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Foundation EGI launches AI platform to streamline engineering and manufacturing processes

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MIT spin-out aims to tackle $8 trillion in industrial inefficiencies with engineering-focused AI platform

A new startup out of MIT, Foundation EGI, has emerged from stealth mode with a mission to apply domain-specific artificial intelligence to one of the most complex and least-digitized sectors of the global economy: manufacturing.

The company today unveiled what it calls the first Engineering General Intelligence (EGI) platform – an AI system designed to automate and optimize every phase of product lifecycle management.

The platform is currently being piloted by several Fortune 500 manufacturers, who are exploring its potential to reduce production delays, cut waste, and drive revenue growth. [Read more…] about Foundation EGI launches AI platform to streamline engineering and manufacturing processes

Nvidia unveils Cosmos platform for robotics development

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Nvidia has unveiled its Cosmos World Foundation Model platform for the development of physical AI systems such as autonomous vehicles and robots.

Cosmos comprises state-of-the-art generative world foundation models, advanced tokenizers, guardrails and an accelerated video processing pipeline built to “advance the development of physical AI systems”, says Nvidia.

Physical AI models are costly to develop, and require vast amounts of real-world data and testing. Cosmos world foundation models, or WFMs, offer developers an easy way to generate massive amounts of photoreal, physics-based synthetic data to train and evaluate their existing models. Developers can also build custom models by fine-tuning Cosmos WFMs. [Read more…] about Nvidia unveils Cosmos platform for robotics development

Ambi Robotics releases AI ‘foundation software’ for warehouse robots

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Ambi Robotics, a developer of AI-powered robotic sorting solutions for material handling operations, has launched Prime-1, which it says is “the first robotic foundation model to be deployed in real-world commercial warehouse operations”.

Prime-1, which stands for Production-Ready Industrial Manipulation Expert, provides a unified transformer backbone that can be fine-tuned for a variety of robot operations including 3D perception, package picking, and quality control.

Prime-1 significantly increases performance, accelerates product development, and increases reliability and maintainability of AI-powered robotic solutions from Ambi Robotics. [Read more…] about Ambi Robotics releases AI ‘foundation software’ for warehouse robots

Seegrid joins Open Source Robotics Alliance

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Seegrid, a manufacturer of autonomous mobile robot (AMR) solutions for palletized material handling in the US, has become a member of the Open Source Robotics Alliance (OSRA), an initiative of the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF).

Through this partnership, Seegrid will contribute its industry-leading expertise through its active involvement in the open-source robotics community.

The company joins a vibrant network of innovators, collectively driving open-source development for the betterment of the global robotics landscape. [Read more…] about Seegrid joins Open Source Robotics Alliance

Google Cloud and ‘major manufacturers’ join OPC Foundation initiative

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Google Cloud has become one of the “who’s who of cloud suppliers and world-famous manufacturers” that have joined the OPC’s newly launched Cloud Initiative, according to the OPC Foundation.

OPC, also known as the OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA), is a machine-to-machine communication protocol used for industrial automation and developed by the OPC Foundation.

The OPC says the new members are looking to align
interoperability requirements in IT and cloud environments based on OPC UA. [Read more…] about Google Cloud and ‘major manufacturers’ join OPC Foundation initiative

Eclipse Foundation releases new communications protocol for robotics

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The Eclipse Foundation, an open source foundation which has a widely used integrated development environment (IDE), has released Eclipse Zenoh 1.0.0, a “breakthrough” open source protocol that integrates communication, storage, and computation in embedded systems and across cloud platforms.

This milestone release builds on years of development and real-world deployment experience, delivering new features tailored for developers and engineers in robotics, automotive, and broader edge and IoT sectors.

Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation, says: “Eclipse Zenoh has proven to be a valuable protocol for innovative robotics and automotive applications, and with this release, we expect that trajectory to accelerate. [Read more…] about Eclipse Foundation releases new communications protocol for robotics

Vayu Robotics launches ‘world’s first’ on-road delivery robot powered by AI robotics foundation models

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Consumers rely on e-commerce platforms to deliver groceries, electronics, apparel and more everyday. And while the number of deliveries is skyrocketing – by 2027, 23 percent of American retail purchases are expected to take place online – cost per delivery remains stubbornly high.

In a move to slash the cost of e-commerce deliveries, Vayu Robotics has released what it says is “the world’s first on-road delivery robot that combines the power of modern AI foundation models with lidar-less, low-cost passive sensors’.

Traditional mobile robotics rely on costly lidar sensors and software modules built to do one task at a time, leading to expensive hardware and fragile software unable to handle new scenarios. [Read more…] about Vayu Robotics launches ‘world’s first’ on-road delivery robot powered by AI robotics foundation models

Fugro marine robots locate World War II ship 80 years after tragic sinking

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In an extraordinary mission that took nearly five years of planning, Fugro has played a key role in locating the wreck of the Montevideo Maru, one of the worst international maritime disasters in history.

In close partnership with the Silentworld Foundation and the Rabaul and Montevideo Maru Society, and support from Australia’s Department of Defence, Fugro used their unparalleled deepwater hydrographic and oceanographic expertise to successfully identify the wreckage of the Japanese transport ship at a depth of more than 4,000 metres off the coast of the Philippines.

The Montevideo Maru was carrying approximately 1060 prisoners of war and civilians when it was sunk by an American submarine in 1942 during World War II. [Read more…] about Fugro marine robots locate World War II ship 80 years after tragic sinking

CMR Surgical’s Versius robot adopted by top London hospitals

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Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is the first hospital in London to use the Versius next-generation robot from CMR Surgical, enabling patients awaiting cancer treatment greater access to minimal access surgery in the capital.

This is the latest in a string of new NHS sites to acquire Versius, as the next-generation robot from Cambridge continues to demonstrate merit to leading health systems across the world.

CMR Surgical, the maker of Versius, says Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is the latest NHS Trust, and first site in London, to adopt its robot. The renowned teaching hospital has adopted the versatile technology in order to increase patient access to minimal access – or keyhole – surgery across both of its London sites. [Read more…] about CMR Surgical’s Versius robot adopted by top London hospitals

Delivery robot company Kiwibot expands operations to four cities in partnership with Knight Foundation

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Kiwibot, a robotic delivery service that has completed over 150,000 food deliveries with semi-autonomous robots, has expanded its operations to San Jose, Miami-Dade County, Pittsburgh, and Detroit. 

This implementation of sidewalk delivery devices is possible due to a partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which funds initiatives that ensure that “residents’ voices drive the future of people-centered, smart cities”, says the company.

Each of the four cities will be given up to 10 robots with one human supervisor, making deliveries across these urban zones more efficient and cost-effective through Kiwibot’s last-mile delivery network. [Read more…] about Delivery robot company Kiwibot expands operations to four cities in partnership with Knight Foundation