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Industrial robots

ABB launches new range of ‘next generation’ collaborative robots

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ABB is expanding its collaborative robot portfolio with the new GoFa and SWIFTI cobot families, offering higher payloads and speeds, to complement YuMi and Single Arm YuMi in ABB’s cobot line-up.

These stronger, faster and more capable cobots will accelerate the company’s expansion in high-growth segments including electronics, healthcare, consumer goods, logistics and food and beverage, amongst others, meeting the growing demand for automation across multiple industries.

GoFa and SWIFTI are intuitively designed so customers need not rely on in-house programming specialists. This will unlock industries that have low levels of automation, with customers able to operate their cobot within minutes of installation, straight out of the box, with no specialized training. [Read more…] about ABB launches new range of ‘next generation’ collaborative robots

Veo Robotics signs up Calvary Robotics as first integration partner

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Veo Robotics, an industrial automation company building technology to make robots responsive to humans, has agreed a partnership with Calvary Robotics, a developer of custom automation solutions, robotic platforms, and material handling systems, as its initial certified systems integrator partner.

Calvary will include Veo’s flagship product FreeMove, a “3D safeguarding solution” that is said to turn standard industrial robots into collaborative machines that work safely with humans, as part of its solution offering to customers.

The Veo team will provide training to the Calvary team on how to install FreeMove in various manufacturing settings. [Read more…] about Veo Robotics signs up Calvary Robotics as first integration partner

Universal Robots launches first virtual expo on automating machine tending with collaborative robots

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Universal Robots will host its first virtual expo on automating machine tending tasks with collaborative robots.

The two-day Machine Tending Expo February 23-24 focuses on manufacturers looking for concrete insights on deploying cobots to tend machines such as CNC, press brakes, injection molding machines or 3D printers.

In live demos, keynotes and interactive booth sessions with exhibiting partners, Universal Robots offers solutions on how to seamlessly implement cobots, tackling the labor shortage, while improving crucial machine uptime. [Read more…] about Universal Robots launches first virtual expo on automating machine tending with collaborative robots

ARM Institute showcases robotic coronavirus testing system developed by Wilder Systems

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The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute says that one of its members, Wilder Systems, has created a robotic cell for testing potential Covid-19 samples that is now in production in Austin, Texas. 

The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), through the CARES Act, provided funding to the ARM Institute to collaborate with Wilder Systems to develop this technology.

The ARM Institute is leading the way to a future where people and robots work together to respond to the nation’s greatest challenges and to develop and produce the world’s most desired products. [Read more…] about ARM Institute showcases robotic coronavirus testing system developed by Wilder Systems

ABB says its RobotStudio’s new braking distance simulator reduces robotic cell footprint by ‘up to 25 percent’

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ABB’s RobotStudio offline programming and simulation software has been upgraded with a new virtual robot braking distance function designed to create an exact simulation of the real-world stopping distance of a robot.

Enabling the robot’s braking distance to be accurately calculated, the function overcomes the need to add safety margins into cell designs, enabling space savings of up to 25 percent.

Predicting exactly where a robot will stop depends on a range of variables including speed, payload and the robot’s own inertia. These factors, individually or combined, can result in the robot coming to a halt outside of its safety zone, sometimes by several meters. [Read more…] about ABB says its RobotStudio’s new braking distance simulator reduces robotic cell footprint by ‘up to 25 percent’

Stäubli expands robotics solutions for life sciences market

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Stäubli Robotics says it is expanding the robotics solutions the company offers to the life sciences market.

The Covid-19 crisis has spurred life sciences labs to ramp up output at warp speed – and Stäubli Robotics says it is helping to meet critical needs.

As the challenges multiply and pressure mounts, Stäubli Robotics is actively expanding its offerings to the life sciences market, including a full range of flexible and collaborative robotic arms and mobility solutions. [Read more…] about Stäubli expands robotics solutions for life sciences market

What Happens When Cybercriminals Target Industrial Robots?

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Historically, robots were just dumb pieces of programmable machinery that did the same task over and over again. They had virtually no ability to sense their environment. And they certainly couldn’t make decisions for themselves.

With the advent of machine learning and smart systems, that’s all changing. Now designers are imbuing their mechanical appendages with all manner of intelligence. And it’s only getting better.

For economists, these trends are extremely exciting. We could be looking at a future where robots do the vast majority of manual jobs, freeing up labour for other tasks, boosting productivity like nothing else in human history. [Read more…] about What Happens When Cybercriminals Target Industrial Robots?

Asyril launches new control system for its robotic system

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Asyril has launched Eye+, a new “intelligent control system” that manages the Asycube, hopper, vision and robot. (See video below.)

The company says the system allows the control of all components required for a modern and flexible assembly line.

With Eye+ Asycube users will be able to easily optimise the performance of their system without in-depth knowledge of machine vision and at a highly competitive cost. Eye+ also enables vision configuration and hand-eye calibration. This control system is easy to integrate and simple to use. [Read more…] about Asyril launches new control system for its robotic system

The business case for autonomous mobile robots in manufacturing

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  • First deployment of OTTO AMRs at scale at an F500 company demonstrates clear benefits in productivity, cost savings, and robustness.
  • Analysis reveals that a single AMR unit represents just 10% of the equivalent human labor cost, 20% of forklift operating costs, 50% of conveyor costs and 66% of AGV costs.

For a number of years now, Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) have been considered a promising technology for improving the resilience of manufacturing operations. [Read more…] about The business case for autonomous mobile robots in manufacturing

Kuka unveils robotics for modern treatment of tumors

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A Munich therapy center uses a medical product with an integrated Kuka robot as a high-precision instrument in tumor treatment.

The CyberKnife system of Accuray, a kind of virtual knife, is an alternative to conventional radiotherapy.

Thanks to high-precision robot- and image-guided irradiation, the CyberKnife Center in Munich is able to treat tumors anywhere in the body – from the brain to the spinal column to various organs, such as the lungs, liver, kidneys or prostate. [Read more…] about Kuka unveils robotics for modern treatment of tumors