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Tesla begins production at its Gigafactory – said to be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world

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tesla gigafactory
Tesla’s Gigafactory has almost 5 million square feet of operational space and when it’s completed, it will be the largest building in the world

lockTesla has started making lithium-ion battery cells at its brand new “Gigafactory” in Nevada, US. 

At almost 2 million square feet, the facility is said to be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world – and that’s just for starters.

In a statement, Tesla says: “The current structure has a footprint of 1.9 million square feet, which houses 4.9 million square feet of operational space across several floors. And we are still less than 30 percent done. Once complete, we expect the Gigafactory to be the biggest building in the world.”  [Read more…] about Tesla begins production at its Gigafactory – said to be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world

Sarcos Robotics raises $25 million in funding from the likes of Microsoft and General Electric

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Startup company Sarcos Robotics has raised another $15.625 million in financing, bringing its total funding to $25 million.

The company’s investors include Caterpillar, Microsoft and GE Ventures.

Sarcos is developing an exoskeleton which the company describes as a “dexterous robotic system for unstructured environments”.  [Read more…] about Sarcos Robotics raises $25 million in funding from the likes of Microsoft and General Electric

Igus launches pre-assembled Robolink D 5-axis articulated arms

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igus robolink_D_roboter

Igus says the low-cost robot enables simple configuration, easy acquisition, and immediate connection 

Igus has launched its Robolink D 5-axis articulated arms as an assembly kit consisting of arm, motor and gearbox, or now as a ready-to-connect articulated arm, enabling machine and system builders to rapidly implement their own low-cost robotic automation systems.

Robert Dumayne, director of dry-tech bearings, Igus, says: “Robots are taking over more and more in automation tasks. Last year, sales of industrial robots exceeded 245,000 pieces, marking a new record.”

At the same time, Igus says, interest is also growing in simple and inexpensive robotics solutions. In the area of low-cost automation, engineers can increase the productivity of their machines with a flexible robot kit using Robolink D, says Igus.  [Read more…] about Igus launches pre-assembled Robolink D 5-axis articulated arms

Massive cyber attack affecting 500 industrial companies in 50 countries, says Kaspersky

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A globally co-ordinated cyber attack has hit 500 industrial companies in 50 countries in the past few months, according to security company Kaspersky. 

The worst affected were companies in the smelting, electric power generation and transmission, construction, and engineering industries.

The attacks take the form of emails purportedly from famous companies – such as DHL and Saudi Aramco – and most were sent from “legitimate email addresses belonging to valid organizations”, says Kaspersky.  [Read more…] about Massive cyber attack affecting 500 industrial companies in 50 countries, says Kaspersky

Rolls-Royce to open new research facility in US

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Rolls-Royce will house an R&D group for its jet engine component research in a 40,000-square-foot facility in the Purdue Research Park Aerospace District in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Purdue Research Park image)

Rolls-Royce is to open a new research and development centre in the US. The company formally received the keys to the 55,000-square-foot facility in the Purdue Research Park Aerospace District in West Lafayette. 

Purdue Research Foundation and Rolls-Royce are scheduled to celebrate the building’s opening late March.

David Waggoner, head of programs, customer and operations, control systems in North America for Rolls-Royce, says: “This facility is a great opportunity for us to create something unique to North America but also unique to Indiana, and allow us to strengthen our partnership with Purdue.  [Read more…] about Rolls-Royce to open new research facility in US

New $10,000 collaborative robot can build copies of itself

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FRANKA EMIKA industrial robot
The Franka Emika industrial robot

The makers of a new, collaborative robot called Franka Emika say the machine could build copies of itself. 

In an article published in the IEEE magazine, the robot’s creator, Sami Haddadin, is quoted as saying “there will be Frankas building Frankas”.

The article also suggests that Franka’s price is around $10,000 – and reveals the prices of other collaborative robots:

  • Rethink’s Sawyer ~ $30,000; and
  • Universal Robots’ best-selling UR5 ~ $35,000.

The collaborative robots market is currently dominated by Universal Robots, which has sold so many robots, it’s made it on the list of industrial robot manufacturers with the largest install base, with approximately 10,000 sold worldwide so far.

Full article on IEEE Spectrum

BMW demonstrates new concepts for autonomous and electric cars at CES

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Klaus Frohlich at CES
Klaus Fröhlich, BMW’s head of development, at CES

lockBMW has showcased some of its concepts, ideas and developments for autonomous and electric cars at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. 

The company says the projects incorporate “technically revolutionary innovations in automated driving, intelligent connectivity and interior design”.

BMW has committed itself to launching its iNext self-driving, electric and fully connected car by the year 2021. It already has the i3 electric car and the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car.  [Read more…] about BMW demonstrates new concepts for autonomous and electric cars at CES

Artificial intelligence systems replacing finance sector professionals

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ibm brain chip
IBM has developed what it says is a ‘brain-inspired’ chip

More and more people are realising that it’s not just factory jobs the robots are after – it’s your intellectual jobs too. 

In the latest developments, an insurance company in Japan has replaced 34 of its insurance claim workers with artificial intelligence systems.

And the world’s largest hedge fund says it will replace all its managers with AI systems – after it drains the brains of its human employees and distills their knowledge into an algorithm.

Full story at em360tech.com

Foxconn to replace all humans with robots

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Hon Hai Precision, better known as Foxconn, says it will replace all its human workers with robots, according to a report in Futurism.com. 

Quoting DigiTimes.com, Futurism says Foxconn has announced a three-part plan to fully automate its factories in the hope of achieving 30 per cent automation by 2020.

Foxconn currently has about 40,000 robots – or Foxbots – working in its factories. The company says it has the capacity to produce 10,000 Foxbots a year.  [Read more…] about Foxconn to replace all humans with robots

US manufacturing growing at ‘fastest rate in two years’

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The US manufacturing sector is growing at the fastest rate it has in more than two years, according to calculations produced by the Institute for Supply Management and published in Forbes, among other media. 

The Manufacturing ISM Report on Business figures show December was the best month for manufacturers in 2016. More components and parts were ordered this month than previous ones.

The ISM report is a survey sent out to a “manufacturing committee”, and collating the responses revealed that “of the 18 manufacturing industries, 11 are reporting growth in December”, according to ISM.

The ISM adds: “Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in December, and the overall economy grew for the 91st consecutive month.”

More details at ISM’s website

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