Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Archives for December 8, 2021

Activ Surgical completes first in-human procedures to demonstrate impact of its surgical intelligence and sensing platform

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Activ Surgical, a digital surgery company, has completed its first in-human surgery clinical trial utilizing the company’s technology-as-a-service bundle – the ActivInsights augmented reality-based software suite and the ActivSight imaging module.

Procedures for the study at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) were led by Dr Erik Wilson, professor in the Department of Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and a leading bariatric, endoluminal and robotic general surgeon; and Dr Shinil Shah, associate professor at UTHealth Houston and a preeminent general surgeon with expertise in advanced gastrointestinal surgery.

The safety and feasibility study was conducted across bariatric, colorectal and gallbladder procedures – surgeries in which intraoperative assessment of perfusion and anatomic structures are critical to prevent costly and life-threatening complications. [Read more…] about Activ Surgical completes first in-human procedures to demonstrate impact of its surgical intelligence and sensing platform

MIT unveils dexterous robotic hands that can ‘manipulate thousands of objects with ease’

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MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has revealed a dexterous robotic hand that scientists say can “manipulate thousands of objects with ease”. (See video below.)

At just one year old, a baby is more dexterous than a robot. Sure, machines can do more than just pick up and put down objects, but we’re not quite there as far as replicating a natural pull towards exploratory or sophisticated dexterous manipulation goes.

OpenAI gave it a try with “Dactyl” (meaning “finger” from the Greek word daktylos), using their humanoid robot hand to solve a Rubik’s cube with software that’s a step towards more general AI, and a step away from the common single-task mentality. DeepMind created “RGB-Stacking,” a vision-based system that challenges a robot to learn how to grab items and stack them.

Scientists from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), in the ever-present quest to get machines to replicate human abilities, created a framework that’s more scaled up: a system that can reorient over two thousand different objects, with the robotic hand facing both upwards and downwards. [Read more…] about MIT unveils dexterous robotic hands that can ‘manipulate thousands of objects with ease’

Automated cow-milking company Lely and AI company Connecterra enter strategic partnership

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Dutch-based startup Connecterra, which used artificial intelligence to deliver insights to farmers, and Lely, a supplier of robotics and management systems for dairy farming, have agreed a “robust co-development and commercial partnership”.

The strategic partnership follows a pilot with Lely’s Digital Farming Group. The pilot program was designed to test an integration between Lely Horizon and Connecterra’s artificial intelligence platform, Ida.

The successful effort has resulted in commitments to several strategic initiatives. As a first step in the agreement, Lely will now license Ida Enterprise for use in their farm management system Lely Horizon. [Read more…] about Automated cow-milking company Lely and AI company Connecterra enter strategic partnership

Door locking systems manufacturer turns to Delta for machine vision robotic solution

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Metal LS, a Bulgarian manufacturer of door locking systems, door and window handles and building hardware, started planning the new automated assembly of door locks in 2019.

The robotic systems that the company already used for other applications were too large for the planned production site, so the new solutions needed to be as compact and precise as possible, in addition to being state of the art.

Door and security locks are precision parts with standard dimensions and components stipulated in DIN standards. Therefore, quality and precision were especially important deciding factors for Metal LS. [Read more…] about Door locking systems manufacturer turns to Delta for machine vision robotic solution

RoboDK releases intuitive palletizing plugin for any robot brand

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Robot software company RoboDK has released a new palletizing plugin for intuitive programming of palletizing applications, compatible with almost any robot brand. It accelerates this normally tedious programming task and improves deployment efficiency.

Palletizing is an increasingly common application for robotic automation. For human workers, lifting containers onto pallets is dull and increases the risk of musculoskeletal injuries due to its repetitive nature.

Robots have long provided an alternative to manual palletizing. However, programming the task has traditionally been tedious. [Read more…] about RoboDK releases intuitive palletizing plugin for any robot brand

RC Mowers showcases new customers for its remote-operated robotic mowers

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RC Mowers, makers of remote-operated robotic mowers, is showcasing the new customers who are using its industrial mowers for everything from minimizing safety risks to expanding the capabilities of their firms and hiring better employees.

The company’s remote-operated robotic mowers are best known for mowing steep slopes, hazardous terrain, around retention ponds and levees, and through thick brush.

Tim Kubista, VP of sales and marketing for RC Mowers, says: “Our customers tell our story better than we do. [Read more…] about RC Mowers showcases new customers for its remote-operated robotic mowers

Hexagon NovAtel delivers ROS 2 compatible drivers to the OEM7 receiver

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Hexagon NovAtel has released its second purpose-built driver, powered by the latest series of the Robot Operating System, ROS 2.

The NovAtel OEM7 drivers are developed and managed by NovAtel engineers to provide an optimised interface for autonomy projects.

The drivers allow for quick incorporation of NovAtel’s OEM7 receivers into custom ROS 2 based applications. [Read more…] about Hexagon NovAtel delivers ROS 2 compatible drivers to the OEM7 receiver

Robot-assisted assembly of high-voltage connectors for electric vehicles

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Assembling high-voltage connectors for electric and hybrid vehicles at a rate of 5 million per year calls for sophisticated automation solutions. Especially when regular retooling for new models and variants is the norm. Against this background, a pioneering system with six Stäubli robots, 13 image processing systems and inline quality control at every stage is now ensuring highly flexible production.

Electro-mobility is the buzzword of our times, and the market for vehicles with electric drives is steadily gaining momentum worldwide. For some time now, this trend has also been spurring demand for the type of assembly solutions for electric components offered by specialized machine builders such as Eberhard. The company, based in Schlierbach near Stuttgart, Germany, was recently asked by a multinational automotive supplier to implement a complex project.

Specifically, it involved the planning and realization of an assembly line for high-voltage connectors. The system would have to not only perform the actual assembly work, but also the visual inspection at each stage, the testing of every single connector for leak-proofing, and finally the packing of the finished high-voltage connectors in trays. [Read more…] about Robot-assisted assembly of high-voltage connectors for electric vehicles

Rescale closes $105 million in expanded Series C funding

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Rescale, a provider of intelligent computing for digital R&D with high-performance computing built for the cloud, has raised $105 million in additional funding.

Rescale powers science and engineering breakthroughs with intelligent full-stack automation powered by the near-infinite computing capabilities of hybrid cloud and provides hybrid cloud high performance computing platform enabling intelligent computing for digital R&D.

Rescales has closed $105 million in an expanded Series C funding round, with participation from existing and new investors in the company including Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Fort Ross Ventures, Gaingels, Gopher, Hitachi Ventures, Initialized Capital, Keen Venture Partners, Microsoft M12, Nautilus Venture Partners, Nvidia, Prometheus Capital, Republic Labs, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Solasta Ventures, Yield Capital Partners and more. [Read more…] about Rescale closes $105 million in expanded Series C funding