Where Innovation Meets Imagination
BMW is testing a range of “autonomous, connected and intelligent” technologies at its German facilities.
In fact, BMW and three partner companies from Bavaria are exploring the possibilities for making BMW Group Plant Dingolfing a smart factory for logistics.
It’s part of a three-year research project supported by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy. [Read more…] about BMW tests ‘fully connected logistics’ system in one of its German factories
Audi will gradually initiate the restart of production at its plants in Europe during the coming weeks.
The company had announced the temporary suspension of production at its European sites in mid-March.
The background to the decision was supply bottlenecks and a drop in demand due to the corona pandemic. [Read more…] about Audi to ‘gradually restart production’ in Europe
XPO Logistics, a global provider of supply chain solutions, has introduced a new digital dashboard for shippers and carriers in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company integrated the tools with its XPO Connect digital freight platform in North America and Europe.
Mario Harik, CIO, XPO Logistics, says: “We’re giving our customers a central source of vital information as they manage their supply chains in uncharted waters. [Read more…] about XPO Logistics adds Covid-19 dashboard to XPO Connect
nTopology has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to advance the capabilities of additive manufacturing through integrated software toolkits and embed ORNL expertise into nTop software.
The plan is for these capabilities to be made available commercially to the broader advanced-manufacturing market.
The collaboration incorporates foundational nTopology software with ORNL-developed machine control capabilities on large-scale polymer additive manufacturing systems. [Read more…] about nTopology and Oak Ridge National Laboratory partner to develop additive manufacturing technologies
By Rhys Davies, product manager at Canonical, publisher of the Ubuntu open source operating system
As part of a recent entry to Science Robotics, experts argued that “Covid-19 could be a catalyst for developing robotic systems that can be rapidly deployed with remote access […] to front lines”.
It is often in times of great strife that innovation truly comes to the fore – the progress made across both public and private sectors in recent weeks is a tribute to just that, encompassing everything from advanced data analytics to the production of ventilators by the likes of McLaren, Mercedes and other F1 teams.
Robotics is no different. Robots are currently handling room service in isolation centres, patrolling the streets to help countries achieve social distancing policies, and helping to entertain the elderly. [Read more…] about Swarm Theory: Lessons from nature in the advancement of robotics
Nvidia is providing on-demand workshops about robotics and artificial intelligence online through its GTC Digital network.
GTC Digital is Nvidia’s training, research and insights resource and enables direct access to the company’s experts at the GPU Technology Conference.
Through these online services, Nvidia says it hopes to give members the latest news about advances in robotics, embedded computing, internet of things, AI at the edge and more. [Read more…] about Nvidia provides online workshops about robotics and AI
Comau, an industrial automation specialist, has created what it describes as “highly specialized laser laboratories”.
The company says they are designed to support customers as they develop, implement and optimize the laser processes involved in constructing and assembling e-motors and batteries.
Comau now has two labs in Grugliasco, Turin – one specialized in batteries and the other dedicated to e-motors, together with additional labs in Shanghai and Detroit. [Read more…] about Comau establishes ‘highly specialised’ robotic laser labs
GPS and Bluetooth-enabled robotic lawn mowers are gaining rapid interest, and the market is set to grow to 3.6 times its current size by 2029, according to research by Future Market Insights.
Technological advancements and rising penetration of artificial intelligence have paved the way for increased sales of robotic lawn mowers, since they have become much more efficient.
Rising dependency on automation in the commercial sector to decrease operating costs and increasing adoption of domestic robots for residential applications are major factors estimated to drive the growth of the robotic lawn mower market during the forecast period. [Read more…] about Connected robotic lawn mowers market set to grow almost four-fold
Five robotic technology experiments have moved into the final phase of a competition run by Esmera, the European Union-funded project set up to develop innovative technologies.
The five entrants are:
They have all been selected to move into the second phase of Esmera, which is an abbreviation of European SMEs Robotic Applications. [Read more…] about Five robotic technology innovations move to final phase of Esmera competition
Last month, Amazon announced that it planned on hiring 100,000 extra workers to meet the rise in demand for online shopping created by Coronavirus-caused shutdowns and social distancing.
In late March, unions said workers were demanding that Amazon takes their lives seriously. The night before a facility in Queens, NY, had been closed for deep cleaning after an employee tested positive for the virus.
There are reports that some Amazon warehouse workers in Italy and Spain have tested positive. [Read more…] about Mobile robots and autonomous vehicles: Coronavirus pushes logistics automation higher up the agenda
