Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

floor

Tennant’s robotic cleaning machines give Glad Group a winning edge

by

Building services contractors are strengthening their cleaning capabilities in the retail sector, among others, with ever-improving robotics technology.

At a time when hygiene, efficiency and the smart use of labour have never been more important in the building services space, the case for robotic cleaning machines is clear.

Robotic floor scrubbers, in particular, are increasingly in demand. Widely used in American retail chains such as Walmart, there is growing interest in Australia for the autonomous solutions in shopping centres, commercial offices and industrial sites.

“We’re experiencing a lot of interest from the retail space, especially,” says Dave Miller, national head of strategic accounts at Tennant. “Robotics had a foray into the Australian market about four years ago, but the machines weren’t where they needed to be. Now Tennant has come into the market a little later but with machines that can do the job.” [Read more…] about Tennant’s robotic cleaning machines give Glad Group a winning edge

Manufacturing operations management: A high-value starting point for digital transformation

by

The hunger for transformation among industry players is at an all-time high. But at the same time, organizations want lower risk options to digitalize the shop floor.

To reduce the number of isolated, inflexible solutions, manufacturers will want to seek a connected, scalable and sustainable platform approach that enables them to simultaneously maintain high levels of throughput, quality and customer service – while creating opportunities for sustainable innovation.

This is where a Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) solution comes into play. The experts at 3DS Delmia, part of the Dassault Systèmes Group, take a closer look at MOM and how it can be so impactful for your business. [Read more…] about Manufacturing operations management: A high-value starting point for digital transformation

634AI and InOrbit collaborate to bring ‘more efficient’ AMR fleet management to US

by

634AI, the developers of Maestro, an AI-enabled control tower for streamlining the management of industrial indoor mobility, has agreed a collaboration with InOrbit, a cloud-based management platform for robot operations at scale.

The joint solution is designed to enable a deeper understanding of the flows on industrial and warehouse floors, to support the easy integration of AMRs on work floors and optimize their activity.

Maestro is an AI powered centralized Control Tower that enables effective and harmonized indoor operations, from tracking of raw material movements and real time safety alerts for man driven vehicles, to navigation and fleet management of AMRs. [Read more…] about 634AI and InOrbit collaborate to bring ‘more efficient’ AMR fleet management to US

SIS 2021: The benchmark event for surface inspection and quality assurance systems

by

The preliminary agenda is set, exhibitors have confirmed their participation and the doors to the 2021 Surface Inspection Summit (SIS) in Aachen, Germany are ready to open from November 9th to 10th.

Visitors can look forward to the comprehensive agenda covering new developments in industrial and institutional research, spanning industry 4.0, artificial intelligence and automation. Experts will also deep dive into product-specific case studies and share their knowledge and experiences.

Throughout the exhibition, manufacturers of OIS and OIS components will present new breakthroughs and products. [Read more…] about SIS 2021: The benchmark event for surface inspection and quality assurance systems

634AI selects RTI software to manage autonomous mobile robots fleets

by

Real-Time Innovations, a software framework company for autonomous systems, says 634AI, a MushashiAI spin-out, has selected its RTI Connext DDS for real-time connectivity between its Maestro system, a robot-as-a-service software solution, and its autonomous mobile robot (AMR) platforms.

Connext allows for real-time connectivity between systems, supports fast, reliable communication, and enables 634AI to offer a central control tower that can streamline the management and control of AMR tasks on an industrial floor.

As the automation landscape advances rapidly, more suppliers are replacing forklifts with AMRs to complete a wide variety of tasks including navigating around factories and warehouses, and guiding autonomous cargo ships across oceans. [Read more…] about 634AI selects RTI software to manage autonomous mobile robots fleets

ABB unveils new ‘compact’ robotic interior painting system

by

ABB has unveiled a new “compact” robotic interior painting system, mainly aimed at the automotive manufacturing sector.

The Compact Interior Painting station enables automotive manufacturers to reduce the size of their vehicle interior painting stations by one-third, while saving costs and making automotive paint facilities more sustainable.

ABB says its latest innovative solution for automotive manufacturing – the Compact Interior Paint station – combines 12 robots to offer a space-saving alternative to traditional robotic interior painting solutions, helping automotive original equipment manufacturers reduce the footprint of their paint booths “by up to 33 percent”, while being able to paint a variety of vehicle types, from cars and SUVs to large MPVs. [Read more…] about ABB unveils new ‘compact’ robotic interior painting system

Robotics and Automation News Review: Fanuc and Kuka launch new robots, Pittsburgh ready to go to ‘infinity and beyond’, Foxconn moves operations out of China, and much more…

by

Friday 14 August 2020: This is a new, weekly column – to be published every Friday – which rounds up all the most interesting news from the robotics and automation industry in the past seven days, in brief form. 

This Robotics and Automation News Review is also available to view on our YouTube channel.

Comau Robotics says it has created an “innovative, in-line testing and quality control system that optimizes the construction and assembly of batteries”. The company says the MI.RA / Thermography system uses thermal imaging and artificial intelligence to perform non-invasive automated assessment and control of welded joints, to ensure battery integrity and prevent waste.

Kuka Robotics has launched a new compact industrial robot. The company says its new KR 4 Agilus is “a hot candidate for first place in the small robotics charts from October onwards”.

Fanuc Robotics has launched a new “extremely compact” robot which it claims has the “best precision in its class”. The new M-10iD/16S robot is the most compact model of the M-10iD series, says Fanuc, adding that it combines the best features of its two predecessors, M-10iA/10MS and M-10iA/12S.

Hyundai Robotics has signed an agreement with Korea’s Asan Medical Center and KT for joint development and commercialization of smart hospital solutions on June 30th. The company is planning to prepare for the post-corona era with a smart hospital solution for infection management by ICT-based digital transformation.

Techman Robot, a manufacturer of collaborative robots, says it has adopted proactive steps against the new coronavirus. Techman Robot says it checks the health of its employees on a daily bases and collects global virus information. It also implementing prevention measures. The company maintains business communications online and is frequently in touch with all overseas offices, global distributors, partners, and customers.

HRG International Institute of Research and Innovation has unveiled a new floor cleaning robot, the SW10. The company says it is exclusively designed for floor cleaning tasks in commercial and industrial environments. The robot is combined with sweeping, mopping and vacuum cleaning functions and its work can maintain 2,000 square meters per hour.

Denso has established the Pittsburgh Innovation Lab, a new US research and development center designed to strengthen open innovation and enhance technology development that enables automated driving.

FedEx has installed industrial robotic arms to do what is considered the “most difficult” job to automate in a sorting facility in Memphis, USA. The logistics giant has integrated Yaskawa robots and software from Plus One Robotics into a robotic system that performs a task which involves picking up parcels or envelopes from a tray and placing them on a conveyor.

Foxconn, Apple’s main contract manufacturing partner, has moved a significant portion of its operations outside of China. The company has already moved an additional 5 percent of its operations to countries other than China, bring it up to 30 percent, compared with 25 percent last year.

Pittsburgh local authorities say they are looking to “infinity and beyond” after NASA awarded a local company, Astrobotic Technology, a $200 million contract to build and send the first-ever US robotic rover to the Moon by 2023.

Brain Corp raises $36 million to meet ‘growing demand for autonomous robots’

by

Brain Corp, a developer of artificial intelligence systems for the robotics industry, has raised $36 million in Series D funding to “help meet the growing demand for autonomous mobile robots”.

The company says the growth is being generated by retail, healthcare, airports, education and other industries now on the front lines of the coronavirus health crisis.

The round was led by returning investor SoftBank Vision Fund 1, and includes new investors ClearBridge Investments, and Satwik Ventures, and an additional investment from Qualcomm Ventures. [Read more…] about Brain Corp raises $36 million to meet ‘growing demand for autonomous robots’

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

by

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

Opinion: ‘Scale’ is the magic word for digital transformation in 2020

by

By Keith Higgins, vice president of digital transformation for Rockwell Automation

In 2019, we saw a 400 percent growth in digital transformation projects moving through the post-implementation stage, according to a recent study by Rockwell Automation.

The maturation of digitization projects will continue throughout 2020, and with this trend, the industry will evolve from exploring the primary benefits of data-driven solutions to understanding how these projects can be used as a resource to help scale smart factory initiatives.

Digital transformation has reached its inflection point. As organizations move their initiatives from project roll-out to continuous process improvement in 2020, scaling becomes a key topic of conversation. [Read more…] about Opinion: ‘Scale’ is the magic word for digital transformation in 2020