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Tas Global commercializes ‘world’s first’ ship hull cleaning robot system

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A startup company called Tas Global is commercializing what it says is the world’s only robot capable of cleaning freely on curved surfaces.

The company has registered more than 30 patents in 16 countries including the US on the journey to bringing the robotic system to market.

Selected as a South Korean government project, Tas started by developing technology for processing organisms attached on a ship’s hull. [Read more…] about Tas Global commercializes ‘world’s first’ ship hull cleaning robot system

IDS sees high levels of orders for its industrial cameras

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IDS with above-average sales growth in the first half-year

The south German industrial camera manufacturer IDS Imaging Development Systems was able to exceed industry expectations in the first half of 2021.

Instead of the 7 percent increase in turnover forecast by the VDMA for the machine vision industry, the company has so far generated more than double this growth.

The camera manufacturer from Obersulm expects consistently high growth until the end of 2021. The positive order situation and the strong development of foreign business give the camera manufacturer every reason to do so, despite the challenging procurement situation. [Read more…] about IDS sees high levels of orders for its industrial cameras

Nidec to establish joint venture with Hon Hai and Foxtron

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Nidec Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of drives, has agreed to start discussions on establishing a joint venture with Hon Hai Technology Group and Foxtron Vehicle Technologies.

The Hon Hai Technology Group in Taiwan has been the main manufacturer for Apple products in the past two decades.

Nidec signed a memorandum of understanding with Foxtron regarding its strategic alliance in the development of electric vehicle drive systems. [Read more…] about Nidec to establish joint venture with Hon Hai and Foxtron

US DoD selects Stratom to migrate robotic systems from ROS-1 to ROS-2

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Stratom, a developer of autonomous ground vehicles and robotic systems for logistics and operational applications, has been selected as part of an exclusive team to deliver the US Department of Defense’s Stage II of the Modular Autonomy and Robotic Software program, which involves the collaborative migration of Robotic Technology Kernel software modules from the first version of the Robot Operating System to ROS 2. 

For nearly a decade, the US government has been developing ROS-M (Robotic Operating System-Military), an ecosystem of software architectures, reusable components and supporting infrastructure to enable rapid development and fielding of robotic and autonomous systems.

Built on ROS 1, ROS-M enables the DoD to benefit from open-source development practices while maintaining tight control over the community-developed code. However, ROS 1’s current revision, Noetic, is set to be the last version, with support ending in 2025. [Read more…] about US DoD selects Stratom to migrate robotic systems from ROS-1 to ROS-2

Komatsu to develop zero-emission vehicles for mining industry

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Komatsu says it will collaborate with its customers – most notably perhaps Rio Tinto – to develop “zero-emission equipment” solutions for the mining industry.

Komatsu, which is a leading supplier of mining vehicles, including an autonomous dump truck, says it plans to utilize electrification for the next generation of its offerings.

Working together to rapidly innovate in support of carbon reduction targets, Komatsu and several of its customers have formed the Komatsu Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Alliance. The founding members of the alliance are Rio Tinto, BHP, Codelco and Boliden. [Read more…] about Komatsu to develop zero-emission vehicles for mining industry

Alexander Lewinsky expands the management of IDS Imaging Development Systems

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Alexander Lewinsky has joined the management of IDS Imaging Development Systems as of August 1.

The shareholders of IDS Imaging Development Systems appointed Alexander Lewinsky to the management board.

The engineer (BEng, MSc) will take over the operational management of the Obersulm-based industrial camera manufacturer together with Jan Hartmann. Managing partner and company founder Jürgen Hartmann remains responsible for development and product management. [Read more…] about Alexander Lewinsky expands the management of IDS Imaging Development Systems

Sarcos Robotics and T-Mobile team up to integrate 5G into Guardian XT exoskeleton robot

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Sarcos Robotics, a developer of robotic exoskletons, and telecommunications company T-Mobile, have agreed a collaboration to integrate T-Mobile 5G into the Sarcos Guardian XT highly dexterous mobile industrial robot.

The Guardian XT robot is a remote-controlled robotic system designed to help humans safely work in hazardous conditions, performing tasks such as lifting heavy materials or using power tools at significant heights.

With T-Mobile 5G integration, the companies aim to improve performance and response time for remote operations, so the robots can perform tasks more quickly and more in tune with their operator’s movements. [Read more…] about Sarcos Robotics and T-Mobile team up to integrate 5G into Guardian XT exoskeleton robot

DXC Luxoft and AWS partner to accelerate autonomous driving industry with Robotic Drive Cloud

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DXC Luxoft has entered into a collaboration with Amazon Web Services to accelerate the autonomous driving industry with DXC Luxoft’s Robotic Drive Cloud offering on AWS.

The Robotic Drive tooling and services provide reduced development and test times with unmatched total cost of ownership (TCO) to customers building autonomous driving systems.

The new relationship offers a tangible competitive advantage to customers by accelerating the development of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving. [Read more…] about DXC Luxoft and AWS partner to accelerate autonomous driving industry with Robotic Drive Cloud

IDS introduces AI-complete industrial vision solution: ‘Even more functions thanks to free upgrade’

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The recently released software update for the IDS NXT platform provides users of the all-in-one AI solution IDS NXT ocean with many new features.

It extends the system’s AI capabilities to include object detection, offers turnkey solutions with vision apps and, with a new development environment, ensures that users can program their own image processing tasks and execute them as vision apps on their cameras.

Using OPC UA, AI-based image processing can also be integrated directly into factory automation without writing a single line of code. The update is free and can be used with all IDS NXT cameras. [Read more…] about IDS introduces AI-complete industrial vision solution: ‘Even more functions thanks to free upgrade’

Kuka to implement Nokia 5G SA private wireless networking

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Kuka, a manufacturer of industrial robots and automation solutions, will implement Nokia 5G SA (stand alone) private wireless networking at Kuka’s Smart Production and Development Center in Augsburg, Germany.

Kuka is planning to deploy 5G technology in its intelligent robotics and automation solutions, and the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) campus networking and application platform will support product development with immediate effect.

Michael Wagner, director R&D, competence center control technology, Kuka, says: “In coming years, Kuka will develop solutions that harness the potential of 5G’s fast, reliable and secure connectivity. [Read more…] about Kuka to implement Nokia 5G SA private wireless networking