Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Mai Tao

Mitsubishi Electric to acquire Sharp factory to expand power device business

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Mitsubishi Electric has agreed to acquire buildings and land from Sharp Fukuyama Semiconductor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sharp Corporation located in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

The acquired properties will serve as a new site where Mitsubishi Electric’s Power Device Works will process wafers for the manufacture of power semiconductors.

New production facilities scheduled to start up in November of next year will enable Mitsubishi Electric to expand its power device business. [Read more…] about Mitsubishi Electric to acquire Sharp factory to expand power device business

Hyundai launches technical training in collaborative robotics

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Newly created company Hyundai Robotics has launched technical training programmes to teach people about collaborative robotics.

The compnay held its first “collaborative robot technical training” recently for dealers and employees, and used Hyundai’s own new collaborative robot, the YL012 (main picture and below).

The training was led by researchers who are developing collaborative robots and focuses on the unique features of Hyundai cobots compared to third party products. [Read more…] about Hyundai launches technical training in collaborative robotics

UN sends five robots to Rwanda to detect coronavirus

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A new type of robot has been sent to Rwanda by the United Nations in an effort to help detect coronavirus infections.

The hardware for the robot was built by Chinese company UBTech Robotics, and the software was developed by Belgian company ZoraBots.

ZoraBots says the new kind of robot help healthcare professionals, governments and international organizations to limit the spread of the coronavirus. [Read more…] about UN sends five robots to Rwanda to detect coronavirus

Scientists develop new method of teaching surgery to a robot

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A team of scientists has developed a new way of teaching surgery to a robot that they say is far more efficient than other methods.

In a paper entitled Semi-Supervised Representation Learning from Surgical Videos, the team at Cornell University calls its algorithm Motion2Vec.

The team – which is backed by Intel’s AI Labs, Google Brain, and UC Berkeley – says Motion2Vec learns from video observations “by minimizing a metric learning loss”. [Read more…] about Scientists develop new method of teaching surgery to a robot

Top 10 robotic video camera systems: Shenyang supplies robotic camera operator to Chinese TV station

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Shenyang Xinsong Robot Automation has built and supplied a robotic camera operator to a Chinese television station.

The robotic system, which appears to integrate a mobile robot with an industrial robotic arm, was used to film a stage performance in Shenyang Radio and TV Station studios.

Both the robotic arm and the mobile robot seem to have been supplied by Siasun, also known as Shenyang Xinsong Robot Automation, one of the leading industrial robot makers in China. [Read more…] about Top 10 robotic video camera systems: Shenyang supplies robotic camera operator to Chinese TV station

ADLINK teams up with Intel to launch ROS-based robotics technology

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ADLINK Technology, a provider of edge computing systems, has launched the ROScube-I with Intel, providing a real-time ROS 2 robot controller for advanced robotic applications.

The ADLINK ROScube-I Series is a ROS 2-enabled robotic controller based on Intel Xeon E, 9th Gen Intel Core i7/i3 and 8th Gen Intel Core i5 processors, and features exceptional I/O connectivity supporting a wide variety of sensors and actuators to meet the needs of a wide range of robotic applications.

The ROScube-I supports an extension box for convenient functional and performance expansion with Intel VPU cards and the Intel Distribution of OpenVINO toolkit for computation of AI algorithms and inference. [Read more…] about ADLINK teams up with Intel to launch ROS-based robotics technology

Komatsu integrates automated collision avoidance system as standard in its excavators

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Komatsu has launched hydraulic excavators equipped with the in-house developed “KomVision Human Detection & Collision Mitigation System” as a standard feature.

The company, which also produces giant autonomous trucks for the mining industry, claims that the new collision avoidance systems is an industry first in the Japanese market.

Komatsu has developed this system by upgrading the “KomVision” bird’s eye view camera system equipped with conventional models as standard in the Japanese market. [Read more…] about Komatsu integrates automated collision avoidance system as standard in its excavators

JTEKT subsidiary Koyo acquires Canadian assets of KSR International

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Acquisition ‘strengthens JTEKT’s global ECU development capabilities’, says company

Koyo Canada, a subsidiary of automotive technology company JTEKT, has acquired the assets of a Halifax, Nova Scotia research and development facility previously owned by KSR International, a Canadian company.

The acquisition strengthens JTEKT global engine control unit (ECU) development for vehicle steering and driveline products, and will set the foundation for further expansion of its global electrification capabilities and plans.

The new KCI Halifax R&D facility allows JTEKT to more efficiently respond to the expanding demands of autonomous driving support, steer-by-wire and high voltage systems. [Read more…] about JTEKT subsidiary Koyo acquires Canadian assets of KSR International

Hitachi awarded its ‘largest order’ to install 300 lifts at Singapore apartments

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Hitachi Elevator Asia has been awarded the contract for the supply and installation of 300 lifts by the Housing & Development Board of Singapore.

This is the largest single order for the Hitachi group’s lifts and escalators business in Singapore.

Hitachi Elevator Asia will see the supply, delivery and installation of the 300 lifts at HDB blocks. [Read more…] about Hitachi awarded its ‘largest order’ to install 300 lifts at Singapore apartments

Delta acquires industrial automation software company Trihedral

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Delta Electronics is to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Trihedral Engineering, a Canadian SCADA and IIoT software company, for more than $33 million.

The acquisition will unite Delta’s hardware and Trihedral’s software in the rapidly growing field of automation, AI, and data analytics.

Delta says the initiative will further strengthen its sales expansion in various fields such as industrial automation for smart manufacturing. [Read more…] about Delta acquires industrial automation software company Trihedral