Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

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Stanford boffins invent 4D camera to improve robotic vision and augmented and virtual reality specs

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A team of researchers at Stanford have designed a 4D camera which could improve vision for applications in robotics and virtual and augmented reality technologies. 

The new vision technique could also be used in autonomous vehicles, add the researchers – Donald Dansereau, a postdoctoral fellow in electrical engineering, and Gordon Wetzstein, assistant professor of electrical engineering, and others.

The new camera Stanford has developed is a proof-of-concept and the university plans to start building a smaller prototype suitable for commercialisation in the coming months.  [Read more…] about Stanford boffins invent 4D camera to improve robotic vision and augmented and virtual reality specs

Robotics: The Bay Area and beyond

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san francisco golden gate bridge

By Thomas R. Cutler

While Silicon Valley is renowned for software and design prowess. The Bay Area’s four largest cities – San Francisco, San Jose, Fremont and Oakland – are teaming up to foster today’s manufacturing revival and create more entry-level and middle-class jobs.

Together, these Bay Area cities boast a robust manufacturing sector, sustaining nearly 108,500 jobs across 3,200 manufacturing companies – outpacing both the U.S. and California – and driving more than $55 billion into California’s economy.

In collaboration with nonprofit SFMade, these cities surveyed local manufacturing companies to find out what is most important for the industry; they created the first-ever Bay Area State of Urban Manufacturing Report.  [Read more…] about Robotics: The Bay Area and beyond

Industrial cloud: Fanuc showcases new Field IoT system for manufacturing

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Robotics and automation giant Fanuc has demonstrated its new Fanuc Intelligent Edge Link and Drive (Field) system at IMTS.

The company says Field provides advanced analytics and deep learning capabilities for Fanuc CNC (computer-numerical control machine, similar to a computer), and robots, peripheral devices and sensors used in automation systems.

Fanuc claims the Field system allows applications such as Zero Down Time, or capabilities such as deep learning or machine learning to be applied in the edge level of a factory site.  [Read more…] about Industrial cloud: Fanuc showcases new Field IoT system for manufacturing

CNH launches driverless tractor for agriculture applications

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CNH Industrial, the agricultural technology giant, is showcasing its new autonomous tractor (see video below).

The company says the driverless vehicle will boost precision and productivity in the farming sector.

CNH says the autonomous tractor will enable better use of labor, integration into current machinery fleets, and bring the flexibility to work unmanned around the clock with real time data monitoring – and, in the future, the ability to automatically respond to weather events.

That’s what the concept autonomous tractor technology developed by CNH Industrial could bring to future world agriculture, following its public preview at the 2016 Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, USA.  [Read more…] about CNH launches driverless tractor for agriculture applications

Raspberry Pi could help farmers manage crops better and more cheaply than current systems, say scientists

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Raspberry Pi may be strongly associated with hobbyists, but now it’s been recruited as a farm hand. 

Inventors of the credit-card sized computers have shipped more than 5 million units at less than $50 each since launch in 2012. Most of them have found their way into toy cars and other devices.

But now a team of researchers has integrated Raspberry Pi into what’s called an “automated field phenomics” system, or what could be thought of as a sophisticated scarecrow. And the team claims their system will cost a fraction of the phenotyping solutions currently on the market.  [Read more…] about Raspberry Pi could help farmers manage crops better and more cheaply than current systems, say scientists

Fanuc developing industrial internet of everything

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Fanuc is developing a machine-to-machine network that will connect just about every piece of equipment in a manufacturing plant. 

The Fanuc Intelligent Edge Link and Drive (Field) system is an industrial internet of things network that will be aimed at automakers.

Fanuc already provides General Motors with a global IIoT platform to manage and maintain the automakers’ robots.  [Read more…] about Fanuc developing industrial internet of everything