Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Sam Francis

Kawasaki Robotics offers insight into how industrial robots are made

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Article by Kawasaki Robotics

How are industrial robots built? In this article, Kawasaki Robotics, one of the world’s largest industrial robot makers, provides a guide on the components and the movement of robot arms.

One of the questions many may ask for obvious reasons is: “Are the structures of robots and humans the same?”

Robots and humans share a common feature. Humans and mechanical robots – as opposite as they may seem, they, in fact, share the same underlying structure of links (bones) and joints.  [Read more…] about Kawasaki Robotics offers insight into how industrial robots are made

Updating our understanding of the power of artificial intelligence

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A look ahead to the AI in Finance Summit, organized by Re-Work

Some of the predictions made about the projected effects of artificial intelligence on the financial sector are simply staggering. 

AI is expected to generate additional revenues of anywhere between $500 billion and near-enough $1 trillion to the global economy, according to various forecasts.

For specific details on exactly how AI is being applied by individual companies, one can look at the information provided by the Re-Work organization.  [Read more…] about Updating our understanding of the power of artificial intelligence

Bosch and Daimler to turn metro area in California into ‘pilot city for automated driving’

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Bosch and Daimler are speeding up the development of fully-automated and driverless driving (SAE Level 4 / 5) in the city and are decisively setting the course.

The companies, which have become close partners to develop this technology, have chosen California as the pilot location for the first test fleet.

In the second half of 2019, Bosch and Daimler will offer customers a shuttle service with automated vehicles on selected routes in a Californian metropolis.  [Read more…] about Bosch and Daimler to turn metro area in California into ‘pilot city for automated driving’

Maxim and Qualcomm partner to develop in-car infotainment systems

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Maxim Integrated says that selected products from its portfolio now work with solutions by Qualcomm Technologies to help carmakers and tier-1 suppliers integrate Maxim’s Automotive Safety Integrity Level solutions using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Automotive Platform for infotainment applications.

Maxim’s high-performance solutions are designed to provide the necessary building blocks for next-generation vehicles.

Maxim’s advanced ASIL-rated power management, USB charging, next-generation gigabit multimedia serial link serializer and deserializer, remote tuner, and software-defined radio technologies are optimized to work with the Snapdragon 820 Automotive Platform.  [Read more…] about Maxim and Qualcomm partner to develop in-car infotainment systems

Toyota offering up to $2 million to each and every selected robotics startup

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Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Toyota AI Ventures unveiled a global “call for innovation” today in partnership with the Toyota Research Institute.

Designed to spur entrepreneurial innovation by identifying key technology gaps, the initiative uses a call-and-response approach to offer promising startups the opportunity to secure from $500,000 to $2 million in venture capital funding from Toyota AI Ventures, as well as the possibility of partnering on a proof of concept project with TRI.

The first call, developed in conjunction with TRI’s world-class robotics group, focuses on improving mobile manipulation technology for assistive robots that can help people in and around the home.  [Read more…] about Toyota offering up to $2 million to each and every selected robotics startup

BASF leads $4.4 million funding round for Re’flect augmented reality startup

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BASF Venture Capital has invested in Re’flect, a Munich and San Francisco-based Augmented Reality startup that provides enterprise customers content creation and remote expert solutions.

BASF Venture Capital’s opening investment of €3.75 million ($4.4 million) follows Bosch’s investment in the company in 2015.

“The investments from two of the world’s largest industrial companies validate our leading position in the Augmented Reality market,” says Re’flect CEO and founder Wolfgang Stelzle. “With the new funding, we will continue our strong growth and further invest in our team and products. ” [Read more…] about BASF leads $4.4 million funding round for Re’flect augmented reality startup

Top Swiss brain doctors install HPE supercomputer to help them read people’s minds

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One of Switzerland’s top universities has selected the Hewlett Packard Enterprise supercomputing system for its work in the area of neuroscience, which means looking inside brains. 

Head doctors at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne will initially be using HPE’s new supercomputer for simulation-based research, analysis, and visualization, to advance the understanding of what they describe as the “mammalian brain”.

But the bonce specialists could easily scale up the system to analyze human brains and eavesdrop on people’s thoughts and eventually be used to control their actions, which has been shown to be the ambition of each and every megalomaniacal mad scientist in science fiction history.  [Read more…] about Top Swiss brain doctors install HPE supercomputer to help them read people’s minds

STMicroelectronics releases ‘super-high-resolution’ motion-tracking sensor for automotive applications

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STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor company, has introduced the automotive-grade ASM330LHH six-axis inertial sensor for “super-high-resolution motion tracking in advanced vehicle navigation and telematics applications”.

STMicroelectronics says the sensor is designed to serve demands for continuous, accurate vehicle location to support automated services, and “lets advanced dead-reckoning algorithms calculate precise position from sensor data if satellite signals are blocked”.

This often happens in urban canyons, tunnels, covered roadways, parking garages, or dense forests, says STMicroelectronics, adding that its advanced, low-noise, temperature-stable design enables dependable telematics services such as e-tolling, tele-diagnostics, and e-Call assistance.  [Read more…] about STMicroelectronics releases ‘super-high-resolution’ motion-tracking sensor for automotive applications

Xometry acquires MakeTime and raises $25 million in additional funding

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Xometry, which claims to be the largest on-demand manufacturing platform, has acquired MakeTime, another leading on-demand manufacturing company.

Both are well-known providers of 3D printing services.

This acquisition brings together two of the country’s top manufacturing network platforms. The combined company will operate under the Xometry brand name and have offices in Maryland and Kentucky.

The acquisition will allow Xometry to grow its national partner network of manufacturers from 1,100 to over 2,300 while gaining MakeTime’s enterprise product expertise and features including their Autodesk Fusion add-in and Shop Advantage program.  [Read more…] about Xometry acquires MakeTime and raises $25 million in additional funding

America’s Summit named world’s fastest supercomputer

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The US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is once again officially home to the fastest supercomputer in the world, according to the Top500 List, a semiannual ranking of the world’s fastest computing systems.

The recently launched Summit supercomputer was announced as number one at the ISC High Performance conference in Frankfurt, Germany. The designation recognizes the IBM-built system as the science community’s most powerful computational tool for solving problems in energy, advanced materials, artificial intelligence, and other domains.

Summit is the third ORNL system to be ranked number one by Top500, following in the footsteps of the Jaguar and Titan supercomputers. Jaguar ranked as the world’s fastest system in November 2009 and June 2010, while Titan held the title in November 2012.  [Read more…] about America’s Summit named world’s fastest supercomputer