Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

David Edwards

Will Automation Make Lorry Drivers Obsolete?

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The haulage industry is an essential part of the network that is keeping the economy going, but for the last decade, there have been whispers of big changes that will ultimately change and revolutionise the way that day-to-day haulage works. 

Huge corporations like UPS and Daimler have been investing in automation technology, working closely with robotics companies to create a standard for the haulage industry that will speed up the process of transporting freight across the world.

There have even been estimations made that 1.2 million lorry driver jobs will be eliminated. But will automation really make the lorry driver obsolete? [Read more…] about Will Automation Make Lorry Drivers Obsolete?

Lumotive claims ‘industry-first’ LiDAR using liquid its Crystal Metasurfaces and CMOS manufacturing

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Lumotive, a developer of scalable solid-state LiDAR systems, has launched the first two in a series of 3D-sensing products that utilize its innovative Liquid Crystal Metasurfaces (LCMs) manufactured in CMOS semiconductor processes.

The company says the new systems are designed to meet performance, cost and size requirements across a range of industries.

With samples available in the fourth quarter of this year, the Lumotive X20 and Lumotive Z20 LiDAR systems target the automotive and industrial automation markets, respectively. [Read more…] about Lumotive claims ‘industry-first’ LiDAR using liquid its Crystal Metasurfaces and CMOS manufacturing

Otto Motors raises $29 million in new funding for its autonomous mobile robots business

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Otto Motors, a division of Clearpath Robotics, has raised $29 million in Series C funding. The company says the new funds will be used for the continued expansion of its autonomous mobile robot platform.

The investment, which follows years of rapid growth, was led by Kensington Private Equity Fund with participation from BMO Capital Partners, Export Development Canada, and previous investors iNovia Capital and RRE Ventures.

Including this Series C round, Otto Motors has now raised a total of $83 million in funding. [Read more…] about Otto Motors raises $29 million in new funding for its autonomous mobile robots business

Five companies awarded $280,000 to develop mobility solutions in Michigan

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PlanetM, the State of Michigan’s mobility initiative, is awarding a round of its technology activation grant program to companies addressing the challenges presented by the spread of the novel Coronavirus.

Five companies received more than $280,000 in funding to aid in the development and deployment of solutions that address the mobility challenges Covid-19 presents in Michigan.

The five companies are:

  1. GHSP;
  2. Gatik;
  3. Penske Vehicle Services;
  4. RCO Engineering; and
  5. Pratt Miller.

The mobility challenges include contactless automated delivery within the statewide retail supply chain, disinfecting technologies in West Michigan and barriers to protect transit workers in Detroit. [Read more…] about Five companies awarded $280,000 to develop mobility solutions in Michigan

Agricultural robots and AI: A question of when and not if

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Robotics and artificial intelligence will drive a deep and transformative change in the agricultural world during the coming decades, according to a new report by IDTechEx.

Seeing, localising, and taking plant-specific intelligent action are no longer the exclusive realm of humans, says the research company.

Machines have demonstrated the technical viability and the emphasis has long shifted to the finer details of return on investment, reliability, business model, and so on. [Read more…] about Agricultural robots and AI: A question of when and not if

Dishcraft Robotics raises $20 million in latest funding round to expand its dishwashing business

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Dishcraft Robotics, provider of a commercial dishwashing and dishware delivery service powered by artificial intelligence and robotics, has raised $20 million in Series A1 funding led by new investor Grit Ventures.

Returning investors First Round Capital, Baseline Ventures, Fuel Capital, and Lemnos also participated in the round. To date, Dishcraft has raised $46 million in venture funding.

Marc Randolph, co-founder and former CEO of Netflix, and Kelly Coyne, founder and partner at Grit Ventures, will join Dishcraft’s board of directors, joining other prominent board members including Steve Anderson, founder of Baseline Ventures. [Read more…] about Dishcraft Robotics raises $20 million in latest funding round to expand its dishwashing business

Hexagon NovAtel unveils ROS-based autonomous driving platform

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NovAtel, part of Hexagon, has released of its first purpose-built driver, powered by Robot Operating System (ROS), to support its OEM7 family of GNSS receivers.

The driver, developed by NovAtel engineers, provides an optimized interface enabling users to accelerate autonomous development projects by quickly incorporating NovAtel OEM7 receivers into custom applications.

The driver is available for immediate download through the new NovAtel GitHub repository or as a ROS Binary Package for direct installation. [Read more…] about Hexagon NovAtel unveils ROS-based autonomous driving platform

SICK’s launches ‘advanced IO-Link encoders’ to streamline machine controls

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SICK has released “advanced variants” of its AHS36 and AHM36 IO-Link absolute encoders that can harness valuable diagnostic insights for better machine control and availability.

With versatile programming options, they make it easy to integrate data from encoders into localised and ‘edge computing’ configurations to improve the efficiency of automated plant.

All SICK’s AHS36 14-bit (singleturn) and AHM36 26-bit (multiturn) IO-Link absolute encoders achieve quick, easy and economical higher-level fieldbus integration via an IO-Link Master. [Read more…] about SICK’s launches ‘advanced IO-Link encoders’ to streamline machine controls

FLIR releases European thermal imaging dataset for automotive driver assistance development

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FLIR Systems has made available its first European thermal imaging regional dataset and the third in a series of thermal imaging datasets for machine vision testing.

The company says the dataset is designed to help researchers, developers and auto manufacturers enhance and accelerate work on safety, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), automatic emergency braking (AEB) and autonomous vehicle systems.

The dataset features thousands of annotated thermal images of daytime, nighttime and various weather scenarios from six cities across Europe. [Read more…] about FLIR releases European thermal imaging dataset for automotive driver assistance development

IPsoft and GlobalDWS launch service robot powered by Amelia

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IPsoft, a developer of virtual robot for business, and GlobalDWS, a systems integrator and technology solutions provider, have partnered to enable Amelia, IPsoft’s conversational artificial intelligence solution, on GlobalDWS’ service robot platform. (See video below.)

The result of this agreement is a new disinfection service robot that combines GlobalDWS’ autonomous, voice-enabled robot platform with an Amelia-driven Covid-19 Assistant.

The robot is equipped with a high-pressure atomizer containing disinfectant liquid and UV-C lights to effectively eliminate 99.9 percent of harmful bacteria and viruses from a target area – for example, floors, desks, doors – while providing Covid-19 risk assessments and information through an interactive assistant. [Read more…] about IPsoft and GlobalDWS launch service robot powered by Amelia