Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Archives for September 2020

Webinar: New Safety Standards Addressing Industrial Mobile Robots

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Webinar title: New Safety Standards Addressing Industrial Mobile Robots
Early registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SxYYj48rSsOagO_swdngiA

SICK Sensor Intelligence is partnering with Robotics and Automation News to bring you a new and timely webinar about a subject that many people may not realise has been somewhat neglected.

Readers of this website will know that a very large number of mobile robots – mostly for operation in warehouses – are currently being sold in the market.

Along with the e-commerce boom, the autonomous mobile robots segment has experienced spectacular growth. [Read more…] about Webinar: New Safety Standards Addressing Industrial Mobile Robots

Service robotics market grows by 33 percent in China

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China’s robotics industry outlook remains positive post-Covid-19 outbreak, especially across manufacturing, hospitality, and healthcare sectors.

This is according to a new report, How is Covid-19 Shaping China’s Robotics Industry?, by YCP Solidiance, which highlights that the $8 billion robotics industry projects a positive long-term growth forecast highlighting robotic automation and its useful applications across different industries.

Investment Contraction in China Following Covid-19: The Covid-19 outbreak has caused investment contraction in Q1 2020 – between 50 percent to 57 percent year-on-year, setting off a difficult funding situation across China and globally. [Read more…] about Service robotics market grows by 33 percent in China

Lio – the robot who is ready to help

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Everyday, the world is facing multiple challenges, especially during COVID-19 pandemic time. The healthcare industry is struggling the most – lack of human power and support is making the nursing profession even more difficult.

But there is a solution for it. The professional personal assistant robot Lio by F&P Robotics is specifically designed to assist healthcare staff with their everyday tasks.

Who is Lio?
Lio is a friendly mobile personal robot with a multifunctional arm. He is able to support
healthcare professionals in their daily tasks as well as communicate with people and entertain them. [Read more…] about Lio – the robot who is ready to help

Updates to Gantry Tool Storage improve overall user experience

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Updates to Gantry Tool Storage and Manufacturing Management Software from Fastems Improve Cutting Tool Sharing, Efficiency, Ergonomics, and User Experience
New releases of the Gantry Tool Storage (GTS) system and Manufacturing Management Software (MMS) from Fastems are designed to significantly increase manufacturing efficiency, enhance ergonomics and improve overall user experience.

When applied within a Fastems Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS), the GTS system and MMS can achieve machine utilization levels above 95 percent.

In the GTS system, pick-and-place and traveling gantry robots provide access to centralized storage of up to 4,000 cutting tools and perform just-in-time tool delivery to individual machines.

MMS software commands automatic cutting tool changes based on specific NC program scheduling requirements and real-time cutting tool life status.

The GTS system enables cutting tools to be shared among multiple machines, minimizing redundancy and eliminating the need to reserve a cutting tool for a single machine.

This generates cutting tool cost savings and minimizes operator interaction with cutting tool changes, reducing labor expense and eliminating tooling loading errors.

Cutting tool sharing also permits reduction in the size of machine tool magazines. When implementing the GTS system, its new modular design results in shorter delivery, installation, and commissioning times, as well as hardware cost advantages.

Improvements to MMS software include a more ergonomic interface and improved user experience, faster cutting tool information search functions, improved view of NC programs, and upgraded response in the case of unexpected machine stoppages.

Overall, Fastems’ cutting tool management products facilitate cutting tool setups in advance, eliminate scrap and machine crashes due to cutting tool loading errors, enable cutting tool sharing and lights-out machining, and consolidate cutting tool setup activities.

Advantages are realized in both initial investment and in ongoing return on investment. Fastems cutting tool automation equipment and software can be installed in phases, with each stage growing in capability and functionality.

To fully introduce GTS and MMS improvements, Fastems will present a virtual seminar “Productivity Beyond Machine Tending” on November 4, 2020, providing comprehensive details of the systems’ features and capabilities, while giving useful insight on cutting tool management in general.

Revealing ways to reduce waiting time, eliminate loading errors, maximize cutting tool safety and manage ergonomic considerations. The seminar program also includes useful presentations and Q&A sessions on how flexible automation and intelligent production planning software can increase efficiency and quality on a shop floor of any size.

Nilfisk launches new BrainOS-powered scrubber to meet autonomous demand

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Nilfisk, a leading global provider of professional cleaning products and services, today announced the launch of a new high-performance robotic scrubber, the Liberty SC60, to meet the growing market demand for autonomous cleaning solutions.

The company made the announcement as part of a live, virtual event broadcast to a global audience.

The SC60 is the first Nilfisk machine to be powered by BrainOS, an AI software platform for building and managing commercial autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) at scale. [Read more…] about Nilfisk launches new BrainOS-powered scrubber to meet autonomous demand

Innovative Ways for Robotics Companies to Step up Their Performance

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When we think about robotics, many of us automatically have the image of the robots from our favorite science-fiction movie or animation.

Robots in movies have incredible artificial intelligence and functions that often sees them at odds with the human characters.

In actual fact, robots are incredibly useful for our lives and robotic scientists are constantly coming up with new innovations which are advancing the development of new robotic technology at an incredible speed. [Read more…] about Innovative Ways for Robotics Companies to Step up Their Performance

RE2 Robotics expands campus with acquisition of new building

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RE2 Robotics, a developer of mobile robots, has expanded its Lawrenceville campus with the acquisition of a new facility. The new space will help the company to meet the growing demand for its robotic systems in both the defense and commercial markets.

Located at 4920 Harrison Ave, and directly across the street from its current office, the new facility will allow RE2 to increase its in-house manufacturing capabilities. The space, which measures approximately 10,000 square feet, features a large tank for testing RE2’s underwater manipulation systems, as well as both indoor and outdoor testing areas that will allow engineers to conduct on-site testing of the company’s robotic systems.

Once renovations are complete, the company’s machine shop, electrical, and assembly labs, as well as the entire production team, will relocate to the new building. [Read more…] about RE2 Robotics expands campus with acquisition of new building

Freight Hauling Technologies Used Today

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Today, several freight hauling technologies have revolutionized the way freight is transported. Freight services have become fast and convenient with the use of these new technologies.

These types of services include trucking and shipping, and air freight and cargo transportation. So, what are the freight hauling technologies being used today? [Read more…] about Freight Hauling Technologies Used Today

ABB expands small robot range with IRB 1300 for confined spaces

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ABB claims that the IRB 1300 dramatically improves cycle times with class-leading lifting ability, reach and path accuracy, in a smaller footprint to enhance productivity and production-line flexibility.

ABB is extending its family of small six-axis industrial robots with the launch of the IRB 1300, to meet demand for a faster and more compact robot able to rapidly lift heavy objects or loads with complex and irregular shapes.

Building on the success of ABB’s IRB 1600 robot for payloads up to 10kg, the IRB 1300 offers a 27 percent improvement in cycle times and is nearly 60 percent lighter and 83 percent smaller than the IRB 1600. [Read more…] about ABB expands small robot range with IRB 1300 for confined spaces

FLIR and VSI use sensors and AI to improve pedestrian safety systems

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FLIR Systems recently announced results from recent automatic emergency braking (AEB) tests that examined how adding a thermal sensor and fusing the data with a radar, a visible sensor, and a trained neural network can improve pedestrian detection from current AEB systems.

Following positive proof-of-concept test results announced earlier this year, FLIR and VSI Labs returned to the American Center for Mobility and conducted positive detection AEB tests of VSI Labs’ Ford Fusion test vehicle and current AEB systems on the Tesla Model 3, Toyota Corolla, Subaru Forester, and BMW X7.

The tests were designed by VSI and aimed at testing AEB system performance in common real-world driving conditions not currently included in recognized testing protocols. [Read more…] about FLIR and VSI use sensors and AI to improve pedestrian safety systems