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Industry

Camille Bauer says it’s strengthening Switzerland’s manufacturing base through digitisation

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People and digitisation work together in a new manufacturing environment, says industrial measurement technology provider Camille Bauer

Swiss industry contributes significantly to the country’s innovation, full employment and competitiveness, according to Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann.

The company says Switzerland’s manufacturing base is “indispensable”, but adds that industry must seize on the opportunities of digitisation.

Camille Bauer Metrawatt, based in Wohlen in the Swiss canton of Aargau, says it is following precisely this objective, by building on its strength, namely the competence of company’s internal workforce.  [Read more…] about Camille Bauer says it’s strengthening Switzerland’s manufacturing base through digitisation

Husky UGV helps US grape growers conserve water

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A university project in California has developed a robotic system to help vintners manage their water systems, and implement precision irrigation across the vineyard.

The RAPID (Robot-Assisted Precision Irrigation Delivery) system was developed by Electrical Engineering and Computer Science professor, Stefano Carpin, with a team of researchers from University of California-Merced, Davis, and Berkeley.

By replacing an existing system with low-cost, plastic emitters that control the water flow, the team can send a Husky UGV, from Clearpath Robotics, to adjust them, and change the amount of water each plant area is receiving.

[Read more…] about Husky UGV helps US grape growers conserve water

Taiwan credits ‘Smart Machinery 4.0’ campaign for success of growth in plastics products

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Taiwanese industrial associations are crediting their “Smart Manufacturing 4.0” campaign with bringing success for the plastics sector in the country.

The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (Taitra) claims that the country is now one of the world’s leading manufacturers of plastics products.

Last year, the country generated more than $1.9 billion in revenue, positioning the country as the world’s sixth largest exporter of the plastics and rubber processing.  [Read more…] about Taiwan credits ‘Smart Machinery 4.0’ campaign for success of growth in plastics products

Country Insight: Taiwan gets smart about manufacturing

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Taiwan is a relatively large island nation a couple of hundred kilometres off the coast of China. 

It has a population of less than 25 million and its economy is one of the largest in Asia, and many people around the world associate Taiwan with advanced electronics manufacturing.

Some of the largest and most well-known Taiwanese companies include:

  • Hon Hai Precision, better known as Foxconn, the contract manufacturer which makes iPhones and iPads for Apple;
  • Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, another Apple partner which makes chips;
  • Quanta Computer, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of notebook computers;
  • Acer, another computer and computer peripherals manufacturer;
  • HTC, the communications technology giant which recently sold its smartphone-making division to Google; and
  • Delta Electronics, which specialises in industrial and infrastructure technologies.

Just around 50 years ago, the agriculture sector accounted for around half of Taiwan’s economy.  [Read more…] about Country Insight: Taiwan gets smart about manufacturing

World’s first 3D printed house built in days

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The world’s first house has been built by a robot 3D printer in Nantes, France. This 95m2 house has 5 rooms, rounded walls, windows and doors… a set of complex architectural forms, achieved by means of a revolutionary technology, on a site provided by Nantes Métropole Habitat.

This innovative project is led by a consortium of scientists, manufacturers, and public and socio-economic actors. The aim: to quickly build affordable, adaptable, and energy efficient housing.

This innovative system makes it possible to build the walls of a house by 3D printing, on the construction site itself and in just a few days.

Watch how they did it here

 

Starship Technologies launches autonomous deliveries on campus

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Starship Technologies is rolling out commercial autonomous delivery services for corporate and academic campuses across the U.S. and Europe, following continued growth in robotic food, grocery and parcel delivery in residential neighbourhoods.

The company claims it is the first large-scale deployment of autonomous delivery services, supporting campuses by implementing robots to assist in work and school environments.

The robots offer on-demand delivery anywhere on participating campuses via an app, offering employees food delivery when and where they want, eliminating unwanted errands or transporting items to and from other locations on campus.

[Read more…] about Starship Technologies launches autonomous deliveries on campus

Locus Robotics releases third generation of its Advanced Navigation system

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Locus Robotics, provider of autonomous, collaborative robots for use in e-commerce fulfilment warehouses, has introduced Advanced Navigation 3.0 (LRAN3 or “Puffin”) to increase the agility and performance of its robots in the warehouse.

“Locus Robotics Advanced Navigation 3.0 addresses one of the most challenging aspects of fulfilment robotics and automation: the dynamic nature of the warehouse,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics.

“LRAN3 enables LocusBots to actively adapt to minute-by-minute changes within a facility, identifying obstacles and navigating tactically around them, to successfully complete their mission.”

[Read more…] about Locus Robotics releases third generation of its Advanced Navigation system

Hospital achieves IoT equipment integration with LoRaWAN

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Two recognized players in IoT technologies, Adeunis and ARC Informatique, are integrating their solutions to achieve unprecedented IoT equipment integration with an existing Building Management System (BMS) using LoRaWAN technology at Grenoble Alpes University Hospital.

The Grenoble Alpes University Hospital´s technical teams wanted to be able to monitor and control various pieces of equipment quickly, inexpensively and without cabling (Ethernet and power). The Grenoble Hospital asked Adeunis and ARC Informatique the question of how to best solve this operational challenge.

In addition, the Hospital wanted to use their existing BMS software without adding additional software layers. PcVue supervision from ARC Informatique, is the BMS in charge of managing two of the Hospital´s sites, the GTB and the GTE site.

[Read more…] about Hospital achieves IoT equipment integration with LoRaWAN

Hannover Messe: Bosch takes lead with 5G connectivity for industry and invests $100 million in new ‘smart factory’ in Mexico

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Industrial giant Bosch is taking the lead in 5G connectivity in partnership with Nokia.

The two companies have been demonstrating a number of 5G projects at Hannover Messe, probably among the first of their kind in the industrial sector.

One of the experts working on the project explained that “most of the industry is cabled”, meaning that robots and other machines, whether they are mobile or stationary, tend to be connected via cables, such as Ethernet, for example. [Read more…] about Hannover Messe: Bosch takes lead with 5G connectivity for industry and invests $100 million in new ‘smart factory’ in Mexico

New tablet for hazardous areas

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The Pepperl+Fuchs brand, ecom, is presenting the next generation of its tablet series for hazardous areas, Tab-Ex, at the Hannover Messe 2018.

The industrial tablet Tab-Ex 02 combines performance with applications such as augmented reality.

It is ideally suited for IoT-capable applications and simplifies data exchange with SCADA / DCS systems, enterprise resource planning systems (SAP, IBM Maximo), project management systems and computer-aided system planning.

[Read more…] about New tablet for hazardous areas