Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

David Edwards

CMU researchers train autonomous drones using cross-modal simulated data

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To fly autonomously, drones need to understand what they perceive in the environment and make decisions based on that information. (See video below.)

A novel method developed by Carnegie Mellon University researchers allows drones to learn perception and action separately.

The two-stage approach overcomes the “simulation-to-reality gap”, and creates a way to safely deploy drones trained entirely on simulated data into real-world course navigation. [Read more…] about CMU researchers train autonomous drones using cross-modal simulated data

Promobot puts its humanoid robot to work as a civil servant

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Russian robotics company Promobot has put a humanoid robot the company has developed into an office to work as a civil servant.

The office in question is the Multi-Function Center, located in Perm, Russia and generally provides citizens with information about their rights and the services available to them.

Promobot’s humanoid sits at a desk, much like a human employee would, and talks to people who have appointments and need advice. It processes inquiries and automatically transfers them to the MFC Civil Service Office IT systems. [Read more…] about Promobot puts its humanoid robot to work as a civil servant

Saelig unveils larger industrial Raspberry Pi-based controller

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Saelig has introduced the ComfilePi CPi-A150WR – a Raspberry Pi-based industrial PC with a 15″ touch-panel display.

Based on the compact, ubiquitous Raspberry Pi 3 board, the ComfilePi CPi-A150WR inherits the Raspberry Pi 3’s 1.2GHz 64 bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor, a Broadcom VideoCore IV GPU, and 1GB of RAM.

The new, larger version has the same capabilities as its predecessors with smaller screen sizes: the 7″ CPi-A070WR and the 10.2″ CPi-A102WR. [Read more…] about Saelig unveils larger industrial Raspberry Pi-based controller

Pratt Miller and partners demo disinfecting robot at Grand Rapids airport

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Pratt Miller Mobility has demonstrated its Large Area Autonomous Disinfecting (LAAD) Vehicle at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The robot is the result of a Pratt Miller’s partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and PlanetM, and the demo was conducted in front of key stakeholders and members of the press.

The partner companies say the LAAD robot is “the first-of-its-kind” to be introduced in the US, as it is a connected, electric and autonomous disinfecting robot that dispenses FDA-approved disinfecting materials through a multi-head electrostatic sprayer array. [Read more…] about Pratt Miller and partners demo disinfecting robot at Grand Rapids airport

Ocious Technology to provide Australia with autonomous boats to watch out for refugees at sea

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A startup company called Ocious Technology is to provide Australia with autonomous boats to watch out for refugees at sea. 

The company was awarded $5.5 million a couple of months ago by the Australian government’s Department of Defence to continue developing its autonomous unmanned surface vessels.

Following on from that, Ocious is to launch a total of five of its “Bluebottle” small autonomous vessels by next year. [Read more…] about Ocious Technology to provide Australia with autonomous boats to watch out for refugees at sea

40 North Ventures acquires 11 companies from GE Ventures

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40 North Ventures, an early-to-growth stage venture capital fund focused on technology investments in the industrial sector, has acquired investments in 11 companies from GE Ventures.

Although 40 North Ventures is not disclosing the value of this deal, the fund raised $200 million last year. This was in part utilized for the acquisition from GE Ventures, as well as four prior investments, according to a spokesperson.

The 11 new portfolio companies are aligned with 40 North Ventures’ focus on technology and business model innovation, adding to its growing portfolio of high-performance companies building the industrial future. [Read more…] about 40 North Ventures acquires 11 companies from GE Ventures

IDS says its new cameras capture ‘sharp images even with varying object distances’

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Imaging Development Systems says its new cameras capture “sharp images even with varying object distances”.

The company has extended the selection of its automatically focusable board-level cameras.

Their practical autofocus function enables uEye LE AF industrial cameras to deliver “perfectly focused images even with frequently changing object distances”, says IDS. [Read more…] about IDS says its new cameras capture ‘sharp images even with varying object distances’

Airbus unveils autonomous airplane

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Aerospace giant Airbus has unveiled an autonomous airplane the company is using to research and develop pilotless technologies.

Following an extensive two-year flight test programme, Airbus says it has “successfully concluded its Autonomous Taxi, Take-Off and Landing (ATTOL) project”.

In completing this project, Airbus has achieved autonomous taxiing, take-off and landing of a commercial aircraft through fully automatic vision-based flight tests using on-board image recognition technology – a “world-first in aviation”, according to Airbus. [Read more…] about Airbus unveils autonomous airplane

Volkswagen opens up its ‘Industrial Cloud’ to other manufacturing and technology companies

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Volkswagen, together with Amazon Web Services and integration partner Siemens, is opening up its Industrial Cloud to other manufacturing and technology companies.

New partner companies will be able to connect with Volkswagen plants and to contribute their own software applications for optimizing production processes to the Industrial Cloud.

VW says the opening up of the platform will help create “a rapidly growing range of industrial software applications for Volkswagen’s plants”. [Read more…] about Volkswagen opens up its ‘Industrial Cloud’ to other manufacturing and technology companies

ABB says its new 3D inspection robot cell makes quality control testing ‘10 times faster’

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ABB has unveiled a new 3D inspection robot cell which it claims makes quality control testing “10 times faster”.

The industrial automation giant says its 3D quality inspection (3DQI) robot cell is “capable of detecting defects of less than half the width of a human hair and imperceptible to the naked eye”.

It adds that the cell will “dramatically accelerate production by providing fast, accurate testing to make metrology easier and less time consuming”. [Read more…] about ABB says its new 3D inspection robot cell makes quality control testing ‘10 times faster’