Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Sam Francis

Robotic arms being employed as camera operators

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If you’re an enthusiast who occasionally makes a YouTube video, you probably use the webcam integrated with your computer. 

But if you’re more serious, you probably buy yourself good-quality video and audio equipment and your productions are of a higher standard.

Take one step further on from that and what’s possible is that you avail yourself of the services of a camera operator, someone who can move the camera to follow you around as you show us how to make that croissant and coffee we all so desperately need first thing in the morning.  [Read more…] about Robotic arms being employed as camera operators

TuSimple to launch autonomous truck for port logistics

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A startup company called TuSimple is said to be ready to launch its autonomous truck for logistics operations at seaports in China. (See video below.)

This is according to a report in the South China Morning Post, which says the company is in talks with 10 ports in the country and is just a couple of months away from rolling out is first driverless truck at one of those ports, possibly more.

The company has already conducted debut trials at the National Intelligent Connected Vehicle Pilot Zone in Shanghai, where the port is the second-busiest in the world.

TuSimple is a Chinese company with big-name investors in the US, including chipmaker Nvidia.  [Read more…] about TuSimple to launch autonomous truck for port logistics

6 River Systems raises $25 million for its warehouse robots

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Warehouse robot maker 6 River Systems has raised $25 million in Series B financing.

The funding round was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from all existing investors including Norwest Venture Partners, Eclipse Ventures and iRobot.

6RS will use the investment to enhance its first collaborative fulfillment robot, called “Chuck”.  [Read more…] about 6 River Systems raises $25 million for its warehouse robots

PMC ‘increases efficiency and quality’ with Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer

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Plastic Molded Concepts, a plastics injection molding manufacturer, has installed Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer robot at its Eagle, Wisconsin facility to drive business growth and offer high-quality jobs for workers. (See video below.)

Rethink claims that PMC has found that using Sawyer “increases throughput efficiency and job quality” in its facility.

PMC has turned to automation to boost the productivity of its 38 molding machines. As a first step, Sawyer is making parts for a pressure gauge.

Larry Floyd, president at PMC, says: “We qualify our success in terms of efficiency, and there’s no better solution to efficiency than automation.  [Read more…] about PMC ‘increases efficiency and quality’ with Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer

Universal Robots sells 25,000 units

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Universal Robots says it has reached 25,000 unit sales of its collaborative industrial robot range. 

The company has now achieved the same unit sales as Omron, according to the Robotics and Automation News list of top robot companies with the most installations.

The figure for Omron has not been updated for a while, but that does not diminish Universal Robots’ achievement.  [Read more…] about Universal Robots sells 25,000 units

Country insight: Robotics and automation set to make in-roads into Malaysian logistics industry

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Malaysia is a southeast Asian country with a population of about 32 million, and a diverse ethnic mix which includes 50 per cent Malays, 23 per cent Chinese and 12 per cent “indigenous”, along with 7 per cent Indians and 9 per cent “others”, according to the most recent study. 

Its location and geography – with thousands of miles of coastline and almost 30 ports – make Malaysia an ideal logistics hub for the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

The largest port in the country is said to be Port Klang, which used to be called Pelabuhan Swettenham. Like any major port, it has road and rail connections to the rest of the country and beyond – to Singapore and Thailand among other places.  [Read more…] about Country insight: Robotics and automation set to make in-roads into Malaysian logistics industry

OECD says automation will end 14 per cent of jobs

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The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which counts all leading countries as members, says automation technology will affect 14 per cent of jobs. 

Some might say this is quite a significant number of people, while others might argue this is an under-estimate.

In its report, The Future of Work, the OECD says: “The future of work offers unparalleled opportunities, but there are also significant challenges associated with these mega-trends.”  [Read more…] about OECD says automation will end 14 per cent of jobs

Geek Plus expands global reach with Modex event appearance

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Chinese company Geek Plus Robotics, a provider of mobile warehouse robots, is attending this year’s Modex event for the first time. 

Modex is the supply chain industry trade show in the US, being held in Atlanta on April 9 to 12.

For Geek Plus, the appearance is part of the company’s global expansion plans, after having a new office in Hong Kong recently.  [Read more…] about Geek Plus expands global reach with Modex event appearance

Opinion: The customer must be at the centre of the digital strategy

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By 

Colin Masson, global industry director of manufacturing solutions, Microsoft

Break down internal barriers to deliver highly tailored products and services

It’s easy to get obsessed with technology – it is the key enabler of today’s revolution – but the harder part of the transformation is cultural.

It’s about putting the customer experience and their business outcomes at the centre of everything. That means realigning engineering, manufacturing and the supply chain around delivering a world-class sales and service experience.

It means new thinking about optimising customer satisfaction and loyalty metrics such as Customer Satisfaction Scores or Net Promoter Scores rather than production efficiency.  [Read more…] about Opinion: The customer must be at the centre of the digital strategy

Hangar and Vapor IO to launch autonomous robotics data service

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Real-time system includes new data sources that support autonomous drones, cars and robotics

Vapor IO, which specialises in edge computing and edge data centers, and Hangar, which claims to be the world’s first Robotics-as-a-System data acquisition platform, have agreed plans for a commercial implementation of Hangar’s autonomous robotics for Industry on top of Vapor IO’s Kinetic Edge.

The implementation consists of Hangar’s Robotics-as-a-System platform running on Vapor IO’s Kinetic Edge, deployed to Project Volutus edge locations.

Hangar’s RaaS platform will utilize Vapor IO’s Kinetic Edge sites for safe navigation, connectivity, situational and airspace awareness, drone storage, drone recharging, high-speed data ingest and low latency processing.  [Read more…] about Hangar and Vapor IO to launch autonomous robotics data service