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Driverless cars set to take to the roads much faster than anticipated as Colorado passes first law regulating the technology

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Picture of driverless car with “passenger” in driving seat… courtesy of Volvo

The sheer speed with which driverless cars have gone from a fanciful notion to soon-to-be real-world, mainstream standard technology might be bewildering to some and slightly worrying to others. 

But for proponents and supporters of the technology – of which there are many, both inside the industry as well as in society at large – the driverless car was always clearly on the horizon, and it’s imminent arrival is not a moment too soon.

Colorado has become the latest state to pass a law which allows the development of autonomous cars as long as the developers observe existing laws of the road.  [Read more…] about Driverless cars set to take to the roads much faster than anticipated as Colorado passes first law regulating the technology

Apple extends Swift programming language to support robotics

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swift_playgrounds_elephant

Apple has updated Swift Playgrounds, its educational coding app for iPad, to include what the company describes as “new way to learn to code using robots, drones and musical instruments”.

Swift Playgrounds is aimed at students and beginners learning to code with Swift, Apple’s programming language for building apps.

Apple says it is working with leading device makers to make it easy to connect to Bluetooth-enabled robots within the Swift Playgrounds app, allowing users to program and control popular devices, including Lego Mindstorms Education EV3, the Sphero SPRK+, Parrot drones and more.  [Read more…] about Apple extends Swift programming language to support robotics

Trump considering taking US out of global environmental agreement

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By Valerie Volcovici and Jeff Mason, Reuters

President Donald Trump plans to make good on his campaign vow to withdraw the United States from a global pact to fight climate change, a source briefed on the decision said on Wednesday, a move that promises to deepen a rift with US allies.

White House officials cautioned that details were still being hammered out and that, although close, the decision on withdrawing from the 195-nation accord – agreed to in Paris in 2015 – was not finalized.

Trump, who has previously called global warming a hoax, did not confirm the decision in a post on Twitter, saying only, “I will be announcing my decision on the Paris Accord over the next few days.”  [Read more…] about Trump considering taking US out of global environmental agreement

Logistics automation startup Grabit ships products to two Fortune 100 companies

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grabit

Grabit, a startup automation systems provider to the manufacturing and warehouse logistics industries, has shipped multiple units of its material handling robot, Stackit, to what it says is “an industry-leading athletic shoe and apparel company”.

Grabit also shipped multiple units of Meterit, its “intelligent conveyor system”, to a “global leader” in express package delivery services.

To date, Grabit has secured $25 million in financing from investors and strategic partners. This funding is being applied to develop flexible robotic automation solutions that leverage Grabit’s electroadhesion technology and machine learning software to provide up to 20x productivity improvement for its customers’ operations.  [Read more…] about Logistics automation startup Grabit ships products to two Fortune 100 companies

Quality control of rubber seals on the basis of height measurements

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poscon hm

The measurement of object height is an important aspect in quality control applications. With the PosCon HM light-section sensor, Baumer says it offers a unique, compact measuring device for this kind of task.

The smart, pre-configured profile sensor offers five measurement modes for different measurement tasks. An exact positioning of the measured objects is not required.

The PosCon HM provides reliable measurements even on shiny and very dark surfaces. In conjunction with its high measuring accuracy of up to 2 μm, it is suitable for a large number of applications in at-line, off-line and in-line control.  [Read more…] about Quality control of rubber seals on the basis of height measurements

Emerson inaugurates Polish manufacturing facility

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Opening Dave Farr - Emerson

Industrial automation company Emerson has inaugurated a new facility on its Polish site.

The new part of the Emerson facility produces Asco valves, and was inaugurated on in Lodz, Poland by Emerson CEO David Farr.

The event was attended by members of management board and representatives of the city of Lodz with the mayor Hanna Zdanowska.  [Read more…] about Emerson inaugurates Polish manufacturing facility

Daimler orders millions of dollars worth of industrial robotics tech from Kuka

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KR FORTEC 360

The robotics division of Kuka has received what the company describes as “a major new order in the double-digit million euro range” from a German premium car manufacturer.

The framework agreement with the Daimler encompasses the supply of multiple industrial robots of the KR Quantec generation and the integrated KR C4 controller, as well as robots from the KR Fortec heavy-duty series.

The robots will be used primarily for joining and handling applications in body-in-white production.  [Read more…] about Daimler orders millions of dollars worth of industrial robotics tech from Kuka

Kuka shows off its robots working in microelectronics

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Electronics is a fast-growing market for industrial robots, and Kuka has been showing off some of its success in the sector. 

In one example the company highlighted recently, a total of 25 Kuka robots are in operation at Possehl Electronics in Niefern, Germany.

There, they manufacture complex timing cases for electric power steering systems for cars.

At the core of the system, three KR Agilus robots precisely place components into the injection molding machine.

Industrial robots work on three lines with an accuracy to a tenth of a millimeter, says Kuka.  [Read more…] about Kuka shows off its robots working in microelectronics

Apple developing processor especially for AI

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Apple A10 chip for iPhone 7
Picture of chip for iPhone 7 via ExtremeTech.com

Apple is developing a processor specially for artificial intelligence applications, according to a report on Bloomberg. 

The maker of iPhones, iPads and a number of other computing devices and machines is said to refer to the chip internally as the “Apple Neural Engine”.

Bloomberg, which says its source requested anonymity, adds that the AI-dedicated chip will be used for facial recognition, speech processing and other tasks which require the processing of large amounts of data.  [Read more…] about Apple developing processor especially for AI

Yaskawa introduces gear motor capabilities for its full Sigma-7 servo line

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The Drives & Motion Division of Yaskawa America has released what it says is “a full line of gear motors” based on its Sigma-7 servo motors.

The new line brings “precise Yaskawa servo motion to a wider variety of automation applications than ever before, especially to uses which require high torque at low
output speeds”, says the company.

A new set of gearheads have been designed to pair precisely with every servo motor in the full Sigma-7 range, creating complete gear motor solutions rated from a low of 50W to as high as 7.5 kW.  [Read more…] about Yaskawa introduces gear motor capabilities for its full Sigma-7 servo line

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