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Transportation

Belt and Road: Siemens partners with Chinese companies on giant Eurasian transportation network

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Siemens has entered into more than 10 agreements with Chinese partners relating to opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative, which is a plan to build a giant transport network linking Asia to Europe.

A recent conference called the Belt and Road International Summit, held by Siemens, brought together more than 1,000 leaders and executive representatives from governments, enterprises, investors, financing institutions and think tanks from more than 30 countries and regions.  [Read more…] about Belt and Road: Siemens partners with Chinese companies on giant Eurasian transportation network

Toyota to invest in Albert for automated driving development

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Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Albert Inc. have agreed on a business alliance for big data analysis, mainly in the field of advanced development of automated driving technology, and that Toyota will invest in Albert.

The investment in Albert is expected to be around 400 million yen, with Toyota acquiring new shares in Albert issued through a third-party allocation of shares dated May 30, 2018.

To promote the development of automated driving technologies, Toyota has been bolstering its organisation by establishing the advanced research company, Toyota Research Institute (TRI), in the United States in January 2016 and the advanced development company, Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development (TRI-AD), in Tokyo, while also advancing its technology development centred on AI.

[Read more…] about Toyota to invest in Albert for automated driving development

Alibaba unveils unmanned logistics vehicle featuring lidar

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Alibaba, the world’s largest e-commerce company, has unveiled a new unmanned logistics vehicle.

The “G Plus” was built in co-operation with Alibaba’s logistics business unit, Cainiao, and RoboSense, a developer of robotic technology.

The G Plus is said to be the world’s first autonomous logistics vehicle to use solid-state light detection and ranging (lidar) technology.  [Read more…] about Alibaba unveils unmanned logistics vehicle featuring lidar

SoftBank to invest more than $2 billion into General Motors’ self-driving cars unit Cruise Automation

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SoftBank is planning to invest more than $2 billion into General Motors’ self-driving vehicle technology unit, Cruise Automation. 

Cruise Automation is a startup company acquired by General Motors two years ago.

In some ways, this is a surprise move by SoftBank. The Japanese telecommunications giant has previously invested in other sectors of the robotics market.  [Read more…] about SoftBank to invest more than $2 billion into General Motors’ self-driving cars unit Cruise Automation

New farming robot offers different method of pollination

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When you picture the black and yellow creatures that pollinate plants, you probably don’t think of a Husky, the unmanned guided vehicle by Clearpath Robotics.

But that’s exactly what the team from West Virginia University is using for their current project – a Husky UGV, that is. (See video below.)

After winning NASA’s Sample Robot Return Challenge in 2016, the researchers have continued to put the system to use, repurposing it for another use-case (one of the advantages of having an easily customized robot that runs on ROS). [Read more…] about New farming robot offers different method of pollination

GreyOrange to showcase its logistics automation solutions at India Warehousing Show

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GreyOrange is planning to showcase its solutions for supply chain automation at the 8th India Warehousing Show.

GreyOrange is a multinational robotics and supply chain automation company and offers one of the most well-known solutions on the market.

Vivek Anand, country manager, India & SAARC, GreyOrange, said: ”We are proud to be a partner for the India Warehousing Show, a premier event for the logistics and supply chain industry.  [Read more…] about GreyOrange to showcase its logistics automation solutions at India Warehousing Show

New highly aerodynamic Audi design suggests cars may not have side mirrors in future

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Side mirrors on cars can sometimes be bothersome, especially if you are driving through a very narrow space in, for example, a car park or something. 

The chances of your side mirror making contact with another vehicle or some part of the building are obviously higher than any other part of your car – except maybe the front and back bumpers.

The idea of dispensing with side mirrors has probably occurred to many people before.  [Read more…] about New highly aerodynamic Audi design suggests cars may not have side mirrors in future

AGV maker Kivnon agrees logistics partnership with CLS

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Automated guided vehicle manufacturer Kivnon has reached a partnership agreement with logistics solutions provider CLS. 

The companies announced the new collaboration while having a joint conference at the Intralogistica Italia event.

The Intralogistica Italia event takes places in Milan, and is said to be Italy’s most relevant trade fair dedicated to the most innovative solutions and integrated systems for materials handling, warehouse management, materials storage and picking.  [Read more…] about AGV maker Kivnon agrees logistics partnership with CLS

Suning unveils self-driving heavy-duty truck

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Suning Logistics has completed driving tests for its autonomous heavy-duty truck, which the company calls “Strolling Dragon”, in Shanghai, China.

The company says the completion marks another milestone in its plan to offer fully-automated logistics solutions.

Strolling Dragon is the largest unmanned truck in Suning Logistics’ automated fleet, boasting Level-4 self-driving capabilities; it is highly automated, and is able to operate without human input within pre-programmed parameters.  [Read more…] about Suning unveils self-driving heavy-duty truck

ZF launches essentially driverless forklift truck

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Automotive technology developer ZF Friedrichshafen has launched a forklift truck which is basically driverless.

The company calls the vehicle a “highly automated forklift” which can “see, think and act”.

ZF says it transferred expertise from different departments from across the company to the industrial technology division in order to develop the new forklift.  [Read more…] about ZF launches essentially driverless forklift truck