Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Sam Francis

Opec and big oil eyeing electric cars with trepidation, says Bloomberg

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The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Opec, and big oil companies around the world are looking at the growing popularity of electric cars anew, and revising their forecasts, according to a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. 

The prospect of a massive trend that shows consumers turning away from petrol-driven vehicles would have huge implications for the oil industry.

Petrol-driven vehicles account for almost half of oil production demand, according to the US Department of Energy, while other sources say it’s more than 50 per cent.  [Read more…] about Opec and big oil eyeing electric cars with trepidation, says Bloomberg

Researchers create ‘extremely small’ sensor using ‘white graphene’

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Researchers from TU Delft in the Netherlands, in collaboration with a team at the University of Cambridge, have found a way to create and clean tiny mechanical sensors in a scalable manner.

They created these sensors by suspending a two-dimensional sheet of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), or “white graphene” over small holes in a silicon substrate. This innovation could lead to extremely small gas and pressure sensors for future electronics.

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is an interesting material, since it has a honeycomb lattice structure similar to that of graphite. But while graphite conducts electricity, h-BN acts as an insulator.  [Read more…] about Researchers create ‘extremely small’ sensor using ‘white graphene’

Earth-digging robot could make laying underground cables much easier and cheaper

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A robot developed by the MIT university could help bring down the enormous costs of laying underground and undersea cables. 

The machine is being called RoboClam – because it was based on how clams behave – is a relatively small device and it’s been called “the Ferrari of underwater diggers” because it’s particularly good at digging through soft, watery soil, or sand.

It was developed by MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, along with Bluefin Robotics, and the team was led by Anete Hosoi.  [Read more…] about Earth-digging robot could make laying underground cables much easier and cheaper

Competition to mine outer space could change mining industry on Earth

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For the past eight years, Nasa has been running a competition to find the team that can develop the best robotic systems to mine the moon. 

This year’s winners were announced recently, and Nasa gave out prizes and commendations for about 10 teams.

The discoveries made those 10 teams and all the others that entered the competition may end up in the mining industry here on Earth, long before they even take off for the moon.  [Read more…] about Competition to mine outer space could change mining industry on Earth

Stanford boffins invent 4D camera to improve robotic vision and augmented and virtual reality specs

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A team of researchers at Stanford have designed a 4D camera which could improve vision for applications in robotics and virtual and augmented reality technologies. 

The new vision technique could also be used in autonomous vehicles, add the researchers – Donald Dansereau, a postdoctoral fellow in electrical engineering, and Gordon Wetzstein, assistant professor of electrical engineering, and others.

The new camera Stanford has developed is a proof-of-concept and the university plans to start building a smaller prototype suitable for commercialisation in the coming months.  [Read more…] about Stanford boffins invent 4D camera to improve robotic vision and augmented and virtual reality specs

China’s auto mobility revolution: Going from ‘ownership’ to ‘usership’

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Gao Feng, a business consultancy headquartered in China, has released a new paper about the revolution in auto mobility in China. 

China’s unique set of urban transportation challenges, very high rate of adoption of mobile internet services, and rapid and aggressive introduction of alternative mobility solutions have combined to make China a global breeding ground for mobility innovation.

The deeply-rooted automotive industry business model is experiencing disruption.

Mobility needs previously satisfied through product “ownership” are increasingly being served through mobility services “usership”, with profound implications not only for traditional players within the value chain, but also for non-traditional players – as they enter and compete to deliver services.  [Read more…] about China’s auto mobility revolution: Going from ‘ownership’ to ‘usership’

Top 10 product lifecycle management applications by install base

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Product lifecycle management software is mainly used to manage the design and manufacturing process. 

Actually it can help with other aspects of the process such as research and development and supply chain logistics. And if it’s connected to administration tools, such as customer relations management, usually referred to as CRM, and enterprise resource planning software, which is often called ERP, PLM systems can become even more powerful.

The PLM system originated in the 1980s in the auto-making business but is now used across a wide range of industries, but still mostly traditional manufacturing sectors.

The usage of PLM is growing, with several reports predicting the market for the software reaching approximately $65 billion to $75 billion by 2022.  [Read more…] about Top 10 product lifecycle management applications by install base

Google grants almost $1 million to press agency developing robot journalists

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The writer of this article is human, but soon you may be reading articles on this website which are written by robots or automation software. 

And who knows, some of the articles you read online may already be written by robots. Over the course of a longer period of time, you’ve almost certainly read something written by automation software.

Companies such as Automated Insights have been supplying thousands of articles a month to a variety of clients for a couple of years.  [Read more…] about Google grants almost $1 million to press agency developing robot journalists

MIT reveals robot to inspect pipes, while Stanford shows ‘vine-like growing robot’

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Universities are doing a lot of interesting work in the area of robotics, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford are two of the most active in the field. 

Both universities showed similar robots this week, MIT’s being a bottle-shaped device which checks pipes and Stanford’s one a machine which is said to grow like a vine.

According to DigitalTrends.com, MIT’s PipeGuard team recently won $10,000 in the university’s competition and swims through pipes to detect any problems.

The YouTube video for the device (above) describes as a “leak detection robot for city water distribution systems”.

Stanford, which also made a video (below) of its strange plant- or worm-like organic robot, if it can be called that, said its invention “could be useful in search and rescue and medical applications”.

Commercial customers for the robots are probably already lined up and perhaps the two teams could spin out into startup companies.

Fanuc launches ‘extremely compact’ new arc welding robot

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Fanuc says its new arc welding robot Arc Mate 100iD is “extremely compact” and is the next generation of the Arc Mate Robot Series

The new Arc Mate 100iD welding robot is the first model of the new Arc Mate series, succeeding its predecessor Arc Mate 100iC/12. 

As of September 2017, the Arc Mate 100iD can be ordered and will be publicly displayed at these two trade shows in Germany: EMO in Hannover and Schweissen & Schneiden in Düsseldorf.

Matteo Ferrari, arc welding and laser robot product manager at Fanuc Europe, says: “The new Arc Mate 100iD welding robot reaches remarkable productivity improvements for clients thanks to its superior motion performance, decreased installation efforts and ownership costs due to its seamless integration with weld process equipment.  [Read more…] about Fanuc launches ‘extremely compact’ new arc welding robot