Robotics & Automation News

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Carnegie Mellon builds killer robot to save economy

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A team from Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute has developed an autonomous robot to find and kill dangerously spotted lanternflies before they’re even born. Spotted lanternflies are invasive insects known to destroy economically important crops. (See video below.)

TartanPest uses an all-electric tractor, a robotic arm and computer vision to traverse fields and forests while it detects and destroys spotted lanternfly egg masses.

The egg masses – which contain 30-50 eggs and are often found on trees, rocks, outdoor furniture and rusty metal surfaces – are laid in the fall and hatch in the spring, birthing a new generation of the pests each year. [Read more…] about Carnegie Mellon builds killer robot to save economy

Bota Systems and Kinova partner for easy installation of force torque sensors

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Bota Systems, a pioneer in multi-axis force-torque sensors, announces it is working with Kinova, and has developed the Bota Kinova Kit to make it quick and easy to mount the Bota SensONE force torque sensor on a Kinova Gen3 robot arm.

Kinova will show the kit with the Kinova Gen3 robot as a hand-guiding demo at its booth A16 at ICRA, the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, from 29 May – 2 June 2023, in London, UK.

The 6-axis SensONE force torque sensor from Bota enhances the end-effector force torque sensitivity of the Kinova Gen3 robot. The mounting kit makes it easy to install the sensor on the robot arm with just a few screws (supplied). [Read more…] about Bota Systems and Kinova partner for easy installation of force torque sensors

DJI’s launches new commercial drone

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DJI, the world’s largest civilian drones and aerial imaging technology company, has launched a new drone, which “sets a new standard for any commercial drone operator”, according to the company.

It adds that the DJI Matrice 350 RTK (M350 RTK) “redefines the ultimate tool for the commercial drone industry”.

The M350 RTK is said to be an upgraded flagship drone platform that is more adaptable, safer and efficient for any aerial operation in public safety, energy, mapping, infrastructure or forestry, to name a few. [Read more…] about DJI’s launches new commercial drone

PickNik Robotics and Motiv to jointly develop of advanced robotics capabilities


 for space exploration

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PickNik Robotics, a developer of advanced robot arm software solutions, and Motiv Space Systems, a designer and manufacturer of space-rated robotic systems, motor controllers, and mechanisms, have agreed a partnership to develop advanced robotics for space applications.

The partnership aims to advance In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities through the integration of PickNik’s MoveIt Studio technology for robot arm control and Motiv’s xLink robot arm product line.

PickNik Robotics, known as the Unstructured Robotics Company, has a ten-year heritage in advanced robotics control software and has received SBIR Phase 3 funding from NASA to develop advanced planning capabilities for robots in microgravity environments. [Read more…] about PickNik Robotics and Motiv to jointly develop of advanced robotics capabilities


 for space exploration

Comau developing new mobile robot solution for three EU projects

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Comau is designing a “powerful mobile robotics platform” as part of an open, highly collaborative production environment, in the context of three different European Projects.

The integrated solution, which leverages Comau’s proven expertise in IoT-enabled technologies and collaborative robotics, is a natural evolution of the company’s automated workflow optimization systems.

Modular, scalable and completely re-configurable, the platform can be easily adapted to different applications without changing the system’s underlying software or hardware architecture. [Read more…] about Comau developing new mobile robot solution for three EU projects

Hitachi to merge two business units to expand robotics offering in Asia

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Hitachi is planning to merge two of its business units to create one expanded robotics systems integration business for the Japanese and Asean markets.

Hitachi has been accelerating the global development of its line building business leveraging industrial robots – the robotic systems integration business – and will merge Hitachi Automation and Kyoto Robotics, Hitachi Group companies in Hitachi’s Industrial Digital Business Unit, on April 1, 2023 to strengthen the robotic systems integration business in Japan and Asean countries.

Hitachi Automation began operating within the Industrial Digital Business Unit in April 2022. Since then, it has been accelerating the fusion between digital solutions analyzing and optimizing data leveraging Lumada handled by Hitachi and robotic systems integration which involves a massive amount of data from shop floor. [Read more…] about Hitachi to merge two business units to expand robotics offering in Asia

Carnegie Mellon University’s new robot collaborates with humans to create art

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Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute has a new artist-in-residence.

FRIDA, a robotic arm with a paintbrush taped to it, uses artificial intelligence to collaborate with humans on works of art. Ask FRIDA to paint a picture, and it gets to work putting brush to canvas.

“There’s this one painting of a frog ballerina that I think turned out really nicely,” says Peter Schaldenbrand, a School of Computer Science PhD student in the Robotics Institute working with FRIDA and exploring AI and creativity. [Read more…] about Carnegie Mellon University’s new robot collaborates with humans to create art

Bin-picking systems market forecast to grow to $5.6 billion by 2033

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The global bin picking systems market is anticipated to be valued at $1.7 billion in 2023 and it is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.5 percent to reach $5.6 billion by the end of 2033, according to a report by Fact.MR. 

A bin picking system is a technology in which a robot is incorporated with a 3D, camera, optical sensor (3D or 2D) and an end effector (magnet gripper, and others) to remove parts from a container full of disorganized, irregularly shaped pieces.

Robotic arm receives command based on the analysis done by the computer vision system and the vision system examine the target area and recognize the position of the pieces. [Read more…] about Bin-picking systems market forecast to grow to $5.6 billion by 2033

Luwu Intelligence launches ‘world’s first’ Raspberry Pi robotic dog with arm

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Luwu, a STEM education technology company focused on the research and development of advanced robotics, has launched XGO 2, an advanced desktop-sized AI quadruped robot with an arm.

This state-of-the-art robot brings a new level of intelligence and functionality to the world of robotics. XGO 2 is now available on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/xgorobot/xgo-2-worlds-first-raspberry-pi-robotic-dog-with-an-arm

XGO 2 is an intelligent and agile robotic dog, capable of sophisticated movements, 12 degrees of freedom, and a variety of motions. Its open-source nature allows users of all programming levels to program and customizes it with Blocky and Python. [Read more…] about Luwu Intelligence launches ‘world’s first’ Raspberry Pi robotic dog with arm

Techman Robot launches ‘all-in-one’ AI collaborative robot series

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Techman Robot has launched its “TM AI Cobot” series, describing it as a “collaborative robot which combines a powerful and precise robot arm with native AI inferencing engine and smart vision system in a complete package”.

The company says the new machine is ready for deployment in factories and can accelerate the transition to Industry 4.0.

Techman says the TM AI Cobot works on the principle of being smart, simple and safe. By combining visual processing in the robot arm, the AI Cobot can perform fast and precise pick and place, AMR, palletizing, welding, semi-conductor and product manufacturing, automated optical inspections (AOI) and food service preparation, among many other applications that can be accelerated by AI-Vision. [Read more…] about Techman Robot launches ‘all-in-one’ AI collaborative robot series