Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

David Edwards

Autonomous cars and intelligent road systems improve road safety

by

Last year, there was a 2 percent reduction in the number of road fatalities in the US. One of the reasons for this drop is the increasing use of automated driver assistance systems now fitted into most new vehicles.

By minimizing the effects of human error, these additions can help to reduce the number of crashes, and the development of fully self-driving cars could improve safety even more.

As the adoption of autonomous vehicles spreads, roads could be made even safer and more efficient with intelligent infrastructure and traffic management systems, such as smart traffic signals, and even robot traffic controllers. [Read more…] about Autonomous cars and intelligent road systems improve road safety

Analysis: Qualcomm’s new robotics platform raises a few questions

by

By Rian Whitton, principal analyst at tech market advisory firm ABI Research

Qualcomm last week launched its next step in its bid to power the next generation of commercial 5G-enabled robots, with the release of its RB5 platform.

Bringing high-compute power and a significant degree of modularity to the energy-constrained robotic platform market, the RB5 is an evolution on the company’s RB3 platform released in 2019, and a potential game-changer in the development of smart robotic fleets.

RB5 is advertised as a premium platform, with an emphasis on sophistication over cost-efficiency, supporting high-performance heterogeneous computing with built-in 5G capability and 4K HDR video streaming. [Read more…] about Analysis: Qualcomm’s new robotics platform raises a few questions

AOT robot ready to cut human bones after passing surgical tests

by

Advanced Osteotomy Tools says its surgical robot has successfully completed all the surgeries required for the “first-in-man” clinical study of the Carlo device for laser-assisted cutting of human bone.

AOT, a Swiss medical technology company, says the tests were undertaken on June 19, 2020. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the performance and safety of the system.

CARLO, short for Cold Ablation Robot-guided Laser Osteotome, is a surgical robotic platform, which is used to cut bones through cold laser ablation – that is, without conventional surgical tools. [Read more…] about AOT robot ready to cut human bones after passing surgical tests

Septentrio launches first-of-a-kind GPS/GNSS receiver for mobile robots

by

Septentrio has launched whaat is says is a “first-of-a-kind” GPS/GNSS receiver offering always-on sub-decimeter accuracy without the need for additional correction service subscriptions.

The high-precision GNSS positioning solutions specialist says its AsteRx-m2 Sx OEM board represents a novel approach to high-accuracy positioning.

The Global Navigation Satellite System – GNSS – includes the American GPS, European Galileo, Russian GLONASS, Chinese BeiDou, Japan’s QZSS and India’s NavIC. These satellite constellations broadcast positioning information to receivers which use it to calculate their absolute position. [Read more…] about Septentrio launches first-of-a-kind GPS/GNSS receiver for mobile robots

AImotive becomes ‘most-funded’ automated driving software supplier in Europe

by

AImotive claims it has become “the most-funded automated driving software supplier in Europe” after its latest investment round.

AImotive, an automated driving technology company, says the new funding round has raised $20 million, and comes despite amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

The round was led by Lead Ventures, a Budapest based scale-up investor. [Read more…] about AImotive becomes ‘most-funded’ automated driving software supplier in Europe

IDS launches training software for its industrial vision systems

by

Imaging Development Systems, or IDS, a specialist supplier of industrial cameras, has launched new training software for its industrial vision systems.

The company says the software’s ease of use lowers entry barrier for users without prior knowledge.

IDS NXT lighthouse is described as “intuitive AI training software”, and does not require programming knowledge. Camera hardware and training software are available via IDS NXT ocean Design-In Kit. [Read more…] about IDS launches training software for its industrial vision systems

Blue Ocean Robotics and its disinfecting robots recognised by Robotics Business Review Top 50

by

Blue Ocean Robotics and its ultra-violet disinfecting robots have been recognised as Top 50 Most Influential Robotics Company by Robotics Business Review.

The company says it is experiencing “continued global growth” as disinfecting robots are used as effective weapons against coronavirus and hospital acquired infections.

Christiano Huscher, chief surgeon at Gruppo Poloclinico Abano, which operates a number of private hospitals in Italy, says: “Before we received the UVD robot, six of the hospital’s doctors had been infected with Covid-19. [Read more…] about Blue Ocean Robotics and its disinfecting robots recognised by Robotics Business Review Top 50

Festo launches lab automation ‘superconductor’ system that moves objects without contact

by

Festo has launched a lab automation “superconductor” system that moves objects without contact.

The company says its “SupraModule” concept enables wireless control of functions on a magnetic, floating carrier with an autonomous energy supply.

In future-oriented fields such as laboratory automation or biotechnology, the requirements placed on the cleaning of production facilities and their purity are very high. [Read more…] about Festo launches lab automation ‘superconductor’ system that moves objects without contact

Fetch Robotics partners with Build With Robots and Albuquerque airport to launch autonomous disinfecting robot

by

Fetch Robotics, a warehouse robotics and automation company, has partnered with Build With Robots and the City Of Albuquerque to launch the “Breezy One” disinfecting autonomous mobile robot. (See video below.)

Designed to protect Albuquerque Sunport airport employees and passengers from both harmful pathogens and cleaning agents, Breezy One can quickly, safely and effectively decontaminate spaces over 100,000 square feet in 1.5 hours with a patented, environmentally safe disinfectant.

Breezy One was co-developed with the City of Albuquerque’s Aviation Department, where it autonomously sanitizes the Sunport’s facilities every night in the ongoing fight against Covid-19. [Read more…] about Fetch Robotics partners with Build With Robots and Albuquerque airport to launch autonomous disinfecting robot

Opinion: Automation as a complement, not a replacement of the human workforce

by

By Dr Paul Rivers, CEO, Guidance Automation

Smart automation has the potential to deliver great economic benefits, but there remain many concerns that the use of AI and robotics could displace many existing jobs.

With the desire for automation increasing and more sectors looking to deploy the technology, particularly within manufacturing, logistics and distribution, it’s important to understand how automation can augment the workforce, rather than replacing it. [Read more…] about Opinion: Automation as a complement, not a replacement of the human workforce