Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Infrastructure

Mighty Buildings aims to automate 80 percent of construction process

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Mighty Buildings, a startup providing automated solutions for modern home building, has launched out of stealth after graduating from Y Combinator in winter 2018 and raising a total of $30 million from Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, SV Angel, CoreVC, and others. 

The company says it uses a combination of 3D printing and prefabrication techniques to create a production-as-a-service platform that will “automate up to 80 percent of the building process”.

Mighty Buildings says it has a unique approach that is both project- and design-agnostic, and can create “everything from small complex components to panels to full-size volumetric modules”. [Read more…] about Mighty Buildings aims to automate 80 percent of construction process

Flylogix and Cambridge Consultants to use Iridium’s satellites for drone platform

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Flylogix and Cambridge Consultants have agreed a collaboration that will use Iridium’s satellite communications to safely control unmanned aerial vehicles from a central control hub.

This will enable Flylogix to move from local drone piloting at the airfield to centrally controlled operations, massively increasing the resilience of their services to offshore installations.

The Flylogix service reduces the cost, risk and environmental impact of gathering data from offshore exploration and production activities. [Read more…] about Flylogix and Cambridge Consultants to use Iridium’s satellites for drone platform

Precision and Convenience: How Robots Are Sustaining Maintenance Beyond Working Lines

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When we think of robotics and automation, the first sight that comes to our mind is that of an industrial production line, where giant robots carry out the high-precision task of assembling products, one step at a time without compromising on efficiency and accuracy.

But as the technology of robotics and automation is becoming much more sophisticated, the uses of robots are expanding from the factory floor to new territories.

One of these new domains is that of maintenance in every industry. Robotics have made concrete inroads in the maintenance department of every aspiring industry and this reach is not unwarranted. [Read more…] about Precision and Convenience: How Robots Are Sustaining Maintenance Beyond Working Lines

Facebook unveils robot that can walk high wires to install telecom and power lines

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Social media giant Facebook has unveiled a robot, designed by ULC Robotics, that can move along high wires to install telecom and power lines. (See video below.)

Facebook Connectivity, in collaboration with a number of partners, says it has spent the last few years developing the robot.

The company describes it as an aerial fiber deployment solution that uses a robot designed to install a specialized fiber-optic cable on medium-voltage power lines. [Read more…] about Facebook unveils robot that can walk high wires to install telecom and power lines

Mitsubishi Motors considering building first factory in Myanmar

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Mitsubishi Motors is considering building its first factory in the formerly communist and closed state of Myanmar, according to a report on the Nikkei Asian Review website.

Mitsubishi, one of Japan’s top 10 automotive companies, builds more than a million cars a year at more than a dozen plants and supply centres, and also has five research and development facilities.

The Asian countries in which Mitsubishi currently has manufacturing facilities include the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and China. [Read more…] about Mitsubishi Motors considering building first factory in Myanmar

ABB breaks ground on new $30 million facility to manufacture electric vehicle chargers

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ABB has marked the start of construction at its new facility in San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy, which will serve as a global Center of Excellence and production site for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The company says the 16,000 square meter facility is expected to be operational by the end of 2021.

As a global market leader in e-mobility solutions, the $30 million investment in this new facility is further evidence of ABB’s continued commitment to driving innovation in this fast-growing sector. [Read more…] about ABB breaks ground on new $30 million facility to manufacture electric vehicle chargers

Japanese construction giant to build massive dam almost entirely with robots

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The Obayashi Corporation, one of the five largest construction companies in Japan, is building a giant dam with robots, according to a report on the Nikkei Asian Review website. 

The dam project is located in the Mie Prefecture, in the south-east corner of Japan’s main island, and Obayashi will be testing a variety of robotic and automation technologies in its construction.

In fact, according to Nikkei, almost every stage of the construction of the concrete dam will involve some sort of automation technology. [Read more…] about Japanese construction giant to build massive dam almost entirely with robots

‘World’s first 3D printed fiber reinforced polymer footbridge paves way for circular composites’, say designers

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The world’s first lightweight 3D printed fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) footbridge will be installed at Kralingse Bos park – the green heart of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

Its designers say the construction will herald the transition towards “the next generation of bridges, offering high performance with extreme versatility, circularity and sustainability”.

Science and technology company DSM and the City of Rotterdam are to collaborate in the designing and building of the new “circular composite footbridge” – “circular” usually refers to recycled or recyclable. [Read more…] about ‘World’s first 3D printed fiber reinforced polymer footbridge paves way for circular composites’, say designers

ABB wins $5 million order for electric vehicle chargers from GAC Toyota

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ABB has won an order worth $5 million for electric vehicle chargers from GAC Toyota.

The agreement was made through Chargedot, an ABB business unit, and is considered “a major order” in China.

GAC Toyota is the Guangzhou-based joint venture between GAC Group and Toyota. With plans to expand production of electric vehicles to 400,000 a year, the company has asked ABB to supply “several thousand electric vehicle chargers” over the next year. [Read more…] about ABB wins $5 million order for electric vehicle chargers from GAC Toyota

Country Garden builds ‘world’s first’ robot restaurant in China

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Country Garden says it has built what it claims is “the world’s first-ever robot restaurant complex” in Guangdong, China.

The modern eaterie was opened on June 22 by Qianxi Robot Catering Group, a subsidiary of Country Garden. The location is Shunde, a city in China’s Guangdong province.

Powered by the latest in advanced technologies, the restaurant has separate sections for Chinese food, hot pot and fast food and features a wide selection of dishes, each one of which is delivered to the waiting diner within seconds. [Read more…] about Country Garden builds ‘world’s first’ robot restaurant in China