Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Sam Francis

Swisslog signs ‘major contract’ with tire manufacturer Michelin

by

Michelin, the tire manufacturer, has selected Swisslog warehouse and distribution solutions to automate a new distribution center in the US.

The order value of the automation project amounts to a high multimillion-dollar range and was booked in the second quarter of 2016.

The new distribution center will supply passenger and truck tires throughout North America, allowing the company to meet its ambitions for responsible logistics.  [Read more…] about Swisslog signs ‘major contract’ with tire manufacturer Michelin

Daimler sets its sights on vision of smart factory

by

At Daimler, the “smart factory” is the centrepiece of the digitalisation of the entire company. In the smart factory, the products, machines and the entire environment are networked with each other and connected to the internet. Integration of the real world into a functional, digital world enables a so-called “digital twin” to be created, which allows the real-time representation of processes, systems and entire production shops.

“Digitalisation enables us to make our products more individual, and production more efficient and flexible. The challenge is to plan for the long term while remaining able to respond rapidly to customer wishes and market fluctuations,” says Markus Schäfer, executive board member Mercedes-Benz cars production and supply chain management.

“The working environment in the automobile industry is facing major and very rapid changes,” says Michael Brecht, chairman of the Daimler works council. “We want to be actively involved in shaping these changes. One key to this is undoubtedly the systematic, far-sighted training of the current and future workforce.”  [Read more…] about Daimler sets its sights on vision of smart factory

Accenture makes business life easier with automation

by

accenture

Interview with Manish Sharma, senior managing director and group operating officer, Accenture Operations. This article is republished from the original source, em360tech.com

If business was easy, everyone would be doing it. Running a business is a complex and sometimes difficult thing to do.

The more experience one has, the more they can make it look easy. But no matter how experienced you are, and how much you can “routinise” your workload by yourself, a robot and software could probably do those things better.

That might sound disheartening for some, but for others, it provides an opportunity to become more productive, and in ways that are more creative and rewarding.

Here, we speak to Manish Sharma, senior managing director and group operating officer, Accenture Operations, about how the company itself uses automation to streamline its processes. 
[Read more…] about Accenture makes business life easier with automation

The Rubik’s Cube phenomenon: One for the all-time pop charts

by

lockTo date, more than 400 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold around the world. As such, the puzzle game is one of the biggest-selling products in history.

Not bad for a toy which its inventor, Hungarian architect Ernő Rubik, says he didn’t even plan to make.

He was working as a professor of architecture at the Budapest College of Applied Architecture at the time, in 1974, and built the cube with the intention of “searching to find a good task for my students”.  [Read more…] about The Rubik’s Cube phenomenon: One for the all-time pop charts

Infineon chip solves Rubik’s Cube in about one half of one second

by

rubik infineon
Picture from Caschy’s Blog

Lightning fast machine sorts out the squares in 637 thousandths of a second

The Rubik’s Cube is one of the world’s most famous puzzles, and one of the best-selling products in history. 

Tens of millions – possibly hundreds of millions – of people have tried to manipulate the cubic puzzle to manoeuvre the colours so they match on all six sides. And millions have succeeded.

But it would impossible for any human to do what a machine did earlier today at the electronica trade fair, where a machine called “Sub1 Reloaded” pulled off the feat with the help of microchips from Infineon in less than a second – 637 thousandths of a second to be exact.  [Read more…] about Infineon chip solves Rubik’s Cube in about one half of one second

AI knew Trump would win

by

Artificial intelligence systems can predict election results better than traditional pollsters, according to a report on em360tech.com. 

Artificial intelligence systems predicted a win for Donald Trump, of the Republican Party, over Hillary Clinton, of the Democrats, in the US presidential elections held yesterday.

Most traditional opinion pollsters rely on directly asking people about their voting intentions and behaviour.  [Read more…] about AI knew Trump would win

Additive manufacturing: Renishaw to showcase new technologies

by

 

Renishaw to demonstrate new tech for additive manufacturing process chain at formnext 2016

Global engineering and technology company Renishaw will showcase its latest developments and highlight the role that metal additive manufacturing plays in the manufacturing process chain at formnext, taking place between the 15th and 18th of November, 2016, in Frankfurt, Germany.

Renishaw will exhibit in Hall 3.1, on stand F68. Highlights on the stand will include a Moto 2 motorcycle and the Robot Bike Company R160 bespoke mountain bike frame, one of the latest innovations to come out of Renishaw’s global network of Solutions Centres.

The show comes soon after the inauguration of the first of Renishaw’s Solutions Centres, a global network of facilities aimed at making metal additive manufacturing more accessible to industry.  [Read more…] about Additive manufacturing: Renishaw to showcase new technologies

Audi to test new autonomous driving technology

by

Audi A7 piloted driving concept

German automaker calls its autonomous technology “piloted driving”

Twelve months after the launch of the “Digital Motorway Test Bed”, Audi has presented new technologies for what it calls “piloted driving” and connected cars at the German Federal Ministry of Transport. 

The connected car aspect of the presentation will deal with car-to-x technology, with the “x” denoting anything – other vehicles and infrastructure, for example.

Audi says it will concentrate on “online variable message” road signs and infrastructure measures. One of the more difficult problems for autonomous car developers is teaching machines how to tell the difference between traffic lights and other lights, for example.  [Read more…] about Audi to test new autonomous driving technology

Rewriting the rules: The benefits and challenges of IT/OT convergence

by

copa-data-zenon-csm_automated_engineering

Martyn Williams, managing director of Copa-Data UK, explains the changing responsibilities of IT and OT

The convergence of industrial automation and communication is an integral part of the growing Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In the modern industrial realm, automation should provide a consistent way of executing tasks and processes – including those usually associated with information technology (IT).

As a result, the operational technology (OT) used to support manufacturing processes is experiencing significant changes.

IT and OT convergence describes the integration of IT systems, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications, with OT systems, such as Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA).

Traditionally, IT and OT have remained two separate silos, maintaining independent protocols, standards and governance models. However, for companies pursuing operational effectiveness, increased profits and growth, the convergence of these two systems is a no brainer.  [Read more…] about Rewriting the rules: The benefits and challenges of IT/OT convergence

Paul von der Bank invents ‘world’s smallest’ robotic arc welding cell using Kuka industrial robot

by

Kuka has revealed what it claims is the world’s smallest robotic cell for arc welding, developed by a company called Paul von der Bank Schweisstechnik. 

The tiny cell – of about 1 cubic metre – is also said to have achieved a 50 per cent increase in productivity. It uses Kuka Agilus robots.

The cell, named the WTG 1200, is already being used by companies such as Brüninghaus & Drissner.  [Read more…] about Paul von der Bank invents ‘world’s smallest’ robotic arc welding cell using Kuka industrial robot