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covid

Coronavirus ‘exposes industry’s need to modernize operations’

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The coronavirus pandemic has “exposed industry’s need to modernize operations”, according to Hitachi.

The industrial giant made the assertion as it launched an expanded set of digital services through its Hitachi Vantara subsidiary to help manufacturers accelerate “Manufacturing 4.0 initiatives” and to assist with safely restarting production in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For many manufacturers, the pandemic has not only affected worker health and safety, it has impacted demand, interrupted production, exposed vulnerabilities in supply chains, and driven an urgent need to modernize operations. [Read more…] about Coronavirus ‘exposes industry’s need to modernize operations’

Peachtree Corners launches ‘world’s first fleet of self-driving e-scooters’ as part of styling itself as a smart city

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Peachtree Corners, a tiny city in the state of Georgia, USA, is launching what it believes is the “world’s first fleet of self-driving e-scooters” as part of styling itself out as a smart city.

Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners is on a mission to solve many of the technology issues facing cities and municipalities around the country. For many, the term “smart city” is an unclear concept.

For Peachtree Corners, Georgia, it’s about empowering the latest in emerging technologies to solve real-world problems. [Read more…] about Peachtree Corners launches ‘world’s first fleet of self-driving e-scooters’ as part of styling itself as a smart city

Boston Dynamics provides its canine robot in the fight against coronavirus

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Boston Dynamics has modified its canine robot to make it more helpful in the fight against coronavirus.

In a blog post, the company says: “We have spent the last six weeks building and testing a payload and application architecture that would enable our robot, Spot, to help reduce exposure of frontline healthcare workers to the novel Covid-19 virus.”

Mobile robots play a vital role in removing people from dangerous environments, says the company, which developed the payload, hardware, and software for this application so that they are “generalizable and able to be deployed on other mobile robotic platforms with APIs and capacity for custom payloads”. [Read more…] about Boston Dynamics provides its canine robot in the fight against coronavirus

Business ideas emerging in China during Covid-19

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The Covid-19 outbreak has dealt a huge economic blow to China. The country’s supply chains are collapsing, many manufacturing firms have closed down, there is minimal human interaction, and consumer behavior has changed in unprecedented ways.

However, as in all known crises, a lot of new business ideas and opportunities have come out of the prevailing crisis. Online-to-offline commerce (O2O) is on the rise, the demand for 5G has increased, and the need for online education has skyrocketed.

New shopping preferences have necessitated mass changes in China’s labor market. Employers need to hire locals with extraordinary skills and talents; workers with the needed muscle to withstand the harsh realities of the ongoing lockdown and social distancing. [Read more…] about Business ideas emerging in China during Covid-19

UBTech robots being used to control coronavirus in Wuhan

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UBTech is supplying its robotics and artificial intelligence technologies in the ongoing effort to control coronavirus in China. 

The AI robots have been installed in healthcare settings as well as commercial environment as people get back to work.

As shown in the main picture above, people starting to return to work are being greeted by people alongside robots. [Read more…] about UBTech robots being used to control coronavirus in Wuhan

Collaborative robots: A helping hand in healthcare

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By Darrell Adams, head of Southeast Asia and Oceania, Universal Robots

Covid-19, the global pandemic, took the world by surprise and suddenly the healthcare system has to confront one of the toughest challenges on a global scale.

Healthcare workers are working round the clock and the intense workload at the frontline led to exhaustion in many, virus infection in others, and some sadly passed away in their line of duty.

Millions of nurses needed

The global healthcare system is cracking under the strain of this global pandemic. Yet, a recent report shows that globally, we are in need of 6 million more nurses to achieve global health targets, even without a global pandemic. This is an alarming number, and it is unlikely that over a short period of time, the demand can be met. [Read more…] about Collaborative robots: A helping hand in healthcare

AImotive ‘first’ to gain ISO certification for its automated driving simulator

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AImotive claims it has become the “first” company to gain ISO26262 certification for its automated driving simulator.

AImotive relies on first ISO26262 certified simulator to power CI/CD (continuous integration and delivery) of automated driving

The company says the certification is the “essential first step” towards creating certifiable toolchain for advanced driver assistance system or automated driving development. [Read more…] about AImotive ‘first’ to gain ISO certification for its automated driving simulator

Nuro puts its delivery robot into action against coronavirus

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Nuro, a California-based startup building small, wheeled autonomous delivery robots, is using its technology in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak in the US. (See video below.)

America now has the highest death toll in the world from Covid-19 and authorities have set up many temporarily hospitals and treatment centres across the country.

One of these temporary hospitals is located at the Sleep Train Arena, a basketball stadium which used to be the home of the Sacramento Kings, and another at the San Mateo County Event Center. [Read more…] about Nuro puts its delivery robot into action against coronavirus

XPO Logistics adds Covid-19 dashboard to XPO Connect

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XPO Logistics, a global provider of supply chain solutions, has introduced a new digital dashboard for shippers and carriers in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company integrated the tools with its XPO Connect digital freight platform in North America and Europe.

Mario Harik, CIO, XPO Logistics, says: “We’re giving our customers a central source of vital information as they manage their supply chains in uncharted waters. [Read more…] about XPO Logistics adds Covid-19 dashboard to XPO Connect

Brain Corp launches $1.6 million ‘Robot Relief’ program to support essential businesses

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Brain Corp has launched a $1.6 million “Robot Relief” program to support essential businesses.

The company says it will make its technology available to qualifying organisations that are helping in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

Commercial cleaning robots provide verifiable, consistent cleaning at a time when customer and employee safety has never been more important. [Read more…] about Brain Corp launches $1.6 million ‘Robot Relief’ program to support essential businesses