Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Sam Francis

Doctor, I shrunk the robot. Or… Out of their tiny little robotic minds

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By Chris Wagner, head of advanced surgical systems at Cambridge Consultants

Surgical robots today are large and unwieldy. This causes a number of challenges in the operating theatre. 

Setting up and managing the robots, for example, takes up valuable operating time. It’s also difficult to swap a robot in and out of a surgical procedure if traditional tools are more appropriate for some elements of an operation. And there are safety issues when clinical staff work in close proximity to a large piece of moving equipment.

So a surgeon has to weigh the benefits of surgical robotics against these limitations for each procedure where a robot is used.

There is an opportunity here – if we can simply make the robot smaller, many of these limitations disappear. It is much easier to move a small robot into an operating theatre, put it into position for an operation and move it out again afterwards. The safety concerns are also much reduced.  [Read more…] about Doctor, I shrunk the robot. Or… Out of their tiny little robotic minds

Robots are taking over the world. Run for the hills now, or cash in quick – the choice is yours

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money face

In this guest article, supplied by SKS Media, the spectre of high-net worth individuals teaming up with robots offer a terrifying vision of the future, with some hapless humans finding themselves in the nightmare situation of having mountains of money but not enough opportunities to spend it 

The word exponential is often used to describe the pace of technological change which has come to define the world we live in. And with new technologies such as artificial intelligence, 3D printing and virtual reality only just warming up, the pace is unlikely to let up.

In this environment is it easy to become convinced that, when competing in a global marketplace, speed is the greatest of virtues. Indeed, in The Great Acceleration, author Robert Colvile argues that speed has become the defining feature of the modern economy, the driving force behind wealth creation in the 21st century.  [Read more…] about Robots are taking over the world. Run for the hills now, or cash in quick – the choice is yours

What type of users require VPN services?

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Everyone who wishes to protect own identity, location and personal data should carefully think about addressing reliable VPN provider and make everything possible to ensure online safety at home and in the office.

Safe online environment is a must for users who fit the following categories:

  • often make online payments. Online payments services have a lot of sensible data and may have a leakage due to poorly protected networks. Travellers use such services on daily basis and rely on e-wallets greatly, therefore, may be left without access to their money in a foreign country due to hacker’s activity;
  • visitors of public places who love to use free Wi-Fi. Hackers enjoy attending such places as well – here there are a lot of easy targets – students, travellers. Most of them are using smartphone and providing thieves with credit cards numbers, passwords, access to private chats and correspondence. Any smartphone will automatically connect to public network and allows snoopers to monitor users’ online activity. It is hard to avoid such places with free Wi-Fi – business centres, airports, hotels, restaurants all have available Internet access;
  • cloud users also risking to lose all data stored in there; and
  • torrents also can lead to IP address leakage, as well as infected with malware.

Apart from these obvious benefits, here are other advantages of using VPN protection:

  1. Afraid of missing favourite game or show while traveling? After choosing one of the best VPNs every client is allowed access to popular streaming content as Netflix, Spotify and many more. It is known that numerous countries block such websites as well as social networks. Moreover, online activity can be closely monitored;
  2. Using VPN apps it is much safer to use public Wi-Fi; and
  3. Another benefit for travellers, foreign students or anyone who has friends or relatives abroad – saving money on VOIP calls by changing the country of the call making it domestic.

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Main objective of every VPN service

VPN service is invaluable when working remotely as allows safe access to another network as well as when want to protect personal online environment.

The first thing this software hides is client’s IP address and this feature is crucial as every app we use and website we visit reads user’s IP and gets a lot of information such as approximate location, internet provider, used browser and operating system and many more.

In case user has unencrypted connection any information can be intercepted: personal correspondence, chats, shared files, banking details, corporate documentation and more.

In order to create safe working environment, VPN is tunnelling all clients’ activities and creates encrypted connection between any user’s device and the VPN server. Various types of security protocols are used to ensure highest level of protection and maintaining online privacy.

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Prices for these services are affordable and there is no need to postpone such important decision.

Promoted

General Motors names Kuka Systems its supplier of the year

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kuka robot at hannover messe

Kuka Systems recognized by General Motors as 2016 Supplier of the Year winner for powertrain and body shop equipment

Kuka Systems was named a “General Motors Supplier of the Year for Powertrain and Body Shop Equipment” by GM during its 25th annual Supplier of the Year awards ceremony held recently in Orlando, Florida.

GM recognized 118 of its best suppliers from 15 countries that have consistently exceeded GM’s expectations, created outstanding value or brought new innovations to the company.

The announcement represented the most suppliers GM has recognized since debuting the Supplier of the Year event in 1992. This is the second time Kuka Systems has received the award.  [Read more…] about General Motors names Kuka Systems its supplier of the year

Apple acquires permit to test autonomous vehicles in California

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apple logo

By Jessica Resnick-Ault, Reuters

Apple has secured a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California, fuelling speculation that it is working on self-driving car technology in a crowded arena of companies hoping to offer those cars to the masses.

The permit allows it to conduct test drives in three vehicles with six drivers, the state Department of Motor Vehicles said on Friday. The vehicles are all 2015 Lexus RX450h, according to the DMV.

Although it has never openly acknowledged it is looking into building an electric car, Apple has recruited dozens of auto experts in recent years, and the permit pulls the curtain back a bit on any possible plan.  [Read more…] about Apple acquires permit to test autonomous vehicles in California

Tata to launch first India-made industrial robot Brabo in May

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tata brabo

TAL Manufacturing Solutions, a Tata Group company, is expected to launch first ever India-made robot before May 2017.

Dubbed “Tata Brabo”, the robot has been showcased at the recent Make in India week in Mumbai.

Brabo has been developed in-house by a team of six engineers whose average age is 24 years, led by Anil Bhingurde, chief operating officer of TAL Manufacturing Solutions.

The development cost is reported to be about Rs 10 crore ($1.6 million).  [Read more…] about Tata to launch first India-made industrial robot Brabo in May

Toyota demonstrates robot to make elderly people walk faster

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By Naomi Tajitsu, Reuters

Japanese automakers are looking beyond the industry trend to develop self-driving cars and turning their attention to robots to help keep the country’s rapidly graying society on the move.

Toyota said it saw the possibility of becoming a mass producer of robots to help the elderly in a country whose population is ageing faster than the rest of the world as the birthrate decreases.

The country’s changing demographics place its automakers in a unique situation. Along with the issues usually associated with falling populations such as labor shortages and pension squeezes, Japan also faces dwindling domestic demand for cars.

Toyota, the world’s second largest automaker, made its first foray into commercializing rehabilitation robots on Wednesday, launching a rental service for its walk assist system, which helps patients to learn how to walk again after suffering strokes and other conditions.  [Read more…] about Toyota demonstrates robot to make elderly people walk faster

Universal Robots partners with Nissan to increase manufacturing productivity through collaborative robots

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Universal Robots says Nissan has simplified processes, reduced relief worker costs and stabilised production output through deployment of the company’s UR10 cobots

Universal Robots says the Nissan Motor Company has successfully deployed Universal Robots’ UR10 robot arms at its Yokohama factory. 

The automaker joins other global automotive manufacturers including BMW and Volkswagen who are using Universal Robots’ collaborative robots (cobots) to automate their processes.

Universal Robots says that through the deployment of its cobots, Nissan has enhanced its production processes, resulting in a higher level of output and stability as well as time and cost efficiencies. Nissan’s ageing workforce also enjoy a reduced workload, and were redeployed to less strenuous tasks.  [Read more…] about Universal Robots partners with Nissan to increase manufacturing productivity through collaborative robots

Aerospace industry places unique demands on holemaking technology

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Boeing_Factory

Plan ahead to get tooling that can handle today’s new materials, say Nate Craine and Greg Torres, of Allied Machine & Engineering

The aerospace industry is bigger than ever. As more and more people rely on air transport, the Airbus Global Market Forecast predicts the need for 33,000 new passenger and freighter aircraft in the next 20 years.

Between recent space endeavors and increasing air traffic, fabricators are constantly faced with new problems to solve.

In aerospace, the parts needed are often unique or newly designed and the deadlines are tight. With materials constantly changing, fabricators must be able to create new ways of safely and effectively drilling through them in as short a time as possible.  [Read more…] about Aerospace industry places unique demands on holemaking technology

EIT Digital launches ‘Robot IoT Interface’ solution

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The Isoyobot collaborative robot
The Isoyobot collaborative robot

EIT Digital has launched what it calls a “Robot IoT Interface”, a new technology project being developed with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and Poitiers-based startup Agileo Automation.

The goal of the technology is to enable different kind of robots and machines to connect to different cloud platforms.

Agileo’s managing director, Marc Engel, says: “Robots and machines may produce data in a standard or non- standard format according to their internal controller.

“The devised solution is a generic gateway that can receive the produced data, translate it into an OPC-UA model and then make it available in an IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) platform located in the cloud.”  [Read more…] about EIT Digital launches ‘Robot IoT Interface’ solution