Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

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Scurrying cockroaches help researchers steady staggering robots

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Ew, a cockroach! But it zips off before the swatter appears. Now, researchers have leveraged the bug’s superb scurrying skills to create a cleverly simple method to assess and improve locomotion in robots.

Normally, tedious modeling of mechanics, electronics, and information science is required to understand how insects’ or robots’ moving parts coordinate smoothly to take them places.

But in a new study, biomechanics researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology boiled down the sprints of cockroaches to handy principles and equations they then used to make a test robot amble about better. [Read more…] about Scurrying cockroaches help researchers steady staggering robots

ABB creates ‘intelligent’ football stadium for FK Austria

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ABB was appointed to transform Austria’s Generali Arena, originally built in 1925, into an intelligent, future-proofed venue that incorporates the latest in smart building technology and energy efficient power distribution.

This is also the first sustainable football venue in Austria. It was retrofitted in co-operation with the Austrian Sustainable Building Council, who helped with planning the design and implementation, which includes a photovoltaic system on the roof of the north stand.

The stadium’s entire electrification value chain – from medium-voltage distribution to each individual socket – has been raised to an advanced level.

[Read more…] about ABB creates ‘intelligent’ football stadium for FK Austria

Bosch and Daimler to pilot automated driving in California

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Bosch and Daimler have chosen in a city located in the San Francisco Bay in Silicon Valley, California, as the pilot location for a first test fleet developing fully-automated and driverless driving.

Bosch and Daimler will offer customers a shuttle service with automated vehicles on selected routes. Daimler Mobility Services is envisaged as the operator of this test fleet and the app-based mobility service.

The pilot project will demonstrate how mobility services such as car sharing (car2go), ride-hailing (mytaxi) and multi-modal platforms (moovel) can be intelligently connected to shape the future of mobility.

[Read more…] about Bosch and Daimler to pilot automated driving in California

Formant acquires Formation to add robot remote control to its fleet management solutions

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Formant, a robot fleet management software company, has acquired Formation, a robot teleoperation startup based in Pittsburgh.

Formant will integrate the startup’s solution to enable customers to remotely control their robots through its browser-based, cloud-enabled robot fleet management system.

According to Formant’s CEO, Jeff Linnell, adding teleoperation to Formant’s offerings will create an end-to-end solution that robots-as-a-service companies can leverage to scale their fleets, enabling them to easily manage thousands of robots. [Read more…] about Formant acquires Formation to add robot remote control to its fleet management solutions

Freedom Robotics receives $6.6 million in seed funding

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Freedom Robotics, which provides cloud and on-device software for monitoring, control and management of robots and robotic fleets, has closed a $6.6m seed round.

The funding was led by Initialized Capital, with Toyota AI Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, Andrew Miklas from S28 Capital, and James Lindenbaum, alongside existing investors Green Cow Ventur­e Capital, Justin Kan, Josh Buckley, Kevin Mahaffey, and Arianna Simpson.

Freedom Robotics creates tools and infrastructure that all robotics companies require but are not core to their product or value creation.

[Read more…] about Freedom Robotics receives $6.6 million in seed funding

Universal Robots opens authorised training centres in North America

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North American distributors of Universal Robots are now opening Authorized Training Centers (ATCs), offering classes spanning basic to advanced programming of UR cobots. The first four ATCs have been launched, with another nine to follow by end of 2019.

Universal Robots says it is committed to making collaborative robots (cobots) in the workplace accessible to all. The company is now building on the popular online modules offered through the UR Academy by enabling its sales channel to open ATCs.

Through hands-on classes hosted by UR trained teachers, the ATCs will broaden users’ understanding of the UR cobots’ range of use cases, while providing opportunities for hands-on practice in real-life applications.

[Read more…] about Universal Robots opens authorised training centres in North America

Kia car to feature ‘first’ CVVD engine technology

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Hyundai Motor Group, Kia Motors‘ parent company, has developed the world’s first Continuously Variable Valve Duration (CVVD) technology to feature in future Kia vehicles.

The innovation was revealed at Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang alongside the Smartstream G1.6 T-GDi, the first engine to feature the technology.

CVVD is claimed to optimise both engine performance and fuel efficiency while also being eco-friendly.

[Read more…] about Kia car to feature ‘first’ CVVD engine technology

Subsea valve actuator ‘reduces energy consumption by up to 75 per cent’, says Rexroth

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Launched less than a year ago, Bosch Rexroth’s innovative Subsea Valve Actuator (SVA) – an entirely new concept for underwater actuators which offers SIL3 safety levels and up to 75 per cent lower energy consumption – has been granted a Mechanical Engineering Design Award.

The SVA was developed to help address some of the challenges and shortcomings associated with either purely electromechanical or electrohydraulic actuator technology used on the sea floor for oil and gas exploration and production systems.

Until now, underwater actuators required large, central hydraulic power units above water. Designed to supply the actuators with fluid, the fluid-lines themselves can be miles long. [Read more…] about Subsea valve actuator ‘reduces energy consumption by up to 75 per cent’, says Rexroth

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

Industrial measurement and testing: Faster commissioning results in quicker time to market

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Bosch Rexroth provides insight into measurement and testing processes

To ensure consistency, repeatability, quality and compliance with regulations, many companies employ rigorous testing and measurement processes.

Kraus automation technology (KAT), specialises in providing tailored testing systems for life-span, fatigue and material tests.

To offer testing systems which meet the needs of their diverse customer base, KAT use National Instruments’ LabView software to create custom user interfaces for engineers. [Read more…] about Industrial measurement and testing: Faster commissioning results in quicker time to market