Robotics & Automation News

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Yaskawa takes center stage at Africa Automation Technology Fair

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As one of the largest manufacturers of industrial robots, Yaskawa Southern Africa took part in this year’s Africa Automation Technology Fair (AATF), where various experts in the manufacturing industry gathered to exchange valuable industry expertise to increase investment prospects in the African continent’s manufacturing sector. The event, which celebrated its 25th year, centred around the theme of “For Africa from Africa”.

The AATF promotes and is passionate about furthering Africa’s transformation and promoting the development and growth of the continent’s automation industry.

Yaskawa Southern Africa was one of 150 exhibitors on display at the event, which took place from 9th to 11th May 2023, and showcased its collaborative robotic welding solution, Weld4me. This transformative piece of automated equipment presents an alternative or support to manual MIG/MAG welding with air-cooled welding equipment. [Read more…] about Yaskawa takes center stage at Africa Automation Technology Fair

ABB launches ‘complete’ robot training package to prepare students for future work

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Package includes easy-to-use GoFa collaborative robot cell, 56 hours of teaching materials and globally recognized STEM certification

ABB Robotics is aiming to “close the global education gap in automation” and prepare students for the future of work with the launch of a ready-to-use education package. Comprising a GoFa collaborative robot (cobot), teaching materials and a globally recognized technical qualification, the package is part of ABB Robotics global campaign to help workers thrive in a new era of automation. 

The ABB Robotics Education Package has been created to ensure educational establishments can provide highly skilled young people for companies looking to benefit from robotic automation.

Although some 80 percent of global educators see automation shaping employment in the next 10 years, only one in four education institutes incorporate robotics into their curriculum. Barriers include the lack of teachers trained in robotics and automation and the difficulty in incorporating robotics training into the curriculum seamlessly. [Read more…] about ABB launches ‘complete’ robot training package to prepare students for future work

Ready Robotics ‘making robotics system design easier’ for non-programmers

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Robotics hardware traditionally requires programmers to deploy it. Ready Robotics wants to change that with its “no code” software aimed at people working in manufacturing who haven’t got programming skills.

The Columbus, Ohio, startup is a spinout of robotics research from Johns Hopkins University. Kel Guerin was a PhD candidate there leading this research when he partnered with Benjamin Gibbs, who was at Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, to land funding and pursue the company, now led by Gibbs as CEO.

Guerin, who’s now chief innovation officer at the startup, says: “There was this a-ha moment where we figured out that we could take these types of visual languages that are very easy to understand and use them for robotics.” [Read more…] about Ready Robotics ‘making robotics system design easier’ for non-programmers

Otto Motors reveals North American sales and service expansion with certified dealers

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Otto Motors, a provider of autonomous mobile robots, has launched the Otto Certified Dealer program to provide “high-quality service and support locally throughout North America”. The program introduces over 215 regional offices and 2,000 technicians to the rapidly-growing AMR industry. 

To meet the rising demand for AMRs, Otto Motors has trained and certified the most reputable material handling equipment organizations to deliver solutions with the same quality that Otto Motors is known for.

John Stikes, director of global strategic alliances and partnerships at Otto Motors, says: “Customers demand exceptional service. We’ve built our Otto Certified Dealer program like we’ve built our products, with unwavering emphasis on quality to ensure that our customers receive the exceptional service they expect. [Read more…] about Otto Motors reveals North American sales and service expansion with certified dealers

Techman launches new collaborative robot with ‘longest reach’

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Techman Robot has launched a new robot, giving the first opportunity to see the TM AI Cobot TM25S at the Automate Show.

The company says its “revolutionary” 25 kg payload collaborative robot joins TM Robot’s already impressive lineup and the TM AI Cobot S Series.

These innovative cobots set new benchmarks in the industry with their remarkable features and capabilities – the TM25S will be showcased for the first time at Automate 2023 in Detroit, Michigan, USA, from May 22–25, 2023. [Read more…] about Techman launches new collaborative robot with ‘longest reach’

Osaro and Geek+ partner to integrate robotic warehouse solutions

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Osaro, a specialist in in machine-learning-enabled robotics for e-commerce, has agreed partnership that integrates its pick-and-place robots with groundbreaking Geek+ warehouse automation systems.

The new alliance offers businesses a one-stop solution for their warehouse fulfillment operations and a strategy to boost the ROI of their autonomous mobile robot systems (AMRs) and automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS).

Derik Pridmore, Osaro CEO, says: “At Osaro, our goal is to provide reliable robotic systems that make automation easy, which is why the seamless integration of our picking robots with Geek+ systems is so valuable for quick and easy deployment. [Read more…] about Osaro and Geek+ partner to integrate robotic warehouse solutions

Korea Association of Robot Industry to operate Korea Pavilion at Automate Show

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The Korea Association of Robot Industry (KAR) says it will be operating a “Korea Pavilion” at the Automate Show, which starts in a couple of days. Nine Korean companies will feature their products in Korea Pavilion located in booth number 3250 and 3452.

KAR has participated in many trade shows held in Europe and East Asia for the decades, but it has never participated in Automate or any other trade shows held in the US.

While China remains the largest market for Korean robot companies with exports worth of $319 million, The United States is the second-largest market with exports amounting to $204 million, according to the Korean Robot Industry Survey. [Read more…] about Korea Association of Robot Industry to operate Korea Pavilion at Automate Show

ABB predicts top US robotics trends

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With annual revenue in the US robotics market expected to grow at 5.62 percent, resulting in a market volume of over $9 billion by 2027, John Bubnikovich, president of ABB US Robotics Division, is making several predictions on key trends in in robotics automation in the US for 2023 and beyond.

Bubnikovich says: ”The impact of US labor shortages is increasingly being felt by many businesses as they struggle to keep pace with customer demands, even with the potential for some softening in the US economy in the short-term.

“This, combined with global political uncertainty, fragile supply chains and rising material costs, in addition to the growing trend of reshoring and nearshoring of operations, means more companies are adopting robotic automation to maximize flexibility, build resilience and adapt more sustainable production processes.” [Read more…] about ABB predicts top US robotics trends

Google’s industrial robotics business unit Intrinsic chooses Comau as first project partner

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Comau, a specialist maker of industrial robotics and automation products and systems, has been unveiled as the first industry partner of Intrinsic, a business unit of Alphabet, which is the stock market name for Google.

Intrinsic says it is on a mission to make industrial robotics accessible and usable for millions more businesses, entrepreneurs, and developers.

At the launch presentation, Pietro Gorlier, Comau’s CEO, demonstrated how the company has recently used Intrinsic’s new Flowstate developer product and underlying platform to create a modular solution to enable the assembly of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) supermodule – just one of many possibilities for new applications made possible through the platform. [Read more…] about Google’s industrial robotics business unit Intrinsic chooses Comau as first project partner

Mitsubishi Electric agrees strategic investment in Otto Motors to accelerate industrial automation

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Mitsubishi Electric, a factory automation solutions provider, has agreed a strategic investment in Clearpath Robotics, the parent company of autonomous mobile robot leader, Otto Motors.

With more than 4 million hours of production experience, Otto Motors’ pioneering autonomous mobile robot (AMR) technology and award-winning software are used by Fortune 500 companies to deliver productivity and safety in material handling operations.

The investment expands the strategic relationship between Otto Motors and Mitsubishi Electric, and strengthens the two companies’ commercial collaboration. [Read more…] about Mitsubishi Electric agrees strategic investment in Otto Motors to accelerate industrial automation