Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Mai Tao

Baidu launches multi-purpose autonomous minibus

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Baidu, the Chinese internet search giant which also has an autonomous vehicle business unit called Apollo, has launched what it describes as “a new generation of multi-purpose autonomous minibuses”. 

Named “Apolong II”, the new vehicles are being rolled out in Guangzhou Huangpu District.

The Apolong II is equipped with advanced autonomous driving capabilities and the latest in-vehicle smart cabin technologies to enhance passenger experience. [Read more…] about Baidu launches multi-purpose autonomous minibus

Cepton secures ‘industry’s largest” ADAS lidar deal with global automotive manufacturer

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Lidar solutions provider Cepton Technologies has secured an ADAS lidar series production award at a leading, Detroit-based global automotive manufacturer.

Cepton says the contract is “the industry’s largest award to date”.

This represents a landmark milestone both for the lidar industry as well as for Silicon Valley-based Cepton, which celebrates its five-year anniversary this month. [Read more…] about Cepton secures ‘industry’s largest” ADAS lidar deal with global automotive manufacturer

Kanglim invests in Ridecell and forms partnership to create IoT platform for industrial vehicles

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Kanglim, a South Korean builder of specialty industrial vehicles, has formed a strategic alliance with Ridecell, a provider of a platform for fleet-driven businesses.

Ridecell will collaborate with Kanglim to develop an IoT automation and mobility platform for specialty industrial vehicle fleets.

Kanglim’s vehicles include industrial cranes, fire trucks, electrical work vehicles, aerial platforms, military and police equipment, and pump vehicles. [Read more…] about Kanglim invests in Ridecell and forms partnership to create IoT platform for industrial vehicles

Startup company Final Aim builds delivery robot using Ultimaker 3D printer

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Japanese startup Final Aim has utilized the Ultimaker S3 3D printer to rapidly design the first autonomous delivery robot in use for Singapore.

Final Aim collaborated with the robotics start-up OTSAW Digital to develop the robot Camello to tackle inefficiency issues that Singapore faces in the last mile of the logistics chain.

Brulé, official sales partner of Ultimaker in Japan, served as a knowledge and support partner for the teams to make this happen. [Read more…] about Startup company Final Aim builds delivery robot using Ultimaker 3D printer

SoftBank to halt production of Pepper and reduce its robotics business, says Reuters

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SoftBank, the Japanese telecommunications giant which has in the past few years become a huge force in the robotics market, is set to halt production of Pepper, the humanoid robot, according to a report by Reuters. 

The news agency cites sources and documents to say that “production of the humanoid Pepper… was stopped last year”, adding that “it would be costly to restart production”.

Pepper was being manufactured by Foxconn, famous for being Apple’s main manufacturer. [Read more…] about SoftBank to halt production of Pepper and reduce its robotics business, says Reuters

Autonomous excavators ready for around the clock real-world application

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Researchers from Baidu Research and the University of Maryland have developed a robotic excavator system that integrates perception, planning, and control capabilities to enable material loading over a long duration with no human intervention

Researchers from Baidu Research Robotics and Auto-Driving Lab (RAL) and the University of Maryland, College Park, have introduced an autonomous excavator system (AES) that can perform material loading tasks for a long duration without any human intervention while offering performance closely equivalent to that of an experienced human operator.

AES is among the world’s first uncrewed excavation systems to have been deployed in real-world scenarios and continuously operating for over 24 hours, bringing about industry-leading benefits in terms of enhanced safety and productivity.

The researchers described their methodology in a research paper published on June 30, 2021, in Science Robotics. [Read more…] about Autonomous excavators ready for around the clock real-world application

Toyota Research Institute reaches ‘new technical milestones in robotics’

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Toyota Research Institute (TRI) says it has reached “new technical milestones in robotics”. The company has unveiled new robotics capabilities aimed at solving complex tasks in home environments.

Specifically, TRI roboticists were able to train robots to understand and operate in complicated situations that confuse most other robots, including recognizing and responding to transparent and reflective surfaces in a variety of circumstances.

As TRI demonstrates in a new video (see below), this robust system allows robots to make generalizations in a range of scenarios, including in different homes. [Read more…] about Toyota Research Institute reaches ‘new technical milestones in robotics’

Nvidia unveils Jetson AGX Xavier industrial module

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Chipmaker Nvidia has unveiled the Jetson AGX Xavier industrial module. The company says the new ruggedized module is engineered to bring artificial intelligence to harsh, safety-critical environments.

From factories and farms to refineries and construction sites, the world is full of places that are hot, dirty, noisy, potentially dangerous — and critical to keeping industry humming.

These places all need inspection and maintenance alongside their everyday operations, but, given safety concerns and working conditions, it’s not always best to send in humans. [Read more…] about Nvidia unveils Jetson AGX Xavier industrial module

The Importance of Plastic Machining – How Impactful the Process is

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One of the principal credits of plastics materials is their capacity to be shaped into a completed segment with no requirement for resulting work to be done.

Convoluted shapes, openings and undercut highlights can be formed into the segment utilizing tooling and shaping methods. Anyway this includes some significant downfalls of tooling cost.

Trim apparatuses and shaping hardware utilized in the different plastic embellishment measures are constantly hand made oddball manifestations. They can frequently require many months to fabricate with a resultantly significant expense. [Read more…] about The Importance of Plastic Machining – How Impactful the Process is

Toyota’s Woven Capital invests in autonomous vehicle fleet platform Ridecell

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Woven Capital, a venture capital unit of Toyota, has made an investment in Ridecell, a platform powering digital transformations and IoT automation for fleet-driven businesses.

Woven Capital is an $800 million global investment fund that supports innovative, growth-stage companies in mobility, automation, artificial intelligence, data and analytics, connectivity, and smart cities.

It is the investment arm of the Woven Planet Group, a Toyota subsidiary which says it is “dedicated to building the safest mobility in the world”. [Read more…] about Toyota’s Woven Capital invests in autonomous vehicle fleet platform Ridecell