Robotics & Automation News

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RE2 Robotics achieves 50 percent hiring growth despite pandemic

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RE2 Robotics, or “Resquared Robotics”, a developer of intelligent mobile manipulation systems, announced today that the Company has already reached its 2020 hiring goal of increasing its staff by 50 percent.

In particular, 83 percent of the new hires were engineers from a variety of disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, and software engineering.

In addition, the Company has added to its operations team with the hiring of a head of talent, director of IT, and accountant, and has augmented its production team with the addition of a CNC machinist and lab assistant. [Read more…] about RE2 Robotics achieves 50 percent hiring growth despite pandemic

Oil-producing nations struggling with economic woes as society shifts towards electric movement

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Oil-producing nations located in the Middle East and North Africa are struggling with their economies, most of which are not diversified enough to offset the losses caused by falls in the price of crude.

A quick check shows that the current price of a barrel of crude oil – which is about 160 litres – is just above $40, which is significantly lower than certainly Arab countries need it to be.

According to the Economist, Algeria needs the price to be about $157 a barrel, while Oman wants to get to at least $87. [Read more…] about Oil-producing nations struggling with economic woes as society shifts towards electric movement

Samsung expands chipmaking capacity

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Samsung Electronics, the smartphone giant which is also one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers, is expanding its NAND flash production capacity in Pyeongtaek, Korea.

The company says the development will reinforce the company’s ability to meet demands from emerging technologies.

Construction, which began this May, will pave the way for mass production of Samsung’s cutting-edge V-NAND memory in the second half of 2021. [Read more…] about Samsung expands chipmaking capacity

How driverless shuttle vehicles can get safely from A to B

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Project 3F, a consortium of six partners led by Bosch, has presented its results for automated driving in the low-speed range. (See video below.)

Their main finding is that the vehicle can continue driving despite deviations on the specified route and technical failures in the system.

The transport of people and goods were tested on test tracks in Renningen and Aachen, Germany. [Read more…] about How driverless shuttle vehicles can get safely from A to B

Opinion: Radical rethink of automotive R&D investment required in 2020

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Continued disruption, restructuring and re-shaping of the automotive industry will be required to make increasing levels of R&D affordable whilst simultaneously representing a major growth opportunity in the year ahead, according to engineering consultancy Horiba Mira.

The proliferation of electrification and connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technologies will continue to be amongst the top automotive trends in 2020 which will continue to push up the already soaring costs of research and development.

Indeed, latest figures show European auto manufacturers spent a record £33.3 billion on R&D – 35 per cent more than the £24.6 billion spent in 2014/15. [Read more…] about Opinion: Radical rethink of automotive R&D investment required in 2020

Amazon Robotics building $40 million research and development center in Massachusetts

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Amazon is building a new Amazon Robotics innovation hub in Westborough, Massachusetts, creating 200 tech and advanced manufacturing jobs in the process.

Opening in 2021, the company plans to invest more than $40 million in the new site to allow Amazon Robotics to continue to grow its engineering, manufacturing, support and test teams in the state.

The new 350,000 square feet facility, developed by Atlantic Management of Framingham, Massachusetts, will feature corporate offices, research and development labs, and manufacturing space and will be in addition to Amazon Robotics’ current site in North Reading – together serving as the company’s “epicenter of robotics innovation”. [Read more…] about Amazon Robotics building $40 million research and development center in Massachusetts

Manufacturing industry turning to robotics and AI in challenging economic landscape, says Deloitte

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The manufacturing industry is turning to robotics and artificial intelligence as well as a range of other strategies to navigate an increasingly challenging economic landscape, according to a report by Deloitte.

The management consultancy says that, as the risk of a global economic downturn grows, the industrial manufacturing industry faces a challenging landscape in 2020 replete with trade tensions, muted job growth, supply chain volatility and an ongoing skilled talent shortage.

Yet, despite these headwinds, industry leaders are rapidly developing coping strategies – not only to weather the brewing storm, but to thrive in spite of it. [Read more…] about Manufacturing industry turning to robotics and AI in challenging economic landscape, says Deloitte

Septentrio and Artisense to demonstrate advanced localization technology for autonomous vehicles at Auto AI Show

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Septentrio, a manufacturer of GPS / GNSS technology for demanding applications, is providing positioning technology to Artisense, supplier of innovative computer vision solutions for automated vehicles.

Artisense incorporates Septentrio GPS / GNSS in their latest Visual Inertial Navigation System (VINS), which will be demonstrated live at Auto AI Show in Berlin, Germany on September 25-27, 2019.

VINS combines computer vision, inertial sensors and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) measurements to deliver highly accurate global 3D positioning and orientation information in any environment, even indoors. [Read more…] about Septentrio and Artisense to demonstrate advanced localization technology for autonomous vehicles at Auto AI Show

Eclipse Automation acquires Transmoduls to expand into Europe

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Eclipse Automation, of Cambridge, Canada, is in the process of acquiring Transmoduls, located in Veszprém, Hungary.

Eclipse says Transmoduls is at the forefront of manufacturing turnkey, feature-rich automation solutions for the automotive, electronics, food and medical markets.

With facilities in Canada and the United States, Eclipse delivers proven custom automation solutions combining design, engineering, manufacturing, integration and aftercare for advanced production, lean manufacturing and modern distribution. [Read more…] about Eclipse Automation acquires Transmoduls to expand into Europe

Mitsubishi Electric takes a stake in Realtime Robotics

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Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has taken an equity stake in Realtime Robotics, Inc. a U.S. technology startup that develops and commercialises motion-planning technologies.

Motion planning is the process of calculating and determining the optimised path that a robot should take to reach a goal without colliding with any obstacle. Realtime Robotics’ motion path planning solution performs the necessary calculations in real time.

Funding by Mitsubishi Electric is expected to accelerate the development of industrial robot systems offering enhanced safety and performance.

[Read more…] about Mitsubishi Electric takes a stake in Realtime Robotics