Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

David Edwards

Plant Prefab selected to build luxury residences in Olympic Valley, California

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Plant Prefab, the first Certified B Corporation building technology company dedicated to sustainable design, materials and operations, has won a bid to prefabricate the final phase of custom homes in The Palisades at Olympic Valley, a luxury home community near Lake Tahoe designed by The Brown Studio.

Initially sourced to build one of the development’s first-phase duplex homes, Plant Prefab has since been retained to prefabricate all 33 of the development’s single-family homes.

The agreement to produce the Summit residences, the development’s premier offering of three 4,627-square-foot custom homes, is Plant Prefab’s third contract with the San Diego-based developer. [Read more…] about Plant Prefab selected to build luxury residences in Olympic Valley, California

Universal Robots and Mobile Industrial Robots to break new ground at new site

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In a few weeks, construction will begin on state-of-the-art joint headquarters for Universal Robots and Mobile Industrial Robots in Odense, Denmark.

The building will accommodate up to 600 employees and will be the “world’s largest cobot and autonomous mobile robot hub”. Groundbreaking will take place on 20 April with completion expected at the start of 2024.

The background for building a new joint headquarters is the explosive growth of both MiR and Universal Robots. [Read more…] about Universal Robots and Mobile Industrial Robots to break new ground at new site

Comau launches new industrial robot

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Comau is expanding its product portfolio with the new N-220-2.7 (N-220), a 220 kg payload robot featuring a modular set up, direct kinematics, absolute calibration, and enhanced algorithms.

These characteristics deliver significant ease of use, straightforward integration, and faster post-installation maintenance while ensuring precision, flexibility, repeatability, and minimum backlash.

Manufactured via a fully automated production line directly in its Turin, Italy Innovation Center of Advanced Robotics, Comau’s increased generation robot offers new levels of quality and supply chain flexibility in addition to cost-effective operation, as required by today’s high-growth market segments. [Read more…] about Comau launches new industrial robot

Saildrone develops ‘next generation ocean data products’ with Siemens Xcelerator as a Service

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Siemens Digital Industries Software says that Saildrone, a California-based company that designs, manufactures, and operates a fleet of uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs), has adopted Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio, including cloud-enabled Xcelerator as a Service solution, enabling it to innovate faster and more collaboratively across the entire organization without the burden of a traditional IT infrastructure. (See video below.)

Saildrone has adopted the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio for product design, engineering and manufacturing, including NX software for 3D product engineering and Teamcenter® X for product lifecycle management (PLM).

The interoperability offered by Siemens Xcelerator enables Saildrone to easily integrate mechanical and electronic design information. In addition to helping manage product engineering complexity, Saildrone has used Teamcenter X to improve data and collaboration between disciplines. [Read more…] about Saildrone develops ‘next generation ocean data products’ with Siemens Xcelerator as a Service

Kodiak Robotics and US Xpress to pilot new autonomous truck route

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Kodiak Robotics, a developer of self-driving trucks, has teamed up with US Xpress, one of America’s largest carrier fleets, to launch Level 4 autonomous freight service between Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta using Kodiak’s self-driving trucks.

US Xpress will become the first cornerstone truckload partner in Kodiak’s Partner Deployment Program, working hand-in-hand with Kodiak to deploy self-driving technology.

This strategic partnership also marks the launch of the first commercial autonomous trucking lane to the East Coast. [Read more…] about Kodiak Robotics and US Xpress to pilot new autonomous truck route

Tennant introduces lithium-ion technology to its autonomous floor cleaning machines

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Tennant Company, a manufacturer of robotic floor cleaners, has introduced lithium-ion technology to its portfolio of autonomous floor cleaning machines, including the T380AMR, T7AMR, and T16AMR.

This new advanced battery technology provides added benefits to customers across the world in the cleaning industry.

Tennant Company and partner Brain Corp, a leader in the robotics market, have engineered a portfolio of autonomous floor scrubbers and together they have deployed over 5,400 robotic scrubbers, representing the world’s largest fleet of autonomous floor scrubbers. [Read more…] about Tennant introduces lithium-ion technology to its autonomous floor cleaning machines

Toyota Ventures invites innovative ideas for the ‘Factory of the Future’

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Toyota Ventures has launched its third global “call for innovation” to search for early-stage companies that can help make the factory of the future a reality sooner.

In partnership with Toyota’s Manufacturing Project Innovation Center and Toyota Research Institute (TRI), the 2022 call focuses on finding scalable solutions to modernize manufacturing and advance sustainable production.

Through May 31, 2022, qualified entrepreneurs are invited to apply to the call for an opportunity to receive between $500,000 and $2 million in venture capital funding from Toyota Ventures. [Read more…] about Toyota Ventures invites innovative ideas for the ‘Factory of the Future’

Shortcut Robotics’ telepresence robot enters beta testing phase

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Shortcut Robotics, a Los Angeles-based startup, has begun beta testing its first telepresence robot.

The beta tests will be conducted in two phases in order to make updates in between each phase.

The robot operates as a driveable video call, giving users the ability to maneuver around a remote environment and interact naturally with the people there. [Read more…] about Shortcut Robotics’ telepresence robot enters beta testing phase

Global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales surge 44 percent to record $103 billion

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Worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment in 2021 surged 44 percent to an all-time record of $102.6 billion from $71.2 billion in 2020, SEMI, the industry association representing the global electronics product design and manufacturing supply chain, reported.

The data is now available in SEMI’s Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (WWSEMS) Report.

China claimed the largest market for semiconductor equipment for the second time with sales expanding 58 percent to $29.6 billion to mark the fourth consecutive year of growth. [Read more…] about Global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales surge 44 percent to record $103 billion

ABB launches robot alignment software to ‘increase electronics manufacturing speed and accuracy’

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ABB Robotics has launched an industry leading, pioneering software solution to transform speed and accuracy in electronics assembly.

Packed with 50 years of software expertise, ABB’s High Speed Alignment software is the first to offer manufacturers the ability to increase the speed of 6-axis robots by 70 percent, and accuracy by 50 percent – significantly reducing time-to-market while increasing accuracy levels.

The PC-based software includes Visual Servoing technology using one or more cameras, combined with a computer vision system, to control the position of the robot relative to the workpiece. [Read more…] about ABB launches robot alignment software to ‘increase electronics manufacturing speed and accuracy’