traditional lawn mowers, and need for noise-free operation are some of the major factors that will drive the robotic lawn mower market.

Europe is expected to be the largest as well as fastest growing robotic lawn mower market during the forecasted period.

[Read more…] about Robotic lawn mower market forecast to grow to $1.3 billion

ThyssenKrupp completes its ‘biggest ever’ automated mobility contract

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ThyssenKrupp, one of the world’s leading suppliers of elevators and escalators, says it has completed its “biggest ever” contract in Sweden.

The work involved the iconic Urban Escape project in Stockholm.

ThyssenKrupp was asked to supply 53 elevators, 27 escalators and 15 platform lifts for the project.

[Read more…] about ThyssenKrupp completes its ‘biggest ever’ automated mobility contract

Groupe PSA carries out autonomous driving tests in L3Pilot project

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Since the start of April, Group PSA’s vehicles equipped with level 3 autonomous driving functions have been operating on open roads in France as part of the European L3Pilot project.

Six to eight vehicles will undergo intensive driving tests to validate autonomous functions on dual carriageways.

The project is strengthening Groupe PSA’s expertise in the development of autonomous vehicles, thanks to a global ecosystem of partners, including European carmakers, research centres and roads authorities.

[Read more…] about Groupe PSA carries out autonomous driving tests in L3Pilot project

Panasonic says it has sold 100 million household refrigerators

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Panasonic says its production of household refrigerators reached a grand total of 100 million in 2018, 65 years since the company first began to manufacture them in 1953.

Panasonic began working on refrigerators as well as televisions and washing machines in anticipation of the approaching electrical age after the Second World War.

In 1952 an alliance was formed with Nakagawa Kikai Company, a specialist machine tool manufacturer that had made refrigerators. [Read more…] about Panasonic says it has sold 100 million household refrigerators

Samsung launches ‘highest-capacity’ mobile dynamic random access memory

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Samsung Electronics has begun mass producing what it says is “the highest-capacity mobile DRAM” – dynamic random access memory.

The company claims this is the industry’s first 12-gigabyte low-power double data rate 4X (LPDDR4X) package – optimized for tomorrow’s premium smartphones.

Featuring higher capacity than most ultra-thin notebooks, the new mobile DRAM will enable smartphone users to take full advantage of all the features in next-generation smartphones.

[Read more…] about Samsung launches ‘highest-capacity’ mobile dynamic random access memory

Advanced robotics have the power to transform manufacturing and logistics, says BCG

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Manufacturing leaders believe advanced robotics systems will transform industrial operations going forward, according to a new report by the Boston Consulting Group.

BCG found that executives from all industries see a gap between their ambitions for advanced robotics and the current level of implementation.

The research company interviewed more than 1,300 executives from manufacturing and many other industries for its report, The Factory of the Future.

It found that more than 70 percent believe that the new opportunities offered by advanced robotics will be “very relevant to their future production”.

Some 52 percent expect advanced robotics to become one of the most important “drivers of productivity improvement by 2025”.

Gap between demand and implementation

Additionally, the executives say that combining advanced robotics with other technologies, process enhancements, and structural layout changes can yield savings of up to 40 percent.

BCG found that European and Asian companies currently lead in implementing advanced robots, while implementation in North America has proceeded more slowly.

In each of the 12 countries in BCG’s study, most of the companies we surveyed plan to implement advanced robotics within the next three years.

Companies in emerging nations, especially China and India, tend to be “even more enthusiastic” than those in industrialized nations about using advanced robots, even though the savings achieved by replacing manual activities would not be as high.

These companies may be looking to automation as a way to compensate for a shortage of skilled labor and to improve quality, thereby enhancing their ability to compete in international markets, say the authors.

They add that “significant government funding and less concern about job losses help to fuel excitement about technology”.

The size of the company affects robotics adoption. Small businesses are less likely than large businesses to use advanced robotics applications.

Among companies with revenues exceeding $1 billion, 90 percent have already implemented advanced robotics applications, but the share of implementers among companies with revenues of less than $250 million is significantly lower.

Small businesses’ lower level of adoption probably reflects budgetary constraints with respect to testing applications and gaining access to robotics-related expertise.

Implications for robot manufacturers

Advanced robotics systems offer great opportunities for established producers of robots, producers of other advanced auto­mation solutions, and new entrants in the field.

But, according to BCG, robot producers must also deal with significant challenges, including the need for high research and development investments and the need to forecast sales accurately in an increasingly complex environment.

Indeed, some prominent producers of advanced robots have gone out of business as a result of disappointing sales, says BCG.

Because some promised breakthroughs have failed to materialize, many executives of companies that purchase robotics solutions are skeptical when robotics producers or market experts describe significant technological advances.

Survey participants say that they require not only mature and robust technologies, but also lower investment costs.

To meet users’ expectations, robot producers must focus on improving both software and hardware:

Software will be the primary differentiator for advanced robotics systems, says BCG.

Producers can use software as the basis for new business models, including the monetization of pushed upgrades, subscription-­based pricing, and performance-­based contracts.

However, they must ensure that their solutions can be integrated into their customers’ system architecture.

To reduce the need for complicated programming on the shop floor, it is essential to improve user interfaces. Conventional industrial robots’ interfaces fall short of meeting usability requirements.

Advances in augmented reality, natural-language processing, haptic feedback, and computer vision offer intriguing opportunities to improve interfaces.

Producers must further leverage or adapt sensors for industrial applications. Scale effects resulting from higher demand in the automotive and consumer industries will help to reduce costs in this area.

Although mechanical systems of industrial robots are already quite mature, improvements are needed in modularity, flexibility, dexterity, and mobility.

“Robot producers can leverage materials that possess enhanced characteristics to improve the capabilities of robots and broaden the areas of application,” says BCG.