Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

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AutoStore unveils new robot for its warehouse automation system

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AutoStore, probably the leading provider of robotic automated storage and retrieval systems for warehouses, has launched its R5+ Robot.

The newest addition to the AutoStore Robot fleet will enable warehouses to manage larger items, thanks to the R5+’s ability to handle Bins up to 425 mm, the tallest Bins available in the AutoStore system.

Until now, this has been a premium feature possible only with AutoStore B1 Robot installations. The R5+ is now available for operations globally. [Read more…] about AutoStore unveils new robot for its warehouse automation system

Interview: Energy Systems Network CEO Paul Mitchell talks about the future of cars and Indy Autonomous Challenge

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It’s been a while since we wrote up an interview, mainly because they take a long time to transcribe and edit into a readable article. And we’re not yet a large enough website to devote time to doing that because there are many other stories that would have to wait while we’re busy doing that.

However, the subject of electric vehicles and EV charging networks are important technologies that literally millions of people have been reading about on this website, and we think they will find this interview interesting.

The interview is with Paul Mitchell, president and CEO of Energy Systems Network, a US-based nonprofit which could be described as a kind of public-private partnership with the aim of discovering and commercialising technologies that provide a platform for the continued healthy growth of the entire clean-energy future of moving machines – cars and other road-going vehicles in particular, but possibly even marine vessels and other types of craft such as drones and maybe even planes. [Read more…] about Interview: Energy Systems Network CEO Paul Mitchell talks about the future of cars and Indy Autonomous Challenge

Boston Dynamics and IBM partner to bring mobile edge analytics to industrial operations

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By Skip Snyder, senior partner, IBM Consulting and Mike Pollitt, chief sales officer, Boston Dynamics

The demand for AI-driven robotics is increasing in operations like those in manufacturing and warehouse settings to help organizations with data and analytics that identify problems in real time, improve decision making, and perform tasks more efficiently. But to experience the true benefits, these operations need AI as close to the origin of the data as possible.

According to an IBM Institute for Business Value survey, 56 percent of manufacturers have implemented AI-driven robotics to make autonomous decisions, while 83 percent agree intelligent automation will help their organization meet strategic challenges and improve business results. However, businesses point out that most edge and IoT devices today are stationary, inflexible and often incapable of responding to rapidly changing environments.

To address this challenge, IBM and Boston Dynamics have announced a new alliance focused on delivering data analysis at the edge to help industrial companies improve worker safety, optimize field operations, and boost maintenance productivity in environments like manufacturing facilities, power plants, warehouses and more. Enabled by AI and hybrid cloud innovations from IBM Research, IBM Consulting will develop edge payloads that integrate with Spot, the agile, mobile robot from Boston Dynamics. [Read more…] about Boston Dynamics and IBM partner to bring mobile edge analytics to industrial operations

SICK’s new space-saving light grid provides maximum flexibility and functionality with minimal space requirements

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SICK says its new SLG-2 is “one of the most compact automation light grids of its kind of the market and offers high performance detection and measurement”.

SICK is currently introducing the new SLG-2 automation light grid. This is the second generation of the “Slim Light Grid” from SICK and offers enhanced flexibility and functionality.

Space-saving dimensions, low-profile construction, detection heights adjustable in practical increments, and a blind zone-free design ensure an easy integration in machines where space is limited. [Read more…] about SICK’s new space-saving light grid provides maximum flexibility and functionality with minimal space requirements

FBI installs AutoStore for centralized automated record filing and retrieval solution

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The General Service Administration (GSA) has installed an automated record filing and retrieval system from robotics technology company AutoStore inside a recently completed Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) central records complex in Winchester, Virginia.

The facility includes the country’s first robotic filing and retrieval warehouse in a GSA project.

Certified by the National Archives and Records Administration, this secure, “state-of-the-art”, 250,000-square-foot facility was built to consolidate and contain records previously housed within 256 field offices around the world. [Read more…] about FBI installs AutoStore for centralized automated record filing and retrieval solution

ABB technology in 40 Vattenfall electric vehicle fast-charging stations across Sweden

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ABB says its technology is integarted into in 40 Vattenfall fast-charging stations across Sweden.

ABB is supporting European energy company Vattenfall develop a comprehensive electric vehicle charging network in Sweden, with a complete solution that includes both the fast-charging station and all the necessary grid connection hardware.

The technology from ABB is now charging EVs at almost 40 public locations across Sweden for Vattenfall. [Read more…] about ABB technology in 40 Vattenfall electric vehicle fast-charging stations across Sweden

Amsterdam launches ‘largest smart electric vehicle charging network’

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A consortium of public-private companies and organisations in Amsterdam has launched what it claims is the “largest smart electric vehicle charging network” in the city.

Vattenfall and the City of Amsterdam, together with grid owner Liander, the infrastructure competence center Elaad, and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, launched what they call “Flexpower”.

They say it is the largest public smart charging network for electric vehicles in Amsterdam, and add that the innovative solution enables faster charging, maximal use of renewable electricity and more efficient use of the electric grid in Amsterdam.

[Read more…] about Amsterdam launches ‘largest smart electric vehicle charging network’

ABB wins $150 million order to grid-connect world’s largest offshore wind farm

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ABB has won orders worth over $150 million from Danish energy company, Ørsted (previously Dong Energy), to supply technologies for the grid connection of Hornsea Project Two, slated to be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

Hornsea Two is a 1,400 megawatt (MW) project under construction in the North Sea about 100 kilometres off the Yorkshire coast. Upon completion, it will be able to deliver enough clean electrical power to meet the needs of more than 1.3 million homes annually.

The additional power supply will support economic growth in the UK’s Humber region, and help the UK meet its target of generating 15 percent of energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.

[Read more…] about ABB wins $150 million order to grid-connect world’s largest offshore wind farm

Infineon joins electric charging association to support global standards

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Chipmaker Infineon Technologies has joined an organisation which is developing a global network of charging stations for electric vehicles.

Infineon says an appropriate charging infrastructure is “critical” to support the rapidly growing electric vehicles market worldwide.

Infineon often boasts that it is the world’s leading semiconductor supplier for driver assistance systems and electric mobility.

The company currently claims its technology is the “key” to securing the future of all life on Earth.
[Read more…] about Infineon joins electric charging association to support global standards

Electric power: Clean energy infrastructure driving switch from AC to DC

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nikola tesla
Nikoa Tesla, pictured in his Colorado Springs lab in 1899. Picture courtesy of Smithsonian.com

Nikola Tesla was a famous scientist who developed alternating current, the means of distribution for electricity for the vast majority of devices, appliances and machines in households and factories and just about every other electrified thing in the world today. 

But even as Tesla was inventing much of the technology used in the alternating current electricity supply system, another famous inventor, Thomas Edison argued that direct current was the best way to distribute electricity.

By the time Tesla tech came onstream, DC had already been in use for a decade, but within a relatively small area, and Edison lost that argument mostly because the components of an alternating current grid enabled electricity to be carried far and wide beyond the power generating facility.  [Read more…] about Electric power: Clean energy infrastructure driving switch from AC to DC