Robotics & Automation News

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Automotive

General Motors unveils its digital vehicle platform

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General Motors has unveiled its all-new electronic platform for its next-generation of vehicles.

As the automotive industry and vehicles evolve in the next five to 10 years, more electrical bandwidth and connectivity will be needed to ensure that features such as electric propulsion systems, the Super Cruise driver assistance feature and advanced active safety systems can all run in conjunction with each other.

Debuting on the recently-unveiled 2020 Cadillac CT5 sedan, the electronic platform will go into production later this year and should be rolled out to most vehicles within GM’s global lineup by 2023.

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Teradyne ships its 4,000th ‘Eagle’ semiconductor test system to MPS

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Teradyne says it has shipped its 4,000th Eagle Test System, hitting a new sales success milestone for its Eagle Test System automatic test equipment in China.

MPS, a high-growth, linear, power and automotive semiconductor supplier with multiple locations in China, purchased the milestone system, an ETS-88.

The ETS-88 is an optimal platform for testing a wide variety of devices including simple analog, high precision, high voltage, high current / power, automotive, video, audio, complex mixed-signal, as well as emerging power processes like SiC and GaN. [Read more…] about Teradyne ships its 4,000th ‘Eagle’ semiconductor test system to MPS

ABB to supply high power charging for new era of e-mobility in Scandinavia

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ABB is to equip new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across Denmark, Norway and Swede, starting with a first station now open in Fredericia, Denmark.

The station, a joint venture with E.ON Drive & Clever, and is part of ABB’s plan to roll out 48 high-power charging stations across the motorways of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

The pilot station, which will be one of eight stations to launch in Denmark by the end of 2020, features ABB Ability-enabled high-power chargers, which are capable of adding up to 200 km of range in just eight minutes.

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Hitachi electric vehicle inverter adopted for the Audi e-tron

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Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.’s electric vehicle (EV) inverter has been adopted by Audi for its first mass production EV, the e-tron, which went on sale in Europe in March this year.

With tightened environmental regulations around the world, many countries are driving for greater adoption of electric vehicles.

This has led to the demand for more efficient and higher-output electric motors, inverters, and other electric powertrain systems that will contribute to high performance EVs.

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Samsung enhances functional safety in its automotive semiconductors

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Samsung Electronics has received the ISO 26262 certification for functional safety in automotive components from TÜV Rheinland, a third-party testing, inspection and certification company.

The accreditation of Samsung’s new functional safety management system ensures that the company’s advanced automotive semiconductors, such as processors, image sensors, memory and light emitting diode (LED) solutions, satisfy the industry’s rigid safety standards throughout the product development process.

As the adoption of electronic components in automobiles continue to increase and the development of future applications are accelerated across industries, the importance of automotive safety standards for semiconductor components as well as their level of sophistication have also risen.

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355 welding robots at new Byton car plant in China

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Byton, the electric vehicle maker, has announced it will complete its Round C fundraising in mid-2019 with support from multiple investors and shared further details of its Nanjing factory.

Construction of the plant, which started in September 2017, is nearing completion and trial production of the M-Byte SUV will start in the third quarter of 2019.

The installation and commissioning of key equipment has already begun in the five major workshops: stamping, paint, welding, battery, and assembly.

[Read more…] about 355 welding robots at new Byton car plant in China

ZF wins major order for new automatic transmission

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ZF Friedrichshafen AG has received a double-digit billion-euro order from BMW AG for its enhanced 8-speed automatic transmission.

The latest version of ZF’s 8-speed transmission has been improved by integrating an electric drive. This also includes a hybrid variant.

The new transmission generation will start series production in 2022 at ZF’s plant in Saarbrücken, the lead production facility for ZF’s automatic passenger car transmissions.

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Magna celebrates growing footprint in China with two grand opening events

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Magna held two grand opening ceremonies last month in China, for new factories in Changsha and Shanghai.

The new plant in Changsha, a joint venture with GAC subsidiary GAC Component Co., Ltd. (GAC Component), began production of composite liftgates for a global automaker’s crossover vehicle in late 2018.

Last month, Magna’s plant in Shanghai started production on active aerodynamic grille shutters for an American brand producing multiple vehicle platforms for the China market.

[Read more…] about Magna celebrates growing footprint in China with two grand opening events

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi partner with Plug and Play China

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Alliance Ventures, the venture capital fund that invests in technology start-ups for Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors, is partnering with Plug and Play China, part of the global innovation platform.

“China is leading innovation in the automotive industry,” said Francois Dossa, Alliance Global Vice President, Ventures and Open Innovation; Chairman of Alliance Ventures.

“By harnessing the expertise of Plug and Play China, we can gain access to start-ups and technologies that will transform the mobility experience.”

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Electrified Mercedes EQC goes into production

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The Mercedes-Benz of electric vehicles is ready for launch. The EQC is produced at the company’s Bremen plant and can be ordered now.

The first EQC will roll off the production line at the company’s plant in Bremen. There it is being produced on the same line as the C-Class Saloon and Estate as well as the GLC and GLC Coupé.

Production of vehicles with various drive systems can be adapted variably and efficiently in line with market demand. This approach ensures the best use of capacity at the plant.

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