Robotics & Automation News

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Peachtree Corners opens ‘America’s first’ 5G-powered smart city tech proving ground

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The City of Peachtree Corners, in the state of Georgia, has opened what is claimed to be “America’s first 5G-powered smart city tech proving ground”.

Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners, powered exclusively by True Mobile 5G from Sprint, enables companies to prove out emerging technologies in a living environment with smart city infrastructure, next-generation connectivity and real-world conditions.

Sprint says the “groundbreaking” Curiosity IoT dedicated network and advanced operating system is poised to enable a new world of applications. [Read more…] about Peachtree Corners opens ‘America’s first’ 5G-powered smart city tech proving ground

China’s largest food delivery company to test robots

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China’s largest food delivery company is to test robots, according to a report on Abacus News. 

Meituan employs more than 600,000 delivery drivers across China, and deals with more than 25 million orders a day.

The company is predicting growth of 200 per cent by 2025 and is reportedly testing the delivery robots – called “Xiaodai”, meaning “pouch” – in Beijing and Shenzen. [Read more…] about China’s largest food delivery company to test robots

OnRobot opens research and development facility in Los Angeles

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New office location in Culver City provides OnRobot opportunity to attract talent and add new products to a portfolio including robotic grippers inspired by lizards and sensors lending a human touch to robot arms

OnRobot, a provider of end-of-arm tooling for collaborative robot applications, has opened its first location specifically dedicated to research and development in the United States.

Based in Culver City in Los Angeles, California, the new office area boasts 6,000 square feet for engineers, researchers and local staff to work and develop new products. Last year marked OnRobot’s first foray into the LA area, as it acquired Perception Robotics.

With this acquisition, OnRobot brought the award winning Gecko Gripper technology into its product offerings and developed it for commercial launch. [Read more…] about OnRobot opens research and development facility in Los Angeles

DB Schenker opens first low-carbon distribution terminal in Norway

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Global logistics service provider DB Schenker is opening its first low-carbon city distribution centre in Oslo, the new Oslo City Hub.

The centrally-located new terminal will reduce CO2 emissions of city goods distribution by 80%, using electric cars and e-bikes.

Oslo City Hub is part of Electric City, the Oslo district’s focus on activities associated with its status as European Green Capital 2019.

[Read more…] about DB Schenker opens first low-carbon distribution terminal in Norway

ThyssenKrupp completes its ‘biggest ever’ automated mobility contract

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ThyssenKrupp, one of the world’s leading suppliers of elevators and escalators, says it has completed its “biggest ever” contract in Sweden.

The work involved the iconic Urban Escape project in Stockholm.

ThyssenKrupp was asked to supply 53 elevators, 27 escalators and 15 platform lifts for the project.

[Read more…] about ThyssenKrupp completes its ‘biggest ever’ automated mobility contract

Arrow Electronics to take part in Qualcomm’s Smart Cities Accelerator Program

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Arrow Electronics, Inc. will take part in the Smart Cities Accelerator Program of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. for the global acceleration of edge compute, 5G appliances and NB-IoT distributed sensors.

Qualcomm Technologies is promoting a library of Smart City solutions that combine existing mobile broadband networks while re-imagining existing infrastructure in cities around the world.

This will help drive additional value and integrate solutions with secure interoperability, edge processing and an ecosystem to deploy at scale.

[Read more…] about Arrow Electronics to take part in Qualcomm’s Smart Cities Accelerator Program

Smart travel for future cities: Integrating and connecting new tram lines

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Smart travel for future cities

The main feature that makes a public transport system smart is enhanced control and monitoring features.

In the case of the Nottingham trams Express Transit project, in the UK, these functionalities became a reality through the collaboration of big industry names such as Taylor Woodrow, Alstom, and Boulting Technology.

Nottingham Express Travel Phase Two

In a bid to become one of the UK’s first smart cities, Nottingham has recently expanded its existing tram network to include two new lines to serve the South and South West of the city.

The first new line crosses the river Trent to Clifton and the second connects the Queens Medical Centre, Beeston and Toton.

The new routes join the existing line at Nottingham Station, with the entire network accommodating over 20 million passengers every year.  [Read more…] about Smart travel for future cities: Integrating and connecting new tram lines

Big feature: Historic opportunities presented by smart cities

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city by the water

Experts from the Arthur D Little consultancy provide a detailed overview of the historic, “trillion-dollar” opportunity presented by the move to smart cities, in this article by Ralf Baron, Morsi Berguiga, Jaap Kalkman, Adnan Merhaba, Ansgar Schlautmann, Karim Taga

The 100 largest cities in the world produce 25 per cent of the planet’s wealth. To succeed, more and more cities are going “smart” in order to meet their biggest challenges and enrich the quality of their citizens’ lives.

This unstoppable trend is driving double-digit growth in a trillion-dollar global market.

What are the opportunities for telecom companies, utilities, financial institutions, transportation companies, software developers, equipment manufacturers and others in the smart-city market?  [Read more…] about Big feature: Historic opportunities presented by smart cities

Singapore: ‘From successful city to smart nation’

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Singapore is a city state which blends tradition and modernity.

Now, authorities are looking to take the next step and go from being a successful city to a smart nation.

Among the many technology initiatives the authorities have embarked on is to introduce robots into the lives of elderly people, as well as teach them how to use computers to basic and advanced levels.

This video shows a robot designed to guide elderly residents through a series of exercises to help maintain them in the best possible health, and computer classes.

Smart cities: A matrix of information superhighways

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tokyo
Tokyo, the world’s most populous city, with almost 40 million residents. Picture by Moyan Brenn, via Wikimedia

Johannes Petrowisch, partner account manager at industrial automation software company Copa-Data, discusses the role of data collection and analysis in the smart cities of tomorrow

The largest ant colonies in the world contain over 300 million individuals and cover areas that are several kilometres wide. Ants mostly rely on tactile and chemical means of communication to keep these huge systems in order.

Luckily, as humans, we have additional tools at our disposal to make our homes and cities more efficient, more organised and, to put it simply, better places to live in.
[Read more…] about Smart cities: A matrix of information superhighways