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Watchmaking robots: It’s a small world

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When Apple wanted to launch a watch, most people may have thought the company would name it iWatch, to go with iPhone, iPad and iLife. 

However, Swatch raised a legal objection on the grounds that it had the rights to a product called iSwatch, and Apple’s iWatch would be too similar. This week, the courts agreed and banned Apple from using the name.

But Apple had already changed its mind some time ago, and went with Apple Watch, which has gone on to sell 13 million units in its first year, estimated to be a faster sales rate than the iPhone.

But as a total, 13 million is barely a drop in the ocean of the global watch market.  [Read more…] about Watchmaking robots: It’s a small world

Adidas reveals ‘first’ robot-manufactured shoes

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Adidas has unveiled the first product to be created at its industry-changing SpeedFactory facility in Ansbach, Germany – in its Futurecraft MFG (Made for Germany) series, 500 pairs of which will be sold to the general public.

Designed to provide the “ultimate fit”, Adidas claims its Futurecraft MFG shoe is the first step in what Adidas believes will be a “game-changing” moment for the industry – mainly because the system customises the shoe for the shapes and motions of the individual customer’s feet.

The shoe is the first high performance footwear to come out of the Adidas SpeedFactory, which will ultimately allow for the creation of footwear made for the specific fit and functional needs of consumers.

The SpeedFactory is the name given by Adidas to its advanced manufacturing facilities, featuring high levels of robotics, automation and 3D printing. The first one was opened in Germany, and another one is being built in the US.

[Read more…] about Adidas reveals ‘first’ robot-manufactured shoes

Industrial Internet Consortium agrees security framework for robotics and automation systems connectivity

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Industry association says new standard is a comprehensive approach to protect the industrial internet

The Industrial Internet Consortium, the public-private organization formed to accelerate adoption of the industrial internet of things, has published its Industrial Internet Security Framework, a common security framework that addresses security issues in IIoT systems.

The organizations says IISF emphasizes the importance of five IIoT characteristics – safety, reliability, resilience, security and privacy – that help define “trustworthiness” in IIoT systems. The IISF also defines risk, assessments, threats, metrics and performance indicators to help business managers protect their organizations.

IIoT security cannot be considered in isolation, says IIC. It comprises a complex set of industrial processes and applications as well as significant safety and reliability requirements.  [Read more…] about Industrial Internet Consortium agrees security framework for robotics and automation systems connectivity

Industrial internet: ABB signs deal with Huawei to develop robotics and automation solutions

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ABB and Huawei say their agreement will help drive industries towards a ‘fully connected era’

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has signed a memorandum of understanding with ABB to robotics and automation technologies, including solutions for the power generation sector.

Under the deal, agreed at the Huawei Connect event earlier this month, the two parties will integrate Huawei LTE-based OneAir products and technologies into ABB robots and industrial automation solutions.

The cooperative mission involves the realization of remote wireless robotic monitoring, management, configuration, big data applications, and visualized intelligent manufacturing to jointly promote full industrial connectivity.  [Read more…] about Industrial internet: ABB signs deal with Huawei to develop robotics and automation solutions

Chinese whispers: The most populous nation on Earth wants to replace millions of human workers with industrial robots it plans to manufacture

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Towards the end of last year, the nominally communist Chinese government announced that it wants China to become the world’s largest producer of industrial robots. 

In comments made in the past few months, China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have clearly stated their intention to embrace robots and the new industrial revolution brought about by internet connectivity and artificial intelligence.

In a speech to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jinping called for a “robot revolution”, saying: “Our country will be the biggest market for robots, but can our technology and manufacturing capacity cope with the competition? Not only do we need to upgrade our robots, we also need to capture markets in many places.”

And speaking at the China Association for Science and Technology conference in Beijing, Keqiang said the conference will “spur the the growth of the emerging robot industry and create the world’s largest robot market”.  [Read more…] about Chinese whispers: The most populous nation on Earth wants to replace millions of human workers with industrial robots it plans to manufacture

Universal Robots now certified for applications in cleanroom environments

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Universal Robots’ lightweight collaborative robot arms can now be implemented in controlled environments, says the company

Universal Robots says it collaborative robots have been awarded a certification which officially allows them to be used in cleanroom applications. 

After successful tests in accordance with VDI 2083 Part 9.1, the international industrial guideline concerning the various functions and measures of cleanroom technologies, the robot arms and the accompanying controller boxes made by the Danish pioneer in human-robot collaboration have been awarded the certification for cleanroom applications by the international certification organization TÜV SÜD.

In compliance with the industrial norm ISO 14644-1, the company’s robots UR3, UR5 and UR10 are now authorized for the global use in cleanroom environments of the cleanroom class ISO 5.  [Read more…] about Universal Robots now certified for applications in cleanroom environments

Caterpillar, GE and Microsoft invest in Sarcos Robotics exoskeleton

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Sarcos Robotics says its Guardian exoskeleton (pictured) will be capable of lifting hundreds of pounds when it is commercially available

Sarcos Robotics, a developer of dexterous industrial robots for use in unstructured environments, has secured $10.5 million in funding from a group of top-tier strategic investors including Caterpillar Ventures, GE Ventures, and Microsoft.

Additionally, Cottonwood Technology Fund and two other private investment firms, together with the company’s three co-founders, Ben Wolff, Dr Fraser Smith and Dr Marc Olivier, invested in the financing round.

The company says the infusion of capital will be used to expand the Sarcos team and to accelerate the production and deployment of Sarcos’ Guardian line of robots that are significantly reducing the risk of injury and the cost of performing many of the world’s most dangerous and difficult tasks.  [Read more…] about Caterpillar, GE and Microsoft invest in Sarcos Robotics exoskeleton

Honeywell launches industrial internet of things service to ‘improve plant performance’

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Honeywell says its new cloud-based IIoT service helps increase plant utilization and performance and avoid production interruptions

Honeywell UOP has launched a new software-based service designed to allow refiners and petrochemical and gas processing plants to improve performance. 

Honeywell UOP’s new Connected Performance Services (CPS) business leverages the Industrial Internet of Things to tap Honeywell’s deep process knowledge, design expertise, and understanding of catalysis with next-generation software platforms from Honeywell Process Solutions, the leading provider of software-based solutions for the process industries.

Zak Alzein, vice president for CPS, says: “This cloud-enabled service makes plants smarter and more responsive.

“Problems that caused plants to be less efficient or less productive and that went undetected for weeks or months now can be resolved quickly and proactively, and decisions that used to take days now can be made in hours. For many plants, the avoidance of downtime and suboptimal performance, and better agility, can be worth millions of dollars per year.”  [Read more…] about Honeywell launches industrial internet of things service to ‘improve plant performance’

Comau signs Robotics Benelux as a new distributor

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Tobias Daniel (second from left) and Michiel Brink (third from left) shake hands on the distributor contract between Comau and Robotics Benelux

Comau, one of the biggest names in industrial automation, has signed a new deal with Robotics Benelux as one of its distributors.

Beginning this month, and based in Geldermalsen, Robotics Benelux is going to market all Comau Robotics products and services in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Until now, the region was under the sales responsibility of Comau Robotics in Germany (Cologne). Following its new growth strategy, Comau Robotics is currently building up a global network of distributors.  [Read more…] about Comau signs Robotics Benelux as a new distributor

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

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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