Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Sam Francis

Sony showcases new concept car with tech for autonomous driving

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Sony has showcased a number of new technologies at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, and one of them was a concept car packed with the company’s sensors and other components that provide a package that supports autonomous driving.

Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony president and CEO, says: “It’s not an exaggeration to say that mobile (communication) has been the mega-trend of the last decade. I believe the next mega-trend will be mobility.”

Yoshida formally unveiled the prototype vehicle, which incorporates imaging and sensing technologies that Sony says “contribute to safer and more reliable autonomous driving”. [Read more…] about Sony showcases new concept car with tech for autonomous driving

NXP launches new chip with ‘10 times more processing power’ to support autonomous cars

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NXP Semiconductors has launched a new processor with “10 times more processing power” to support autonomous driving functions.

NXP is believed to be the world’s largest supplier of automotive semiconductors.

The company says the new S32G vehicle network processors mark a “significant turning point” in the way vehicle architectures are designed and implemented.

As the latest offering from NXP’s S32 family of processors, the S32G processors enable the automotive industry shift to high performance domain-based vehicle architectures and provide reduced software complexity and enhanced security and safety. [Read more…] about NXP launches new chip with ‘10 times more processing power’ to support autonomous cars

SICK unveils ‘world’s smallest’ safety laser scanner for robots

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SICK has launched what it says is “the world’s smallest safety laser scanner”, the nanoScan3.

The company says the new component is designed for “easy and economical integration into the smallest of machine designs”, particularly for automated guided vehicles, carts, mobile platforms and service robots.

The ultra-compact SICK nanoScan3 is just eight centimetres tall, so it can fit snugly into the spaces in machines where safety laser scanners could not previously have been located. [Read more…] about SICK unveils ‘world’s smallest’ safety laser scanner for robots

SSI Schaefer implements logistics center for Misumi

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Misumi, a global manufacturer and provider of mechanical components and indirect materials for special machine construction and assembly automation, has commissioned SSI Schaefer to implement a new logistics center in Frankfurt / Main.

The distribution center will be built in several stages and have a capacity for 450,000 items on more than 10,000 sq m of storage area.

Core elements of the system are an automated shuttle warehouse, a four-storied rack system, ergonomic work stations connected via a conveying system and the logistics software Wamas. [Read more…] about SSI Schaefer implements logistics center for Misumi

Volkswagen unveils concept robot for electric vehicle charging

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Volkswagen has provided a glimpse into a future in which the search for charging stations for electric cars comes to an end. (See video below.)

Volkswagen Group Components’ mobile charging robot takes over this task – and drives to the electric car completely autonomously.

After it is started via app or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) communication, the mobile robot drives itself to the vehicle that needs charging and communicates with it. [Read more…] about Volkswagen unveils concept robot for electric vehicle charging

Zebra Technologies unveils new robot for retail operations

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Zebra Technologies has introduced SmartSight, a robot for mass merchants, grocers, and supermarkets and hypermarkets.

The company is showcasing the new machine at NRF 2020, the retail technology show currently being held in Chicago, USA.

SmartSight leverages the computer vision, machine learning, workflow automation and robotic capabilities of Zebra’s EMA50 enterprise mobile automation system to accurately identify out-of-stock conditions, pricing inconsistencies and planogram issues on the shelf. [Read more…] about Zebra Technologies unveils new robot for retail operations

IAM Robotics to open new HQ and showroom in Pittsburgh

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IAM Robotics, inventor of an autonomous mobile manipulation robot, is opening a new, headquarters and showcase innovation center.

The new 30,000 square foot facility will be located in the emerging high tech area of Pittsburgh known as Robotics Row, a stretch of land that has become a hotbed for robotics and technology companies along the Allegheny River.

The IAM Robotics Showcase Innovation Center will feature a distribution center environment where visitors will experience the company’s high tech robotic labor system in action. [Read more…] about IAM Robotics to open new HQ and showroom in Pittsburgh

Locus Robotics agrees reseller partnership with HighJump

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Warehouse automation company Locus Robotics has agreed a partnership with HighJump, a global provider for supply chain solutions.

Locus and HighJump will work together to facilitate the development of integration tools that will allow for faster, seamless implementations to improve productivity and efficiency for shared retail and third-party logistics (3PL) customers.

The partnership also makes HighJump a licensed reseller of Locus’s autonomous, multi-robot solution for warehouse fulfillment. [Read more…] about Locus Robotics agrees reseller partnership with HighJump

Productive Robotics updates software for its collaborative robots

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Productive Robotics has launched updated software for its range of OB7 collaborative robots, adding “more than 50 features” to the system.

The company says the software update enhances OB7’s connectivity, allowing for efficient integration with other equipment and for easily accessible status monitoring.

Zac Bogart, president and CEO of Productive Robotics, says: “Productive Robotics has been an innovation leader in collaborative robotics developing next-generation technology to differentiate itself in the market. [Read more…] about Productive Robotics updates software for its collaborative robots

Universal Robots sells almost 40,000 units

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Universal Robots has sold almost 40,000 units to date, but says the market for collaborative robots remains “largely untapped”.

The company started selling its collaborative robots more than 10 years ago, and has become the leader in a category which it effectively created.

At the time, collaborative robots were unheard of, and industrial robots were always thought of as big, powerful machines which needed to be caged off in case of danger to human workers. [Read more…] about Universal Robots sells almost 40,000 units