Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

containers

BMW provides insight into how it uses artificial intelligence in production

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the rise in automotive production. Since 2018, the BMW Group has been using various AI applications in series production.

One focus is automated image recognition: In these processes, artificial intelligence evaluates component images in ongoing production and compares them in milliseconds to hundreds of other images of the same sequence.

This way, the AI application determines deviations from the standard in real time and checks, for instance, whether all required parts have been mounted and whether they are mounted in the right place.

[Read more…] about BMW provides insight into how it uses artificial intelligence in production

Honeywell unveils automated robotic unloader for distribution centres

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Honeywell has announced a new automated robotic solution for unloading packages from truck trailers and shipping containers at distribution centres.

The robotic unloader uses artificial intelligence to operate fully autonomously inside of a trailer, which significantly reduces the manual effort required to operate receiving docks for retail merchandise and parcel distribution centres.

It drives into a trailer or container and uses machine vision to identify various package shapes and sizes as well as the optimal approach to unloading.

[Read more…] about Honeywell unveils automated robotic unloader for distribution centres

NextShift Robotics receives patent for vertical lift capability in robotic picking

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NextShift Robotics, a provider of autonomous mobile robot solutions for automated order fulfilment and warehouse materials management, has been granted a second patent, US10214354B2, “Method and System for Automated Transport of Items”.

The patent pertains to operating a robotic picking system in which the containers to be picked are positioned on the shelves and within picking stations.

The patent covers the ability of the robot to raise itself vertically to access shelving of different heights in order to pick the appropriate container from a range of shelf heights and storage system configurations.

[Read more…] about NextShift Robotics receives patent for vertical lift capability in robotic picking

Emerson drives streamline port crane application

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crane at the DB Port Szczecin container terminal

Measuring over 100m wide and over 60m high and with a lifting capacity of 45t, the port crane used for loading and unloading containers is one of the many items of equipment that have been modernised during the current year by Apator Control engineers.

The crane at the DB Port Szczecin container terminal has undergone a thorough electrical and mechanical refit.

As part of the electrical overhaul, Apator Control used systems from the company Control Techniques: Unidrive M AC and Mentor MP DC drives controlled by the Simatic S7 Programmable Logic Controller (PLC).  [Read more…] about Emerson drives streamline port crane application

Ports and docks prepare for new phase of robotics and automation

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When you think of the technology at docks and ports, the first things that may spring to mind are the giant cranes that pick containers off the ships and place them somewhere on the dock.

These “gantry cranes” as they’re called stand taller than the ships at several tens of metres high and have lifting capacities of several tens of tons. But they’re all manually operated – just like the cranes you might see on construction sites.

In fact, there’s very little automation let alone machine autonomy present at the vast majority of docks and ports and ports around the world, which perhaps is not surprising given the history of docks as a massive employer of manpower. The work was always done by humans and was essentially simple – lift and move boxes. [Read more…] about Ports and docks prepare for new phase of robotics and automation