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Mosaic raises $14 million to digitalize construction and bring prefabrication into the mainstream

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A startup company aiming to bring digital project management techniques to the construction sector has raised $14.25 million in Series A funding, bring the total raised to $24.7 million, according to Business Insider. 

Mosaic Construction says its fundamental offer or service is to provide a method for analyzing building plans and categorize them according to which contractor will do what task in what time frame and so on.

This could enable traditional property developers and builders to move more of their tasks into the factory for prefabrication, bringing prefabricated construction into the mainstream. [Read more…] about Mosaic raises $14 million to digitalize construction and bring prefabrication into the mainstream

New AppHarvest funding round brings total to $150 million

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Indoor farming startup AppHarvest has raised $28 million in its latest funding round, bringing the total to $150 million.

As Bloomberg reports, AppHarvest is building “the world’s largest greenhouse” in Morehead, Kentucky in the US.

AppHarvest uses similar indoor farming techniques to those used by so-called “vertical farming” companies in that it can irrigate its crops using 90 percent less water than traditional farming techniques. [Read more…] about New AppHarvest funding round brings total to $150 million

Mighty Buildings aims to automate 80 percent of construction process

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Mighty Buildings, a startup providing automated solutions for modern home building, has launched out of stealth after graduating from Y Combinator in winter 2018 and raising a total of $30 million from Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, SV Angel, CoreVC, and others. 

The company says it uses a combination of 3D printing and prefabrication techniques to create a production-as-a-service platform that will “automate up to 80 percent of the building process”.

Mighty Buildings says it has a unique approach that is both project- and design-agnostic, and can create “everything from small complex components to panels to full-size volumetric modules”. [Read more…] about Mighty Buildings aims to automate 80 percent of construction process

Big investor dumps all its Rolls-Royce stock

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ValueAct, a San Francisco-based investment company with more than $16 billion of assets under management, has sold all its shares it Rolls-Royce, according to a report on the Financial Times website.

ValueAct is said by Reuters to have at one stage held almost 10 percent of Rolls-Royce entire stock, which currently capitalizes at approximately $6.3 billion.

One of the most famous names in the industry, Rolls-Royce is one of the world’s leading suppliers of aircraft engines. [Read more…] about Big investor dumps all its Rolls-Royce stock

Via raises $200 million to develop and expand its mobility services

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Mobility services startup Via has raised a further $200 million in its latest funding round.

Money raised in Via’s Series E fuding round will be used to “expand access to efficient, sustainable, and equitable public mobility across the globe”, says the company.

John Elkann, chairman and CEO of Exor, lead investor in the financing, says: “More important than ever to work for an innovative and sustainable future.” [Read more…] about Via raises $200 million to develop and expand its mobility services

Smart building automation and the future of property development in cities

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As cities continue to grow and evolve, with more people than ever wanting to live and work from within them, so to do the tactics used to house and control this city growth, without being detrimental to the quality of life or the environment.

Here are some of the ways that buildings are modernising and evolving in 2020 and beyond into the new decade, followed by some general information on the property companies involved in these sorts of developments, and then a deeper dive on home automation from a consumer level.

  • Smarter build techniques – Perhaps one of the immediately noticeable differences in modern property developments is that they have new materials, strategies and techniques, allowing them to be as efficient, sleek and affordable as possible, with technology interweaved for the future.
  • Automation in the “smart building” – The smart building is one that, again, is interweaved with overall technology from the beginning, that can be remotely controlled and accessed, perhaps even in tandem with multiple different apartment clusters or even buildings of the same type.

This is incredible for energy efficiency, like heating, lighting, and more can all be controlled by a remote operator, as and when required. [Read more…] about Smart building automation and the future of property development in cities

Boston Dynamics partners with Otto Motors to co-ordinate mobile robots in the warehouse

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Boston Dynamics, a developer of mobile manipulation robots, and OTTO Motors, a maker of industrial autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), have unveiled what they describe as “a demo of the future of warehouse automation”.

In a video (see below), Boston Dynamics’s logistics robot, Handle, can be seen picking boxes and building pallets on top of OTTO AMRs in a distribution center testbed.

Last year, Boston Dynamics announced its efforts to add flexible, highly mobile automation technology to the warehouse with its Handle robot and Pick computer vision system. [Read more…] about Boston Dynamics partners with Otto Motors to co-ordinate mobile robots in the warehouse

Teradyne to build ‘world’s largest’ collaborative robotics hub at a cost of $36 million

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Teradyne has embarked on a project to build what it says will be “the world’s largest collaborative robotics hub” when it is finished. 

The facility (main illustration) is located in Denmark and its eventual cost is estimated at approximately $36 million.

Denmark’s minister of industry, business and financial affairs, Simon Kollerup, unveiled what will become the new home of Teradyne’s robotics business units, Mobile Industrial Robots and Universal Robots, both of which it acquired in the past year or so. [Read more…] about Teradyne to build ‘world’s largest’ collaborative robotics hub at a cost of $36 million

Mitsubishi Electric develops tech for controlling mobile robots

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Mitsubishi Electric says it has developed a technology for controlling “in-building” mobile robots used for cleaning, security, delivery and guidance, as well as next-generation electric wheelchairs.

The company says the software uses building dynamic maps to achieve cooperative interaction between the mobile machines and building facilities, such as elevators and access control systems.

Mitsubishi says that by supporting the safe, efficient movement of people and in-building mobilities in buildings, the new technology is expected to reduce the workloads of building-management personnel and help realize smart buildings in which people and robots coexist safely. [Read more…] about Mitsubishi Electric develops tech for controlling mobile robots

ABB launches IoT Dashboard for mid-sized commercial building automation solutions

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ABB has launched its new “user-friendly IoT Dashboard” to improve usability and reduce maintenance in smart buildings.

The company’s says the launch is in response to its finding that “preventative maintenance is three to nine times cheaper than reactive maintenance”.

ABB says its IoT Dashboard is “easy to commission, simple to install and intuitive to use”, and allows stronger control, monitoring and automation of all building functions, from dimming and switching of lights to controlling blinds, heating and ventilation. [Read more…] about ABB launches IoT Dashboard for mid-sized commercial building automation solutions

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