Robotics & Automation News

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BrainBox AI raises $24 million to expand into building automation

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BrainBox AI, specialising in autonomous building technology, has raised $24 million to implement its technology in the built environment and develop its next phase of innovation.

The first close of its Series A round includes new lead investor, ABB, and investments by Esplanade Ventures and Desjardins Capital.

BrainBox AI offers predictive and self-adaptive artificial intelligence to optimize buildings’ energy usage, carbon footprint, and operational efficiency. [Read more…] about BrainBox AI raises $24 million to expand into building automation

BVN and UTS invent robotic 3D-printed air cooling system

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BVN Architecture and the University of Technology Sydney have teamed up to design what they say is “the world’s first robotically 3D-printed air-diffusion system”, called “Systems Reef 2”, or SR2.

SR2 reinvents air distribution: replacing steel with recycled plastic, square corners with aerodynamic curves, and large vents with fine pores.

The building sector is responsible for nearly 40 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions and SR2 tackles this problem head on. [Read more…] about BVN and UTS invent robotic 3D-printed air cooling system

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

Mitsubishi Electric to acquire Sharp factory to expand power device business

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Mitsubishi Electric has agreed to acquire buildings and land from Sharp Fukuyama Semiconductor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sharp Corporation located in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

The acquired properties will serve as a new site where Mitsubishi Electric’s Power Device Works will process wafers for the manufacture of power semiconductors.

New production facilities scheduled to start up in November of next year will enable Mitsubishi Electric to expand its power device business. [Read more…] about Mitsubishi Electric to acquire Sharp factory to expand power device business

Volkswagen invests €450 million in battery manufacturing joint venture with Northvolt

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Volkswagen is to construct buildings and infrastructure for the battery cell factory it has agreed to build with Northvolt. The automotive giant has made initial investment of some €450 million.

The joint venture between Volkswagen Group and the Swedish battery producer Northvolt is gaining further momentum.

It has been decided that Volkswagen itself will erect the buildings and infrastructure for the joint venture’s “Northvolt Zwei” factory that is to produce lithium-ion battery cells, in order to leverage synergies at the Salzgitter site – based on the existing Center of Excellence for Battery Cells. [Read more…] about Volkswagen invests €450 million in battery manufacturing joint venture with Northvolt

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

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

S2A Modular takes its ‘self-sustaining’ home construction offering global

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S2A Modular, which claims to offer the first electrically self-sustaining, custom and smart-connected luxury residence, the GreenLuxHome, has established a first-ever “turnkey licensing program” of its kind, allowing qualified partners to build GreenLux residential and commercial buildings anywhere across North America and the world.

Through this unique licensing program, licensees will be able to create S2A Modular’s GreenLux buildings in new markets using coveted resources from a variety of entities.

Joining S2A’s GreenLux revolution: Demand is already high – with several hundred units already pre-ordered across North America and internationally. [Read more…] about S2A Modular takes its ‘self-sustaining’ home construction offering global

Komatsu develops electric mini excavator

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Komatsu Ltd has unveiled its electric mini excavator, based on its accumulated technological expertise of hybrid construction equipment and electric forklift trucks.

Equipped with an in-house developed new charger, high-voltage converter and other devices, it offers excavation performance on a par with the internal combustion model of the same power output, while achieving zero exhaust gas emissions and a dynamic reduction in noise levels.

Komatsu expects a wider range of applications for this machine, including construction work near hospitals or schools or in residential areas, where contractors pay special attention to exhaust gas and noise during work, as well as inside tunnels or buildings.

[Read more…] about Komatsu develops electric mini excavator

World Economic Forum selects robotics and automation companies in its ‘Technology Pioneers 2017’ list

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The World Economic Forum, the global nonprofit foundation whose annual meeting in Davos is attended by global leaders from business and politics, has published a list of companies which it considers to be the most pioneering in the field of technology.

In publishing its Technology Pioneers 2017 list, WEF has chosen 30 different companies to highlight from a variety of industries including biotechnology, agriculture, energy, transport, as well as a number of companies from the robotics and automation sector.

One of them is Horizon Robotics, a Chinese company which develops computer infrastructure to enable artificial intelligence computing and real-time decision-making, mainly aimed at enhancing self-driving vehicle safety.  [Read more…] about World Economic Forum selects robotics and automation companies in its ‘Technology Pioneers 2017’ list