Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

forklifts

Autonomous forklifts ‘raise the bar on safety’, says Seegrid

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Thousands of injuries related to manually driven forklifts are reported to US health and safety authority OSHA each year, and a fatal accident involving a manual forklift occurred approximately once per week in the US in 2018.

Many companies are adopting Seegrid vision-guided vehicles (VGVs) as a safe, efficient form of transport in their facilities.

There is no comparison between human industrial vehicle drivers and their Seegrid autonomous driving counterparts – the company claims that injury and fatality statistics prove that its technology is safer.

[Read more…] about Autonomous forklifts ‘raise the bar on safety’, says Seegrid

Capturing Improved Productivity: Tugger Train Automation

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By Andy Legut, FlexQube

Too often automation and robotics are characterized by sensors driving Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

There are ways to efficiently automate material flow and lean manufacturing principles today. It starts with automating into a fork truck free environment.

Ultimately the reason for automation is to capture improved productivity. Cesar Jimenez, a Toyota Material Handling, USA employee shared that a forklift can only carry up to two loads at a time.

[Read more…] about Capturing Improved Productivity: Tugger Train Automation

Toyota introduces station for the production and supply of hydrogen from renewable energy

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Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) has newly introduced ‘SimpleFuel’ to its Motomachi Plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

SimpleFuel is a small water electrolysis-based machine for hydrogen generation and filling that can produce, store, and supply hydrogen by making use of electricity generated from solar power.

It uses electricity from solar panels at the plant site to produce low-carbon hydrogen from the electrolysis of water, which is then supplied to fuel-cell (FC) forklifts after it is compressed and pressurised.

[Read more…] about Toyota introduces station for the production and supply of hydrogen from renewable energy

ST Engineering launching range of logistics automation solutions

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The company which bought Aethon is launching new products

ST Engineering will unveil its brand new family of logistics automation solutions, Strobo at the Industrial Transformation Asia Pacific 2018, a Hannover Messe event to be held at the Singapore Expo.

Developed by ST Engineering’s team of engineers, Strobo is part of the group’s growing focus on delivering robust and cost-effective customer solutions through innovative robotics and autonomous solutions.

The Strobo family offers a range of adaptable, scalable autonomous material handling equipment for the warehouse, airport, seaport and manufacturing industries.  [Read more…] about ST Engineering launching range of logistics automation solutions

ZF unveils AI driving system which could be used for forklift trucks, while Toyota adopts the fuel cell

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toyota fuel cell forklift truck

ZF teams up with Nvidia on artificial intelligence system for autonomous cars, trucks and industrial applications

ZF says its ProAI system for automated driving is built on high-performance Nvidia Drive PX 2 AI computing platform, and will enable vehicles to “see, think, and act”. 

ZF is one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers and a global leader in active and passive safety technology, and has been working with Nvidia to develop artificial intelligence systems for the transportation industry for some time.

The two companies are looking at various sectors, including:

  • automated and autonomous driving systems for passenger cars;
  • commercial trucks; and
  • industrial applications.

The ZF ProAI for highway automated driving is ZF’s first system developed using Nvidia AI technology.  [Read more…] about ZF unveils AI driving system which could be used for forklift trucks, while Toyota adopts the fuel cell

Rapid growth of online orders welcomes robotics technology, says Axium

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One click. Delivered right to your door. Guaranteed overnight delivery. The messages are alluring, says Axium Solutions…

Convenience has spurred e-commerce’s growth, with more and more retailers stepping up big-time to promote their online wares.

E-commerce annual sales estimates range from $750 billion to $1.2 trillion for that huge digital partner and sometime nemesis of the bricks and mortar store.

Ever-shortening delivery times and an ever-widening range of choice have become goals on-line retailers all strive toward to attract shoppers.  [Read more…] about Rapid growth of online orders welcomes robotics technology, says Axium