Market trends and business perspectives
Fanuc is developing a machine-to-machine network that will connect just about every piece of equipment in a manufacturing plant.
The Fanuc Intelligent Edge Link and Drive (Field) system is an industrial internet of things network that will be aimed at automakers.
Fanuc already provides General Motors with a global IIoT platform to manage and maintain the automakers’ robots. [Read more…] about Fanuc developing industrial internet of everything
Honeybee to build complicated component for spacecraft
Nasa has contracted Honeybee Robotics to help build a starship that will explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, and boldly go where no human has gone before.
Specifically, Honeybee Robotics has begun development of the Side Hatch Gearbox Assembly for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) Spacecraft Crew Module. [Read more…] about Honeybee Robotics to build starship to help Nasa find flatulent aliens on Mars
Company says it has made advances in a number of areas
National Instruments, a provider of automation test equipment, says it will demonstrate “new, smarter microwave design and test solutions that address the entire product lifecycle” at the IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium next month.
NI says developing next-generation internet of things (IoT) wireless devices and 5G infrastructure challenges the way engineers develop smaller, faster and smarter products. [Read more…] about National Instruments to launch ‘new, smarter’ design and test solutions
Company targets logistics because it’s a fast-growing market for robotics and automation
Swisslog has acquired Power Automation Systems (PAS), a company which specialises in pallet shuttle automated storage and retrieval systems – mostly used in logistics.
Now with offerings ranging from advanced robotics to fast case shuttles and pallet shuttles, together with Kuka, Swisslog says it continues building the “automation powerhouse chain offering clients compelling solutions”. [Read more…] about Industrial robot and automation firm Swisslog buys logistics specialist
Global industrial giant uses Syncplicity for what both companies claim is the biggest digitisation project in history
Siemens has implemented a business process automation solution that covers 330,000 of its employees worldwide. The business process automation technology was provided by Syncplicity, which claims this is the biggest implementation of its type to date.
Syncplicity says the successful global completion of he project, known as SmartStorage, encompasses well over 150 countries around the globe and three petabytes of data in four global data centers. [Read more…] about Siemens completes gargantuan business process automation project
To celebrate National Robot Week, Genfour has compiled 50 reasons to respect and welcome our robotic companions to the workplace. Article, published exclusively on Robotics and Automation News, courtesy of James Hall, CEO of Genfour
Technological change is surging at unprecedented new speeds, and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are at the forefront of this development.
As we enter the fourth industrial revolution, the working relationship between man and machine is becoming ever more intertwined, creating new jobs and reshaping the traditional structure of the workplace. [Read more…] about 50 ways to love your robot – by Genfour boss
Two-armed collaborative robot making light work of difficult injection moulding tasks
A US manufacturer says its use of the Baxter industrial robot “simplifies complexity” in its factory operations.
Donnelly Custom Manufacturing, a company which specializes in short-run injection molding of thermoplastics for industrial original equipment manufacturers, is using Rethink Robotics’ two-armed Baxter robot for flexible automation at its facility in Alexandria, Minnesota.
Donnelly’s focus is on short-run injection molding for customers with low to medium volumes, as well as an array of related engineering and manufacturing services. [Read more…] about Rethink’s Baxter industrial robot ‘simplifies complexity’ for Donnelly
Becoming one of the world’s largest industrial robot companies takes time and a lot of dedication. Work, work, work. No time for play. And having got to the top, the most annoying thing for a company, like Kuka, must be to see a startup company, like DeepMind, which has yet to deliver a single commercial product, make worldwide headlines for building an artificially intelligent computer that plays an ancient Chinese board game no one understands.
So what does Kuka do to make its own headlines? Of course: find another obscure board game no one understands and teach one of its robots how to play that, and get students at a local university to do all the programming.
The board game in question is Settlers of Catan. While at least spome people had heard of Go, Settlers of Catan sounds like an old cowboy movie that no one saw because it was terrible. [Read more…] about Kuka wins competition to find the most obscure board game ever invented
Company says new Otto 100 provides light-load material transport for today’s modern factories and warehouses
Clearpath Robotics has expanded its Otto line of self-driving vehicles with Otto 100. The vehicle is designed for autonomous light-load material transport in factories and warehouses.
“The Otto 100 takes the high quality and reliability of the Otto 1500 and puts those advanced capabilities into a smaller form factor,” said Matt Rendall, chief executive officer at Clearpath. “This enables new self-driving services in distribution, e-commerce, and manufacturing.”
The Otto 100 system delivers dynamic and efficient light-load transport in increasingly congested industrial operations. Traditional material handling systems require costly and rigid changes to infrastructure, often cannot adapt to a changing environment, and are not always safe for collaboration with warehouse personnel. [Read more…] about Clearpath Robotics adds small self-driving vehicle to its logistics product line
One of the world’s largest robot manufacturers, Yaskawa, is moving to make its machines more PC-compatible
Yaskawa Motoman has launched a new robot for machine tending applications, and it’s fully compatible with PC operating systems.
The company says the robot’s heavy-payload of the new MH280 II robot makes it “ideal” for machine tending, which is one of the most common robotics applications today.
With its increased payload, moment and inertia ratings, the new model can also be used in material handling and press tending applications, from boring to milling to grinding. [Read more…] about Yaskawa launches new robot featuring PC architecture
