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BMW claims it has ‘half a million’ electric vehicles on the road

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BMW claims it has “half a million” electric vehicles on the road, and is looking to double that number to reach 1 million by the end of 2021.

To mark the reaching of this milestone, Sebastian Mackensen, BMW Group senior vice president market Germany, handed over the keys to a very special BMW 330e to its future owner at BMW Welt today.

Oliver Zipse, chairman of BMW, says: “Half a million vehicles is the best proof: Our broad range of electrified vehicles is meeting exact customer needs. [Read more…] about BMW claims it has ‘half a million’ electric vehicles on the road

Nvidia launches ‘world’s most advanced’ chip for robotics and autonomous driving

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Nvidia has launched what it describes as the “world’s most advanced” chip for robotics and autonomous driving.

The Nvidia Drive AGX Orin is said to be a highly advanced software-defined platform, powered by a new system-on-a-chip called Orin.

The new chip consists of 17 billion transistors and is the result of four years of research and development investment. [Read more…] about Nvidia launches ‘world’s most advanced’ chip for robotics and autonomous driving

Gecko Robotics raises $40 million in funding for energy infrastructure inspection robots

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Gecko Robotics has raised $40 million in funding to develop its energy infrastructure inspection robots.

A Y-Combinator alum, Gecko Robotics raised the $40 million in its Series B round, which was led by Drive Capital.

Gecko already partners with the largest brands in power, oil and gas and manufacturing industries. [Read more…] about Gecko Robotics raises $40 million in funding for energy infrastructure inspection robots

Kassow Robots adds three ports to its collaborative robots for end of arm tools

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Kassow Robots, a startup which launched a new collaborative robot last year, has adding ports into its machines to provide integration with end-of-arm tools.

The Danish robot manufacturer, which develops and produces its 7-axis collaborative robots in Copenhagen, says the ports provide “easy connection of end-of-arm tool directly to a Kassow Robot without cable on the outside of the robot”.

Dieter Pletscher, head of sales at Kassow Robots, says: “All our cobots have three ports with various I/Os and power supply signals. Two of the ports are for digital or analogue input/output. [Read more…] about Kassow Robots adds three ports to its collaborative robots for end of arm tools

Arch Systems partners with Flex for manufacturing data transformation

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Arch Systems has formed a partnership with Flex to develop systems to enable data transformation in its manufacturing operation.

The companies says that innovative data extraction from legacy and new machines will help drive production efficiencies, process automation and predictive analytics across Flex sites.

Arch Systems is a provider of a leading machine-data-sensing platform compatible with both legacy and new industrial machines. [Read more…] about Arch Systems partners with Flex for manufacturing data transformation

John Deere showcases autonomous electric tractor and other new tech

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John Deere, probably the largest manufacturer of agricultural machinery in the world, has been showcasing a new autonomous tractor and other new technology at the ongoing Agritechnica event.

In a new exhibition concept at this year’s Agritechnica, Deere is demonstrating its leading position in precision agriculture in the Future Technology Zone.

Nine different product developments and research projects in the fields of electrification, autonomy through automation and artificial intelligence show how agriculture could work even more sustainably and productively in the future. [Read more…] about John Deere showcases autonomous electric tractor and other new tech

BMW shows off sporty version of electric and autonomous concept car

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BMW has been showing off the sporty version of its electric and autonomous concept car, which it calls Vision M NEXT (main picture).

The BMW Vision M NEXT was one of the highlights at the #NEXTGen Event held at BMW Welt in Munich.

Visitors to the IAA Cars 2019 show were also treated to a glimpse into the electrified future of the BMW M brand (pictured below). [Read more…] about BMW shows off sporty version of electric and autonomous concept car

Nagel tests Mercedes-Benz eActros electric truck in Hamburg

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The fully-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros will now take to the roads for the food logistics specialist Nagel-Group in Hamburg.

The vehicle will round off the Mercedes-Benz Trucks eActros “Innovation Fleet” for testing the heavy-duty electric truck.

The first eActros has been taking part in customer testing since September 2018 and the eActros in use by Nagel-Group is the tenth vehicle in the fleet.

[Read more…] about Nagel tests Mercedes-Benz eActros electric truck in Hamburg

Auto industry leaders publish new automated driving safety framework

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Intel, in collaboration with 10 industry leaders in automotive and autonomous driving technology, have published ‘Safety First for Automated Driving‘, a framework for the design, development, verification and validation of safe automated passenger vehicles (AVs).

The paper builds on Intel’s model for safer AV decision-making known as Responsibility-Sensitive Safety (RSS).

Developing AVs that are verifiably safe by design is critical to enabling higher levels of autonomy on public roads, says Intel.

[Read more…] about Auto industry leaders publish new automated driving safety framework

Event to highlight the shift toward connected autonomous vehicles

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Drive World Conference & Expo, a showcase bringing together the brightest minds across the automotive electronics and intelligence industries, has released its 2019 conference content.

Spanning four distinct tracks, the conference features an ideal forum to share knowledge related to system connectivity, sensing technologies, infotainment, safety, security, smart mobility, and more.

Drive World, partnered with the Embedded Systems Conference, an event with a 30-year legacy of influencing electronics design and innovation, will take place August 27-29 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California. [Read more…] about Event to highlight the shift toward connected autonomous vehicles