Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Industrial robots

Yaskawa Motoman reveals MotoSight 3D CanonVision, says it can sort out random parts

by

yaskawa-motovision-motosi2

Yaskawa Motoman has launched MotoSight 3D CanonVision which it says provides single-step recognition, picking of randomly placed parts. 

The robot-manufacturing giant says its MotoSight 3D CanonVision is an easy-to-use hardware-and-software solution that utilizes a single 3D machine vision head to quickly and easily recognize and pick parts that are randomly placed in bins.

Plus, 3D CAD matching provides simplified, accurate part registration, allowing even complicated parts to be identified.  [Read more…] about Yaskawa Motoman reveals MotoSight 3D CanonVision, says it can sort out random parts

Yaskawa Motoman demonstrates new range of robots at IMTS

by

yaskawa-motoman-gp8_forklift

Yaskawa Motoman has demonstrated a range of new automation solutions for material handling, human-robot collaboration, and mobile machine tending and material movement during IMTS 2016.  [Read more…] about Yaskawa Motoman demonstrates new range of robots at IMTS

Apple’s Liam robot helping drive innovation and eco-friendly technology

by

With the development of innovative tech devices continuing at a rapid pace, global electronic waste is set to create a major problem. In research featured by Ecowatch, it revealed that e-waste is predicted to reach 65 million tons by 2017. 



One of the major contributors of e-waste is the disposal of mobile devices, particularly smartphones that get replaced quickly as mobile manufacturers continue to introduce better models annually.

However, Apple plans to change the game by producing top of the line smartphones while offering a reliable recycling robot to quickly deconstruct iPhones and saves its components. 

Introduced earlier this year, Liam is made up of 29-armed robotic modules that focuses on taking apart an iPhone in seconds.  [Read more…] about Apple’s Liam robot helping drive innovation and eco-friendly technology

Servosila launches robotic arm for mobile market

by

servosila-robotic-arm-7

Servosila, a robotics technology company, has launched a new line of robotic arm manipulators specifically targeted at mobile robotics market.

Gary Silver, chief marketing officer for Servosila, says: “Servosila robotic arms are the first manipulators specifically designed for mobile robots. It is very easy to retrofit any existing robotic chassis or a torso with a Servosila robotic arm.”

Servosila robotic arms are attachable payload modules for mobile service robots or other robotic platforms. Servosila robotic arms are typically mounted on a chassis or a torso of a mobile robot and be powered by an on-board power supply system of the host robotic platform.  [Read more…] about Servosila launches robotic arm for mobile market

Universal Robots says it has 10,000 collaborative robots installed around the world

by

Universal Robots says it has shipped 10,000 of its collaborative industrial robots worldwide so far.

The company, which is believed to be the first robot manufacturer to have launched a collaborative industrial robot model, made the announcement through a Twitter post.

More as we get it…

Exclusive: Comau has eyes on massive Asian market

by

 

ferrari-488gtb1

Exclusive interview with Maurizio Cremonini, head of marketing at Comau

As many readers of Robotics and Automation News will know, Comau (Consorzio Macchine Utensili) is the Italian manufacturer of industrial robotic arms utilised by all the leading automakers in the world. 

One of those automakers is the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Group, which happens to own Comau, as well as the famous Ferrari brand of supercars.

So, in a way, Comau could claim to be the Ferrari of industrial robot makers. If I were the company’s marketing boss, I would certainly make more of the Ferrari connection. Having said that, Comau robots do echo the beauty of Ferrari cars, both in their colour and their shapes, using a similar red to the classic body paint on a Ferrari such as the one pictured above, and lately using a silver/grey/brushed steel and black combination with curves perhaps borrowed from Ferrari cars.

Maurizio Cremonini is head of marketing at Comau, and he has made time to give Robotics and Automation News this exclusive, extensive and deep insight into Comau.  [Read more…] about Exclusive: Comau has eyes on massive Asian market

Tag Team Manufacturing says using Rethink Robotics machines has improved performance by 25 per cent

by

Tag Team Manufacturing, a specialist in precision production runs and prototype work for original equipment manufacturers, says deploying Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer for large production jobs at its facility in Parker, Colorado, has led to significant improvements in its productivity.

Tag Team uses Sawyer in an effort to help decrease client costs while shortening the delivery times to market. Sawyer enabled Tag Team to work 24 hours per day, seven days per week to meet the condensed delivery window that otherwise would have required an addition of five machinists in a very tight labor market.

Within weeks of deployment, Sawyer bolstered Tag Team’s production figures by 25 percent, says the company. Sawyer operates a Tag Team computer numerical control (CNC) mill, constantly executing replicable tasks.  [Read more…] about Tag Team Manufacturing says using Rethink Robotics machines has improved performance by 25 per cent

Robotiq launches community for robotics professionals

by

robotiq dof

Robotiq has launched an open community – called DoF – where industrial automation professionals can share their know-how and get answers to accelerate their robotics projects. 

DoF, which stands for degrees of freedom, is meant as a medium for sharing ideas and solving automation problems, says Robotiq.

Samuel Bouchard, CEO of Robotiq, says: “We realized that the know-how is locked in the head of automation engineers who can’t talk to each other because they are far apart, focused on making their factory run.

“This is why we created this online community, to bring industrial automation pros together so they can help each other with their automation projects and stop reinventing the wheel on their own.”  [Read more…] about Robotiq launches community for robotics professionals

Metal belts are driving robotics industry growth, says metal belts company

by

belt technologies belts-drivetape

Belt Technologies, which claims to be the leading provider of stainless steel belts, drive tapes, and conveyor systems, says metal belts are driving the growth in the robotics industry.

Recently, the company says it has seen an increase in the number of OEMS in the robotics industry seeking metal drive tapes and belts for their automated equipment.

Belt Technology’s president, Alan Wosky, says: “Robotic technology typically requires a high level of precision and cleanliness.  [Read more…] about Metal belts are driving robotics industry growth, says metal belts company

Exclusive: Seiko Epson boss looks to robots for 70 per cent growth within 10 years

by

Minoru Usui, president, Seiko Epson
Minoru Usui, president, Seiko Epson

Exclusive interview with Seiko Epson president Minoru Usui 

The president of Seiko Epson says he wants to increase the company’s total annual revenues by 70 per cent within 10 years, and believes industrial robots will be one of the fastest-growing business units, with a 500 per cent hike in that time.

In an exclusive interview with Robotics and Automation News, Minoru Usui says Seiko Epson is hoping to achieve a dramatic expansion of its robotics division in the next decade, and “take the company from being a 1-trillion-yen-a-year business to being a 1.7-trillion-yen-a-year business”.

Epson Robots is one of the top industrial robot manufacturers in the world, and Usui is keen to build on this success.

In its annual report, the company lists robots in the “sensing and industrial solutions” business segment, which accounts for approximately $2 billion revenue a year. Seiko Epson’s total revenue is approximately $10 billion a year. [Read more…] about Exclusive: Seiko Epson boss looks to robots for 70 per cent growth within 10 years