Robotics & Automation News

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Blendid takes its robotic smoothie kiosks into athletic clubs with the Bay Club

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Blendid, a robotic food service solutions leader, is expanding into the athletic club industry. The Bay Club Company, which operates 22 active lifestyle clubs along the West Coast, will open Blendid kiosks at two of its California locations this spring.

Marissa Lucas, senior VP of brand marketing at the Bay Club, says: “Our Bay Club community is dedicated to their health and wellness, and we strive to deliver innovative solutions to support the demands of their full, active lifestyles—all in one place.

“We are designed with amenities that focus on four main quadrants – fitness, sports, family, and hospitality, and this partnership expands our ability to support our members within our hospitality and overall healthy dining offerings. [Read more…] about Blendid takes its robotic smoothie kiosks into athletic clubs with the Bay Club

Kiwibot and Sodexo bring food delivery robots to Shenandoah University

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Kiwibot, a robotic sidewalk delivery company, is now available at Shenandoah University to ensure an affordable on-campus food delivery service for students.

With 15 robots operating at Shenandoah University, students profit from speedy food delivery with zero carbon emissions, reducing the carbon footprint on campus.

Kiwibot’s proven track record is in part due to its ongoing partnership with Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company and Shenandoah’s dining partner. [Read more…] about Kiwibot and Sodexo bring food delivery robots to Shenandoah University

Florida university opens Blendid robotic smoothie kiosk

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Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) has opened an autonomous robotic smoothie kiosk from Blendid, a robotic food service solutions company.

Antoinette Biffar, FGCU, says: “There is no denying the current robotics evolution in the food service industry, and we are thrilled to work with Blendid to give FGCU students access to these innovative, proven food service solutions.

“Today’s college students crave more meal service offerings, especially when it comes to fresh, nutritious options they can order easily from their phone and grab on-the-go. We are looking forward to seeing how our campus community embraces the new kiosk.” [Read more…] about Florida university opens Blendid robotic smoothie kiosk

Thermal imaging cameras in the food industry

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In the food industry, it’s essential to carefully control the temperature of perishable goods throughout production, transportation, storage, and sales.

Repeated warnings about illnesses due to tainted and improperly cooked foods highlight the need for tighter process control. Because this almost always involves a human factor, food processors need tools that automate crucial operations in a way that helps minimize human error while holding down costs.

Thermal imaging cameras are such a tool. Using FLIR thermal imaging cameras, you can make automated non-contact temperature measurements in many food processing applications. Analog video outputs can be viewed on video monitors, and digital temperature data, including MPEG4 video outputs, can be routed to a computer via Ethernet. [Read more…] about Thermal imaging cameras in the food industry

GXO claims ‘industry-first’ innovation to outbound process with autonomous mobile robots

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GXO Logistics, which says it is “the world’s largest pure-play contract logistics provider”, has marked the success of its “industry-first” use of Lowpad’s Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) for a customer in the food and beverage sector at a major warehouse facility in the Netherlands.

Luc Laurijssens, GXO’s managing director for Belgium and the Netherlands, says: “GXO’s industry-first collaboration with Lowpad on a custom-designed and engineered automated solution for our customer’s outbound process has significantly improved efficiency.

“By deploying Lowpad AMRs that are fully linked to our Warehouse Management and Electronic Data Interchange systems, we’re enhancing accuracy, efficiency and quality for our customer, while easing the strain of a tight labor market and reducing costs. [Read more…] about GXO claims ‘industry-first’ innovation to outbound process with autonomous mobile robots

Starship Technologies launches robot delivery service at North Carolina university

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Starship Technologies, the world’s leading provider of autonomous delivery services, announced today that its robots have started on-demand food deliveries at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte).

Starship’s fleet of 30 autonomous, on-demand robots are now delivering from Wendy’s, Bojangles and Shake Smart and will add more campus eateries throughout March, with 10 onboard by the end of the month.

The school’s nearly 30,000 students and faculty can now use the Starship Food Delivery app (iOS and Android) to order food and drinks from campus retailers to be delivered anywhere on campus, within minutes. [Read more…] about Starship Technologies launches robot delivery service at North Carolina university

Kiwibot secures $10 million in new funding

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Kiwibot, a robotic last-mile delivery service that has completed over 250,000 food deliveries with robots, has agreed what it describes as a “tailor-made” $10 million financing partnership with asset financing group kineo finance.

The agreement will help Kiwibot with its manufacturing and scaling needs, growing its robotic fleet and disrupting the delivery-as-a-service (DaaS) industry.

By removing the working capital barrier, this partnership will accelerate Kiwibot’s growth in the DaaS industry. kineo finance provides smart asset financing for startups while limiting dilution, so they can focus on growing the business. [Read more…] about Kiwibot secures $10 million in new funding

Soft Robotics using Nvidia simulation technology to develop its gripping system

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Soft Robotics has applied Nvidia Isaac Sim’s synthetic data to food processing automation in efforts to improve safety and increase production.

Developers have been striving to close the gap on robotic gripping for the past several years, pursuing applications for multibillion-dollar industries. Securely gripping and transferring fast-moving items on conveyor belts holds vast promise for businesses.

Soft Robotics, a Bedford, Massachusetts startup, is harnessing Nvidia Isaac Sim to help close the sim to real gap for a handful of robotic gripping applications. One area is perfecting gripping for pick and placement of foods for packaging. [Read more…] about Soft Robotics using Nvidia simulation technology to develop its gripping system

Bear Robotics unveils new service robot for hospitality industry

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Bear Robotics is launching Servi, which it describes as “an innovative new robot set to revolutionise the food service industry”.

Servi is designed to help hospitality and care home businesses, assisting staff by utilizing AI and autonomous robot technology to serve drinks and food and clear tables.

This, in turn, allows waiting staff and care home employees to focus on spending quality time and delivering outstanding service to customers and patients. [Read more…] about Bear Robotics unveils new service robot for hospitality industry

Hyundai launches delivery robot pilot programs

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Hyundai Motor Group has started two pilot delivery service programs using autonomous robots based on its “Plug & Drive” (PnD) modular platform at a hotel and a residential-commercial complex located in the outskirts of Seoul.

The delivery robot consists of a storage unit integrated on top of a PnD driving unit. Alongside the loading box used to deliver items, a connected screen displays information for customers.

First shown at CES 2022, Hyundai’s PnD modular platform is an all-in-one single wheel unit that combines intelligent steering, braking, in-wheel electric drive and suspension hardware, including a steering actuator for 360-degree, holonomic rotation. [Read more…] about Hyundai launches delivery robot pilot programs