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Infrastructure

House built using robotic and digital technologies claimed to be ‘world’s first’

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House built using robots and 3D printing technologies claimed to be a first

ETH university in Zurich, in partnership with industrial companies, has built what is claimed to be “the world’s first” inhabited house to be digitally planned and digitally built with the help of robots and 3D printers. (See video below.)

Called the “DFAB House” (main picture), the construction is part of a project that involves the Empa materials science and technology project and Eawag, an aquatic research company. [Read more…] about House built using robotic and digital technologies claimed to be ‘world’s first’

ABB and Fastned open their 100th electric vehicle charging location

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ABB, the industrial giant with a massive business in power generation equipment, and electric vehicle network operator Fastned Charging have opened their 100th electric vehicle charging location in the Netherlands.

The companies say Europe is introducing stricter emission targets from 2020, so their partnership Fastned and ABB is “facilitating the electric revolution set to transform European highways”.

Since the launch of the pilot Fastned project in The Netherlands in 2013, the close working relationship between Fastned and ABB has facilitated the successful launch of charging sites across the Netherlands and Germany, with the UK’s first high power station launching in Sunderland just a couple of months ago. [Read more…] about ABB and Fastned open their 100th electric vehicle charging location

Electrify America and Stable partner to offer robotic fast-charging for vehicle fleets

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Electrify America has entered an agreement with San Francisco-based electric vehicle fleet charging company Stable Auto to introduce robotic charging solutions for self-driving vehicles in a pilot demonstration site in San Francisco.

Electrify America is a subsidiary of Volkswagen, and Stable is a startup. Both companies develop infrastructure solutions needed to deploy self-driving and electric vehicle fleets.

Electrify America and Stable say they recognize the emergence of both electric and autonomous vehicle fleets, and are jointly working to address the absence of dedicated charging facilities equipped for such vehicles with this demonstration. [Read more…] about Electrify America and Stable partner to offer robotic fast-charging for vehicle fleets

ThyssenKrupp to provide 155 lifts and 22 escalators to Beijing airport base

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As the sole lift supplier to China Southern Airlines’ new Beijing airport base, Thyssenkrupp Elevator is to deliver 155 elevators and 22 escalators to Beijing Daxing Airport, which is currently under construction.

China Southern Airlines has moved to the new mega airport in the south of Beijing as part of its ‘two-hub’ strategy, alongside its current Guangzhou base.

The plans for the airport facilities were designed by architect Sir Norman Foster, while the hexagonal main terminal was designed by Zara Hadid Architects. At approximately 7.5 million sq. feet, it will be the largest terminal in the world.

[Read more…] about ThyssenKrupp to provide 155 lifts and 22 escalators to Beijing airport base

AT&T joins US Digital Manufacturing Institute to ‘boost 5G innovation’

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US national telecommunications carrier AT&T has become a member of MxD, a national association for manufacturers also known as the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute.

AT&T says it plans to install 5G and edge computing technologies at the MxD Institute in order to “develop and test applications with US manufacturing companies”.

MxD is like a support organisation for manufacturers and is affiliated to a government-backed public-private partnership program called Manufacturing USA. [Read more…] about AT&T joins US Digital Manufacturing Institute to ‘boost 5G innovation’

Nokia partners on wireless digitalisation infrastructure for ports and terminals

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Kalmar, part of Cargotec, a pioneer in terminal automation and energy-efficient cargo handling, and Ukkoverkot, leading private LTE network provider, have signed a two-year co-operation agreement with Nokia to design, build and operate a private LTE network.

Nokia brings the digital automation platform that is well suited for mobile machinery and industrial Internet of Things.

A test network reflecting an actual terminal environment will be built for research and development purposes.

[Read more…] about Nokia partners on wireless digitalisation infrastructure for ports and terminals

Europe construction and demolition robot market worth $60 million

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The European construction & demolition (C&D) robots market reached $58.58 million in 2018, representing the largest regional market in the world, according to a new report from Research and Markets.

The trend and outlook of Europe market are forecast in optimistic, balanced, and conservative views.

The balanced (most likely) projection is used to quantify Europe construction & demolition robots market in every aspect of the classification from perspectives of Product Type, Automation Degree, Robot Function, Application Vertical, and Country.

[Read more…] about Europe construction and demolition robot market worth $60 million

Hitachi wins lift order in Hyderabad, India

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Hitachi has been awarded a contract to supply 106 lifts for large-scale office buildings to be constructed in Hyderabad, a major city in South India. This is the largest order for Hitachi group’s lifts and escalators in India.

Hitachi Building Systems and Hitachi Lift India will deliver 72 lifts for the large-scale building complex Phoenix Spaces 285, located in a suburb of Hyderabad’s financial district and scheduled for completion in February 2020.

Hitachi Lift India will also deliver 34 lifts for Phoenix Aquilia, an office building located in the centre of Hyderabad’s financial district, which is scheduled to be completed in December 2019.

‘Snow-how’: Finns develop autonomous snow removal vehicles

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Robotic vacuum cleaners and lawnmowers are already reality, but can the same idea be applied to a 7-ton machine clearing snow from an airstrip?

To show it can, Valtra and Nokian Tyres partnered up with three other Finnish companies in March 2019 for a joint proof-of-concept project at the European Union’s northernmost airport.

Two Valtra T254 Versu equipped with Nokian Hakkapeliitta TRI tyres and each pulling a 4.5 m wide sweeper blower autonomously cleared the runway at Ivalo airport in Finnish Lapland.

[Read more…] about ‘Snow-how’: Finns develop autonomous snow removal vehicles

Hitachi Vantara launches Lumada Video Insights for ‘smart spaces’

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Hitachi Vantara has launched Lumada Video Insights to enable the development of what it calls “smart spaces”.

Vantara, which is a subsidiary of Hitachi, says Lumada Video Insights is an end-to-end, intelligent and adaptable suite of applications that delivers operational safety and business intelligence using the internet of things, video, artificial intelligence, and analytics.

Lumada Video Insights complements and extends Hitachi’s Lumada platform and services ecosystem with expanded AI, computer vision, advanced analytics, data integration, and orchestration capabilities to help enterprise and industrial customers accelerate their IoT, initiatives and cultivate their own smart spaces and ecosystems.

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