Robotics & Automation News

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Industrial robots

Material handling: An overview of a fast-moving market

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Material handling refers to the movement of items within relatively small spaces, such as a warehouse. 

In that sense, it’s different from logistics, which refers to movement of goods over longer distances, from city to city or across countries and continents.

But material handling falls within logistics, obviously, and can sometimes be categorised within intralogistics – as in, movement of goods within a company’s network of warehouses and manufacturing facilities.  [Read more…] about Material handling: An overview of a fast-moving market

Robotics and automation reshaping Thailand’s economy, as it looks to sell more industrial robots

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Asian country’s government-backed investment organisation talks up ‘Thailand 4.0’, highlighting the industrial robot manufacturing sector, where sales are forecast to increase by 133 per cent from 2,131 units in 2013 to 7,500 units in 2018 – and it’s offering huge tax breaks to achieve it 

Thailand has been doing well as a result of globalisation, but with increasing attention to, and investment in robotics, the country is looking to further accelerate its development. 

Authorities in the country have launched something they call “Thailand 4.0” – based on Industry 4.0 – which essentially refers to the greater levels of internet connectivity in the industrial sector.

And even if the country’s industrial sector has been doing well, greater levels of connectivity would elevate operations to a higher level, or create value, as the authorities see it.  [Read more…] about Robotics and automation reshaping Thailand’s economy, as it looks to sell more industrial robots

Doosan confirms entry into collaborative robotics market, shows off new cobot

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South Korean industrial giant Doosan is expanding into the collaborative robot market, which it expects to grow “at a rapid rate on the back of the fourth industrial revolution”, and has revealed a new cobot which it has dubbed the M1013 (main picture).

The company established Doosan Robotics in 2015, and recruited what it says are the industry’s top researchers and developers to lead its research efforts.

In that time, Doosan Robotics has developed four collaborative robot models with its own in-house technology and exhibited them for the first time at Robot World 2017.  [Read more…] about Doosan confirms entry into collaborative robotics market, shows off new cobot

ABB opens new robotics plant in Thailand

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ABB has opened a new robotics facility in Thailand. 

Officially called ABB Robotics Machine-Tending Limited, or RMT for short, the business unit is set to produce machine-tending robotics, in Rayong Province, Thailand.

The opening ceremony was attended by Staffan Herrström, Sweden’s ambassador to Thailand, and Sirichote Singsa, who oversees ABB’s robotics and motion division in Thailand.  [Read more…] about ABB opens new robotics plant in Thailand

Humanoid robot market to grow to $4 billion in five years

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The market for humanoid robots is forecast to grow to $4 billion in about five years, according to a new report by ReportsnReports. 

The researcher values the current market at approximately $320 million in 2017. So that would mean annual growth of more than 50 per cent.

Humanoids include such robots as Pepper and Nao, which are owned by SoftBank Robotics, as well as Emiew, produced by Hitachi, and Honda’s famous Asimo, although that one is more of an exhibition robot.

The others, like Nao and Pepper, for example, are already finding many buyers. SoftBank says it has sold 10,000 units of Nao, and it releases batches of 1,000 at a time of the Pepper robot, and it sells out online within minutes.  [Read more…] about Humanoid robot market to grow to $4 billion in five years

Yaskawa to increase production capacity by 25 per cent in China

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Overactive Chinese manufacturers of smartphones and computers have driven Yaskawa to the point of increasing production capacity by 25 per cent. 

Yaskawa says it will increase its monthly output from its current 1,200 units per month to 1,500 units per month to meet frenetically increasing demand from Chinese electronics manufacturers, according to a report on Nikkei.

The increase in capacity will be achieved at Yaskawa’s plant in Jiangsu Province, which is set for expansion towards the end of next year.  [Read more…] about Yaskawa to increase production capacity by 25 per cent in China

Rethink Robotics launches new software for Sawyer industrial robot

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Company says Sawyer will now be able to produce real-time robot performance and manufacturing data

Rethink Robotics has released Intera 5.2, an expansion of its “first-of-its-kind” Intera software platform which provides critical data insights about its Sawyer industrial robot to manufacturers in real time. 

Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer gives operators and line managers valuable data at a glance, including metrics such as cycle time, part count, speed and force – data that has never before been available through a single collaborative robot vendor.

The new feature, Intera Insights, displays key performance indicators via a customizable dashboard on the robot’s on-board display, making it accessible directly on the factory floor.  [Read more…] about Rethink Robotics launches new software for Sawyer industrial robot

Fanuc limits sales as it struggles to deal with too many orders

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Fanuc is struggling to cope with the number of orders it is receiving so it is placing some limits on sales, according to a report on Nikkei. 

The world’s largest robot maker is benefitting from the rapid growth in demand for robotics in automation systems worldwide, especially in China.

As a group, Fanuc is expecting profits to increase by 37 per cent in the current fiscal year, rising to $1.83 billion.  [Read more…] about Fanuc limits sales as it struggles to deal with too many orders

From primitive tools to global power: Denso celebrates three milestone product anniversaries

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Denso started out as a division of Toyota, which is the world’s largest automotive manufacturer, according to some statistics.

By revenue, Toyota is actually the fifth-largest company in the world, ahead of competitors such as Volkswagen, Daimler, and General Motors.

Interestingly, Toyota also generated more revenue than Apple in 2016.  [Read more…] about From primitive tools to global power: Denso celebrates three milestone product anniversaries

Denso Robotics reveals it has 95,000 industrial robots installed worldwide

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Denso Robotics now has almost 100,000 industrial robots installed worldwide, which means it overtakes Kuka on the Robotics and Automation News list of top industrial robot manufacturers in the world. 

The company – which is the main robotics and automation systems supplier to automotive giant Toyota – overtakes Kuka, and is now just 5,000 short of Nachi-Fujikoshi.

The list of the top industrial robot manufacturers in the world was first published a couple of years ago, but has since been updated whenever new information has been made available.  [Read more…] about Denso Robotics reveals it has 95,000 industrial robots installed worldwide