Robotics & Automation News

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ESA and Russians send robots to sniff out alien methane on Mars

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Launch of seven-month mission to Mars
Launch of multi-year mission to find methane-releasing aliens on Mars

Two robotic spacecraft have blasted off from the spaceport in Kazakhstan on their seven-month journey to Mars.

A scientist close to the project says one of the craft will be “like a big nose in space”, looking to sniff out the locations of aliens by detecting methane, according to a report on IOL.

The joint-mission is the result of collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia’s Roscosmos.

This is the first of two joint ESA-Roscosmos missions. Another similar mission to the “Red Planet” is planned for 2018.  [Read more…] about ESA and Russians send robots to sniff out alien methane on Mars

Kuka to build global deep learning AI network for industrial robots

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Kuka, one of the world’s biggest industrial robotics companies, is to develop a smart manufacturing platform in collaboration with Chinese communications giant Huawei. 

Kuka and Huawei signed a deal to develop what could be a global network – built on the industrial internet of things – to enable the connection of robots across many factories. The companies say they plan to integrate artificial intelligence and deep learning into the system.

In the new manufacturing era, robots will play an increasingly important role in helping manufacturing businesses remain agile and drive growth, say the two companies.

Under the new agreement, Huawei and Kuka will collaborate in the areas of cloud computing, big data, mobile technology, and industrial robots to help manufacturing customers transform and embrace smart manufacturing. [Read more…] about Kuka to build global deep learning AI network for industrial robots

NASA to send robots in search of aliens under Antarctica

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stone aerospace spindle antarctica
Are aliens hiding underneath the ice in Antarctica? Photo: Christopher Michael

NASA has awarded almost $3m to a team comprising scientists from Stone Aerospace and Louisiana State University to look for aliens beneath the Antarctic 

Stone Aerospace founder and explorer Dr Bill Stone and Louisiana State University geologist Dr Peter Doran have assembled a diverse team of polar and planetary scientists to develop a state-of-the-art cryobot (an ice-penetrating robotic vehicle) to search for life in lakes and oceans under miles-thick ice in Antarctica.

With nearly $3 million from Nasa, the team will develop, integrate and field test Spindle (Sub-glacial Polar ice Navigation, Descent, and Lake Exploration), an autonomous cryobot that will melt through some of the thickest ice on Earth to access the pristine water beneath. And look for aliens. Spindle will be the first cryobot system to carry a second stage hovering autonomous underwater vehicle (HAUV). The HAUV will conduct reconnaissance, life search, and sample collection then return to the cryobot for subsequent data uplink and possible sample return to the surface.  [Read more…] about NASA to send robots in search of aliens under Antarctica

DHL to roboticise the whole of its supply chain

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DHL vision of sorting centres of the future, featuring lots of robotics and automation technology
DHL vision of sorting centres of the future, featuring lots of robotics and automation technology

DHL says it is approaching a point in time where it decides that “robots are going to become essential in the world of logistics”. 

In a new trend report, Robotics in Logistics, Deutsche Post DHL Group says it is “revealing how collaborative robots will affect supply chains”. Robotics technology may soon be picking, packing and moving goods in the logistics environment.

Matthias Heutger, senior vice president strategy, marketing and innovation, DHL customer solutions and innovation, says: “Robots work in many industries but haven’t made an impact on logistics yet because of the complexity of the work – handling a wide array of different things in an infinite number of combinations, close to people and in confined spaces.

“Current research shows that 80 percent of logistics facilities today are still manual. Recently, however, technology is just starting to catch up to meet demands for flexible and low-cost robots that could collaboratively work in logistics.”  [Read more…] about DHL to roboticise the whole of its supply chain

BMW celebrates 100 years by entering autonomous car race

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BMW Vision vehicle
BMW Vision vehicle starts symbolic world tour

Describing it as a fast learner, the CEO of BMW announced that the company, which is celebrating its centenary, is looking to build the ultimate self-driving machine.

BMW has long been celebrated for its innovative and technologically advanced vehicles, but until now it had appeared reluctant to pay any attention to the hype about autonomous cars.

But in a statement released by the German automaker, Harald Krueger said: “Soon, our cars will be digital chauffeurs and personal companions. They will anticipate what we want to do and make our lives easier for us.”  [Read more…] about BMW celebrates 100 years by entering autonomous car race

IFR survey: 1.3 million industrial robots to enter service by 2018

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IFR survey industrial robots
Figure 1: Global robot density above average – European Union (Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Finland, France, Austria, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, United Kingdom), Asia (Republic of Korea, Japan, Taiwan), America (USA, Canada)

The automation of the fourth industrial revolution is accelerating: By 2018, around 1.3 million industrial robots will be entering service in factories around the world. In the high-revenue automotive sector, global investments in industrial robots increased by a record-breaking 43 percent (2013-2014) within one year.

Viewed on a cross-sector basis, the international market value for robotic systems now lies at around 32 billion US dollars. So says the 2015 World Robot Statistics, issued by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

The robotic density figure is a key performance indicator for gauging the current degree of automation within the international markets: For example, the average global robotic density in producing industries lies at 66  robot units per 10,000 employees. [Read more…] about IFR survey: 1.3 million industrial robots to enter service by 2018

Industrial robots can now do their work uninterrupted thanks to the cloud and offline programming

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fanuc industrial robot

Industrial robots are increasingly being connected to the cloud, where they can be managed centrally in some sort of control room, which means that a small number of human staff could theoretically manage hundreds, if not thousands, of machines.

Previously they were almost always operated in isolated circumstances within factories, inside a work cell, fenced off from human workers because of safety concerns. They were programmed individually, using a teach pendant, which is like a 20-years-out-of-date oversized mobile phone.

The teach pendant is still used for refinements and modifications after the machine goes online, into work, but nowadays most industrial robots are prepared for a life of work using offline programming. [Read more…] about Industrial robots can now do their work uninterrupted thanks to the cloud and offline programming

Norway’s railroad network replaces 40-year-old technology with new automation software

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norway national rail system, copa-data
Norway has integrated an automation solution from COPA-DATA into the national rail network

The rail travel network in Norway has taken its very own “great leap forward” in technological terms with the introduction of new automation software.

The Norwegian National Rail Administration (NNRA, also known as Jernbaneverket) decided to perform a major upgrade to its infrastructure in order to modernize rail service delivery and optimize maintenance and performance.

The technology for controlling the power transformer stations throughout its nationwide operations was more than forty years old in some areas, so a modern solution for controlling and monitoring these stations was required. The decision was made in favor of zenon, the HMI/SCADA software from COPA-DATA. [Read more…] about Norway’s railroad network replaces 40-year-old technology with new automation software

Stanford engineers test autonomous car algorithms in quest for safer driving

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Stanford University’s autonomous car
Stanford University’s autonomous car

When Stanford’s autonomous car Shelley nears speeds of 120 mph as it tears around a racetrack without a driver, observers’ natural inclinations are to exchange high-fives or simply mouth, “wow”.

Chris Gerdes and his students, however, flip open laptops and begin dissecting the car’s performance. How many g-forces did Shelley pull through turns 14 and 15? How did it navigate the twisty chicane? What did the braking forces look like through the tight turn 5?

For the past several years, Gerdes and his students have been testing their autonomous driving algorithms with Shelley, a custom-rigged Audi TTS, on the 3-mile track at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, California. Although the speedometer needle sometimes flies past 110 mph, the car spends a good deal of the course maneuvering at speeds of 50 to 75 mph.  [Read more…] about Stanford engineers test autonomous car algorithms in quest for safer driving

Stanford cryptography pioneers Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman win Turing Award

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Stanford's Martin Hellman, left, and Whitfield Diffie, shown in 1977
Stanford’s Martin Hellman, left, and Whitfield Diffie, shown in 1977, were awarded the 2015 A.M. Turing Award this week

The groundbreaking algorithm from Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman enabled a secure Internet and sparked a clash with the NSA that foreshadowed current privacy battles between government agencies and Silicon Valley companies.

Stanford cyber-security innovators Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman, who brought cryptography from the shadowy realm of classified espionage into the public space and created a major breakthrough that enabled modern e-commerce and secure communications over the Internet, are being honored with the Association for Computing Machinery’s 2015 A.M. Turing Award.

The award is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of computing” and comes with a $1 million prize funded by Google.

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) made the official announcement Tuesday morning at the RSA conference in San Francisco – one of the largest gatherings of cryptographers working on Internet security.  [Read more…] about Stanford cryptography pioneers Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman win Turing Award

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