Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Archives for March 2021

Cargo Cove selects inVia Logic warehouse execution system software to optimize its facility

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Cargo Cove has chosen inVia Robotics’ warehouse execution system to accelerate digital transformation in its Jacksonville, Florida facility.

inVia Robotics is a provider of autonomous mobile robots and a AI-driven optimization software, specializing in e-commerce.

Cargo Cove will take advantage of inVia’s phased approach to automation and first deploy the inVia PickMate application to direct workers along the most efficient route through the warehouse to take products from inventory to pack out. Later this year, they will add inVia Picker autonomous mobile robots, which will augment existing labor and further increase productivity and accuracy rates.  [Read more…] about Cargo Cove selects inVia Logic warehouse execution system software to optimize its facility

European project Robotics4EU releases surveys aimed at robotics community

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Robotics4EU, a three-year project funded under the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, is releasing two surveys to support the project implementation and its goal: to boost a wider adoption of robotics in Europe. 

Developed as a basis for foundational work and to support the Robotics4EU project implementation, which started in January, these two surveys are aimed at the robotics community and policy makers in the area of robotics.

The data gathered from these surveys will also help identify the greatest challenges, bottlenecks and needs in enabling wider adoption of robotics in the project’s areas – healthcare, inspection and maintenance of infrastructure, agri-food, and agile production – and help the uptake of principles of responsible robotics. [Read more…] about European project Robotics4EU releases surveys aimed at robotics community

Teradyne, Fetch, and BlueBotics named as ‘market leaders’ in ABI Research’s autonomous material handling competitive ranking

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The market for autonomous mobile robots performing material handling tasks has expanded greatly in the last few years, with global revenues of $223 million in 2016 expanding to $800 million in 2020, according to a new report by ABI Research.

To help commentators and end users understand the strongest horses in this race, global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research has completed a detailed profile on ten of the most promising autonomous handling robotics vendors: Teradyne, Fetch, Bluebotics, Seegrid, Gideon Brothers, Agilox, Baylo, IAM Robotics, Vecna Robotics, and Forward X. [Read more…] about Teradyne, Fetch, and BlueBotics named as ‘market leaders’ in ABI Research’s autonomous material handling competitive ranking

Key industry organisations partner to develop global standards for autonomous vehicles

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The Autonomous Vehicle Computing Consortium, a global group of automotive and technology industry organisations, has agreed what is described as a “key liaison” with SAE International, the association of more than 200,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries.

The two organisations’ shared goal is to help expedite the development of autonomous and assisted driving solutions through shared technical references, recommendations, design benchmarks and marketing initiatives.

Jack Pokrzywa, ground vehicle standards director, SAE International, says: “For more than a century, SAE Standards have created the safe, reliable and consistent use and adoption of technologies to advance the mobility industry for the benefit of humanity. [Read more…] about Key industry organisations partner to develop global standards for autonomous vehicles

XPO Logistics pilots autonomous forklift truck technology in partnership with Balyo and Linde

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XPO Logistics, a global provider of transport and logistics solutions, has embarked on a new autonomous forklift truck technology pilot program in collaboration with Balyo, a specialist developer of robotics for goods handling equipment.

XPO is the first logistics company in Europe to test Balyo’s latest robotic “reach truck” – referring to its higher reach – under real-life conditions. The pilot is underway at an XPO distribution center near Blois, France.

Malcolm Wilson, XPO’s chief executive officer – Europe, says: “We’re pleased that our on-site tests will help optimize intelligent reach trucks for the logistics environment. As we pilot the robotics in our operations, we’re also exploring these applications to increase efficiency for customers and to support our employees.” [Read more…] about XPO Logistics pilots autonomous forklift truck technology in partnership with Balyo and Linde

ForwardX Robotics raises $38 million in new funding, bringing total to $74 million

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ForwardX Robotics, a developer of autonomous mobile robots for warehousing and manufacturing environments, has closed its Series B funding by raising another round of more than $38 million led by CDH Investments’s VGC, Eastern Bell Capital, and Dohold Capital. Other investors include Angel Around and ZGC Group.

This funding brings ForwardX’s total Series B funding to over $63 million after an initial round of $10 million in March 2019 and an extension of $15 million in April 2020. Since its founding in 2016, ForwardX has now raised close to $74 million in venture capital.

Nicolas Chee, founder and CEO of ForwardX Robotics, says: “Our customers in the warehousing and manufacturing industries come to us to transform their operations and help them unlock new levels of efficiency that were previously unattainable. [Read more…] about ForwardX Robotics raises $38 million in new funding, bringing total to $74 million

The Best Enterprise-Level Backup Solutions

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The mantra of backup, backup, and backup has been shouted from the highest tech-orientated mountains for years.

For good reason, being able to backup and protect data from any eventuality is key to any comprehensive data protection policy.

In many industries standards and laws dictate how data needs to be stored and protected in the case of a disaster making choosing the right enterprise-level backup solution even more vital.

What follows is a list of the best enterprise-level backup solutions on the market currently. [Read more…] about The Best Enterprise-Level Backup Solutions

Fuzzy Logic Robotics launches platform that enables users to go from CAD to control with one software

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Startup company Fuzzy Logic Robotics has launched a new, “easy-to-use and universal” software platform which it says “reduces robotics programming costs by 10”.

The first release of Fuzzy Studio, during Hannover Messe Industry 2021, is described as a “game changer” for unlocking flexible robotic production.

Fuzzy Logic Robotics highlights some of the features available in Fuzzy Studio as follows:

  • Drag and drop CAD parts into the 3D digital twin, automatically generate complex trajectories and deploy to the production robot in one click – all with one universal software platform.
  • From offline simulation to real-time control, Fuzzy Studio removes the gap between simulation and reality to reduce downtime and streamline the robotics workflow.
  • Designed from the ground up to drastically reduce the need of robotics expertise thanks to no-code real-time digital twin technology.
  • With two clicks, swap between any make and model of robot to find the right one for the application – no need to switch softwares and redo time-intensive design work.
  • Handles even the most complex robotic applications and accessible to any size of company.

[Read more…] about Fuzzy Logic Robotics launches platform that enables users to go from CAD to control with one software

XPeng undertakes the ‘longest autonomous driving expedition in China’

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XPeng, an electric vehicle company in China, has undertaken what is described as “the longest autonomous driving expedition” in China, with a fleet of XPeng P7s, covering a total distance of 3,675 km across six provinces across the country.

This will be the longest autonomous driving expedition by mass-produced vehicles in China.

The expedition will showcase the capability of Navigation Guided Pilot, full-stack in-house developed autonomous driving solution by XPeng, in complex driving scenarios on China’s highways. [Read more…] about XPeng undertakes the ‘longest autonomous driving expedition in China’

The rise of telehealth technologies

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We live in the Digital Age. Digital technology has practically taken over all aspects of our lives.

We depend on technology for almost everything from how we communicate to making decisions about our day to day activities. It is therefore not surprising that technology is now changing how we approach our health.

Telehealth technology is on the rise within the healthcare industry throughout the world and especially here in the US. It is poised to have a big impact on the way patients interact with health care service providers and how to receive health care services. [Read more…] about The rise of telehealth technologies