Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

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Virginia Tech researchers aim to give robots bio-inspired gaits

Two years ago, Kaveh Hamed saw his son Nikaan take his first steps on his own. He watched Nikaan’s one-year-old body teeter on wobbly legs as the baby walked forward.

And he saw Nikaan’s progress: he went from crawling on his belly to standing with a sway, to the first walks, to taking off across the floor on two sure feet.

These memories make Hamed think about math, as he does when he watches his dog Telli run. When he sees her bound toward him and switch to a trot, he starts to wonder again about the ways he might impart her agility to a robot. [Read more…] about Virginia Tech researchers aim to give robots bio-inspired gaits

Toposens launches ultrasonic sensor for close-range perception

Toposens has launched what it describes as its “current flag-ship product”, the TS3, a 3D ultrasonic sensor.

The company says the TS3 us suitable for a wide range of applications in the autonomous systems market that require a strong need for reliable object detection and situational awareness.

In comparison to common ultrasonic sensors, which usually measure the distance only to the closest reflecting surface, Toposens’ new 3D sensors achieve “a wide field of view of up to 160° and provide simultaneous 3D measurements for multiple objects within the scanning area”, says the company. [Read more…] about Toposens launches ultrasonic sensor for close-range perception

Sick launches new compact image-based code reader

Sick has launched a new compact image-based code reader, Lector621, for reliable detection of 1D, 2D, stacked codes, and plain text.

The high-performance DPM – direct part marking – decoder can read laser or dot-peened codes perfectly, even in the case of low contrast levels, contamination, or poor code quality.

This fills a gap in Sick’s existing portfolio of code readers, by providing a compact solution with increased reading distance, resolution, field of vision, and scanning frequency. [Read more…] about Sick launches new compact image-based code reader

Quality control of rubber seals on the basis of height measurements

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

Beyond Moore’s Law: Human-plus-machine computing

d-wave processor

By Adam Devine, vice president of marketing, WorkFusion

How do we move forward in a world where Moore’s Law no longer holds true? For five decades, Gordon Moore’s famous prediction about processing power doubling about every two years held firm.

It was a reliable sort of constant as innovators continued to increase the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits.

But all good things must come to an end, and Moore’s Law has been confounded by another, more immutable law: physics.  [Read more…] about Beyond Moore’s Law: Human-plus-machine computing

Audi smart factory ushers in new era of manufacturing

Audi has opened what it calls a “smart factory”, in Mexico, the first such plant opened by a leading automaker in that country.

Professor Rupert Stadler, chairman of Audi, says: “The plant in Mexico is a milestone in the history of our company and an important step in our internationalization.

“It is one of the most modern factories on the American continent. With this facility, we have established an important site for the export of our automobiles to customers all over the world.”  [Read more…] about Audi smart factory ushers in new era of manufacturing

It’s not just factory jobs the robots are after – it’s your intellectual jobs too

industrial revolution

Automation technologies such as the Jacquard loom were ubiquitous in the 1800s during the first industrial revolution. Such machines eliminated some of the most tedious and time-consuming jobs from factories, and raised production to record levels. 

Then, in the mid-1900s, the robotic arm was invented. Like the loom, that too is a machine ubiquitous in the contemporary industrial landscape. And with the advent of computing, robotics and automation systems have been increasingly integrated into self-contained production systems, controlled through what might now be considered rudimentary forms of artificial intelligence.

That integration process is still ongoing, but meanwhile a number of new technologies have emerged – particularly in computing and networking – which are combining to form trends that are themselves coalescing. Experts are now encapsulating all these technologies, trends and developments into a relatively new catch-all term – Industry 4.0.

One of the key features of Industry 4.0 is, arguably, the gradual encroachment of AI into what used to be considered jobs that only humans could do – the robots were supposedly not clever enough. The common misconception was that computer-controlled robotics and automation systems can only perform simple manual labour tasks.

While this may be true to a large extent, Moravec’s paradox shows that this is not the whole story, and that, in fact, computers are more suited to high-level intellectual jobs. Which seems obvious when you think about it, or get your robot to think about it. However, neither the hardware nor the software has been available to demonstrate the implications of the paradox on a large scale, until now.

Alexander Khaytin, chief operating officer, Yandex Data Factory
Alexander Khaytin, chief operating officer, Yandex Data Factory

At least some of these views are shared by Alexander Khaytin, chief operating officer at the Yandex Data Factory. According to Khaytin, the gradual move to Industry 4.0 requires rethinking of the full implications of new, artificial intelligence-based technologies.

In exclusive comments to Robotics and Automation News, Khaytin makes the observation that many intellectual tasks are already undertaken by AI systems.

“When we talk about automation, it is often associated with robots performing manual tasks, replacing humans on the assembly line and so on,” says Khaytin.  [Read more…] about It’s not just factory jobs the robots are after – it’s your intellectual jobs too

Stanford engineers test autonomous car algorithms in quest for safer driving

Stanford University’s autonomous car
Stanford University’s autonomous car

When Stanford’s autonomous car Shelley nears speeds of 120 mph as it tears around a racetrack without a driver, observers’ natural inclinations are to exchange high-fives or simply mouth, “wow”.

Chris Gerdes and his students, however, flip open laptops and begin dissecting the car’s performance. How many g-forces did Shelley pull through turns 14 and 15? How did it navigate the twisty chicane? What did the braking forces look like through the tight turn 5?

For the past several years, Gerdes and his students have been testing their autonomous driving algorithms with Shelley, a custom-rigged Audi TTS, on the 3-mile track at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, California. Although the speedometer needle sometimes flies past 110 mph, the car spends a good deal of the course maneuvering at speeds of 50 to 75 mph.  [Read more…] about Stanford engineers test autonomous car algorithms in quest for safer driving