Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Search Results for: st robotics

Bosch launches ‘smallest, high performance’ barometric pressure sensor

by

Bosch BMP380 sensor
The Bosch BMP380 sensor measures 2 by 2 by 0.75 mm

Bosch Sensortec has launched what it says is the company’s smallest and best performing barometric pressure sensor, with a compact size of 2.0 x 2.0 x 0.75 mm.

The BMP380 sensor is aimed at the growing markets of gaming, sports and health management, as well as indoor and outdoor navigation.

By measuring barometric pressure, the sensor enables drones, smartphones, tablets, wearables and other mobile devices to accurately determine altitude changes, in both indoor and outdoor environments.  [Read more…] about Bosch launches ‘smallest, high performance’ barometric pressure sensor

Panasonic to test self-driving car tech in Colorado

by

panasonic gebhardt ces
Panasonic’s Gebhardt making the presentation at CES

lockElectronics and industrial components giant Panasonic is planning to test its autonomous car technology in the state of Colorado, in the US. 

The company has been making some significant moves in the automotive space, and this week revealed some of its ideas at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Tom Gebhardt, president of Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America, made a presentation at CES in which he said the company’s “smart mobility” plan starts with energy.  [Read more…] about Panasonic to test self-driving car tech in Colorado

Startup company launches DoBot ‘industrial’ robot at CES

by

DoBot Magician robot
The DoBot Magician robot from Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology

lockA Chinese startup company has demonstrated what it calls the “first industrial robotic arm for small business”, and has raised more than $400,000 on Kickstarter. 

The company describes the “DoBot M1” as a “professional SCARA based robotic arm” suitable for desktop use by small businesses, makers and hobbyists. Dobot was unveiled at CES in Las Vegas.

Manufactured by Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology, the Dobot M1 is a robotic arm with a number of extensions. The robots can also connected together to form a multi-arm system.  [Read more…] about Startup company launches DoBot ‘industrial’ robot at CES

Manufacturing: Trump tempts Toyota with tax break if it builds cars in US instead of Mexico

by

toyota mexico
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto with Toyota North America CEO James Lentz last year during the start of building the facility in Guanajuato

lockAfter apparently pressuring Ford to change its plans to expand its manufacturing operations in Mexico, President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly putting pressure on Toyota to follow suit. 

Ford had intended to build a plant in Mexico, but is now applying the brakes on those plans, according to the Economist.

A couple of days ago, Ford said it would cancel its $1.6 billion project in San Luis Potosí, Mexico and instead invest $700 million in its plant in Michigan, in the US.  [Read more…] about Manufacturing: Trump tempts Toyota with tax break if it builds cars in US instead of Mexico

Qualcomm unveils first communications chip for connected cars

by

qualcomm at ces

Chip giant Qualcomm has revealed its first communications chip for connected cars, a market in which it is soon to be dominant after its acquisition of NXP Semiconductor goes through. 

Presenting the new chip at CES, Patrick Little, Qualcomm’s senior vice president of automotive, said the chip can handle cellular signals at speeds measured in gigabits per second, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

“No longer will you be cranking windows and pushing buttons,” WSJ quoted Little as saying. “You’ll walk into your car and it will feel like a very seamless transition with your handset.”

Full report on Wall Street Journal

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

by

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

by

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

Hannover Messe: Making use of energy management systems

by

power lines

Get your complementary ticket to Hannover Messe before they’re all gone – limited number

There is no question that energy is costly. Costs for this resource have quadrupled since 2000, according to the German Energy Agency, with the planned energy transition also contributing to this trend.

This development hits business particularly hard. Industry, trade and services account for some 45 percent of total energy consumption in Germany.

So efficient use of this resource makes economic sense, as well as being an environmental imperative. The German Energy Agency estimates that companies could reduce their energy needs by 30 percent using standard efficiency measures.  [Read more…] about Hannover Messe: Making use of energy management systems

BMW demonstrates new concepts for autonomous and electric cars at CES

by

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

by

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