Robotics & Automation News

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Audi starts series production of electric motors in Hungary

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Audi Hungaria’s Győr factory has begun the series production of electric motors. The electric motors are produced using modular assembly.

The current production capacity is for approximately 400 electric axle motors each day and can be gradually increased.

At present, about 100 people are employed in this new area, to be increased to more than 130 by the end of the year. Production is with one‑shift operation, but will soon change to three shifts.

[Read more…] about Audi starts series production of electric motors in Hungary

Flying cars: A ‘near-term’ vision of a world where people get around in electric and autonomous cars and drones

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Airbus and the German car manufacturer Audi have teamed up to develop what they describe as “real, near-term urban mobility solutions”, which features electric and autonomous cars and drones – sometimes operating together as flying cars (main picture and video below).

Beginning this summer, Airbus – through its on-demand helicopter platform Voom – will partner with Audi to deliver an end-to-end transportation service, starting in São Paulo and Mexico City.

This partnership will provide premium ground transportation serviced by Audi vehicles and helicopter transport via Airbus’ Voom service, allowing customers to have a seamless and ultra-convenient travel experience.  [Read more…] about Flying cars: A ‘near-term’ vision of a world where people get around in electric and autonomous cars and drones

Audi uses Stratasys 3D printer to prototype tail light covers

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Audi is planning to use what is claimed to the “world’s only full-color, multi-material 3D printer” to prototype tail light covers.

Additive manufacturing systems supplier Stratasys says Audi Pre-Series Center with its Plastics 3D Printing Center in Ingolstadt, Germany, will leverage “the world’s only full-color, multi-material 3D printer” – the Stratasys J750 – to innovate its design process and accelerate design verification.

For the production of tail light covers, Audi expects to reduce prototyping lead times by up to 50 percent.  [Read more…] about Audi uses Stratasys 3D printer to prototype tail light covers

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

Audi plans to sell 800,000 electrified cars in 2025

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Audi aims to sell approximately 800,000 fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids in the year 2025. The updated strategy will enable about every third customer to decide in favour of an e-model by the middle of the next decade.

There will be an electrified variant in each model series by then – most of them are to be fully electric, with a smaller proportion as plug-in hybrids.

“Our ambition has always been and will continue to be Vorsprung durch Technik,” says Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG.

[Read more…] about Audi plans to sell 800,000 electrified cars in 2025

Audi opts for FRS Robotics quality control on car doors

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FRS Robotics has introduced a new adaptive robot cell that automates the highly sensitive ultrasonic inspection of fold glue joints of Audi vehicle doors.

Vehicle door types consist of metal sheet inner and outer parts which are glued, plied and welded along the door edges. Ultrasonic inspection is performed manually to verify correct glue bonding.

Audi asked FRS Robotics to automate the highly sensitive ultrasonic quality control of the doors’ fold glue joints.

[Read more…] about Audi opts for FRS Robotics quality control on car doors

‘Virtual dashboard’ sounds better than ‘human-machine interface’

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A human-machine interface is a computer screen through which a human can control a machine. It can be a screen on a tablet computer or a desktop computer, or even a wearable, like a smartwatch.

The majority of HMIs in the industrial sector take the form of tablet computers, though there are also many desktop HMIs, and an increasing number of developers are releasing wearable HMIs, although they are few in number at the moment.

The reason why mobile HMIs seem to be favoured is that they can be located near the machine, or the user can be near the machine when using the device, to either directly control it in realtime or programme it to perform whatever operations at a subsequent time.  [Read more…] about ‘Virtual dashboard’ sounds better than ‘human-machine interface’

Audi to showcase autonomous driving technology at Frankfurt motor show

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Audi is to showcase its autonomous driving technology at the Frankfurt motor show, IAA 2017, staring later this week.

The auto giant says it has been making progress on many levels and is concentrating on providing level 3 automation as standard on its luxury A8 model.

Level 3 is what is called “conditional automation” on the SAE’s five levels of automation. It means the car can manage itself but can notify the human driver when they are required to intervene.  [Read more…] about Audi to showcase autonomous driving technology at Frankfurt motor show

Volkswagen and Kuka research ways to use robots for future electric and autonomous cars

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Volkswagen’s new concept autonomous and electric car, Sedric
Volkswagen self-driving concept car, which it calls Sedric

The Volkswagen Group is researching ways in which robots can be used in the future when cars become more electrified and computerised as a result of increasing demand for clean and autonomous vehicles. 

The German automaker, which owns the Audi, Bentley, Seat, Porsche and Lamborghini brands among others, is working one of the world’s largest industrial robotics and automation providers, Kuka, to research and develop a number of ideas.

The current area of interest for the strategic partnership between Kuka and Volkswagen is the area of service concepts for vehicles of the future, and the two companies have agreed a contract to jointly develop robot-based innovation concepts for vehicles of the future.  [Read more…] about Volkswagen and Kuka research ways to use robots for future electric and autonomous cars

Audi autonomous car tech boss chats with humanoid robot as though it were entirely natural

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Audi has demonstrated its autonomous car – which it calls “Jack” – in a road test featuring a humanoid robot called Sophia, developed by Hanson Robotics.

Audi’s head of concept development, automated driving, Klaus Verweyen, was sitting in the driver’s seat of the car, while Sophia was in the passenger seat.

Verweyen chatted away to Sophia as though it was the most normal thing in the world. Meanwhile, Jack drove itself from Audi’s facility onto a main highway and back again.  [Read more…] about Audi autonomous car tech boss chats with humanoid robot as though it were entirely natural

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