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Liminal launches automated system for battery inspection in manufacturing

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Liminal, a specialist in electric vehicle battery manufacturing intelligence, has launched its EchoStat platform, a fully-automated commercial-ready manufacturing inspection solution based on ultrasound and machine learning.

Scheduled to be fully operational in 2023, this in-process inspection innovation is a groundbreaking, critical advancement toward helping EV battery manufacturers achieve the accelerated production ramp rates and cost reduction required to catalyze EV adoption at scale.

EchoStat’s core technology has been validated across 50 different cell types by six EV OEMs and seven cell manufacturers.

Anders Thor, director of communications at Northvolt, says: “We see potential in the automated EchoStat platform, enabling in-process control of saturation quality and prediction of cell performance and cycle life. The in-line inspection solution provides opportunities to improve manufacturing efficiency, saving resource, cost and time.” [Read more…] about Liminal launches automated system for battery inspection in manufacturing

Volvo, Daimler, and Traton partner to build high-performance charging network

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Europe’s three leading commercial vehicle manufacturers – Volvo Group, Daimler Truck, and Traton Group – have signed a binding agreement to create a joint venture to install and operate a high-performance public charging network for battery electric, heavy-duty long-haul trucks and coaches across Europe.

As previously publicised, the parties are committed to initiating and accelerating the necessary build-up of charging infrastructure for the increasing number of customers of electric vehicles in Europe and contribute to climate-neutral transportation in Europe by 2050.

The joint venture creation is subject to regulatory approvals. [Read more…] about Volvo, Daimler, and Traton partner to build high-performance charging network

AMD completes acquisition of Xilinx

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AMD has completed the acquisition of Xilinx, creating a “high-performance and adaptive computing leader”.

The acquisition is officially the largest in semiconductor history and brings together two industry leaders with complementary product portfolios, customers and market expertise.

The Xilinx business will become the Adaptive and Embedded Computing Group (AECG), led by former Xilinx CEO Victor Peng. [Read more…] about AMD completes acquisition of Xilinx

KVH introduces P-series IMUs with PIC technology and new accelerometers

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KVH Industries, a specialist mobile connectivity and inertial navigation systems provider, has introduced the P-1750 IMU and the P-1725 IMU to complement the previously released P-1775 IMU and create a full line of IMUs that feature high-performance accelerometers and KVH’s patented photonic integrated chip (PIC) technology.

The KVH P-series IMUs are offered in the same proven, compact IMU housing design, and now offer more dynamic and accurate sensor performance delivering improved navigation capability and more environmental robustness in vibration and shock capability for more challenging applications.

Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH’s CEO, says: “We are pleased to continue integrating our groundbreaking PIC technology into our inertial navigation products for use in the large and growing autonomous market. [Read more…] about KVH introduces P-series IMUs with PIC technology and new accelerometers

Startup company building autonomous trucks on Nvidia platform already has ‘more than 10,000 pre-orders’

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The autonomous trucking industry is about to get what is described by Nvidia as “a major new addition”.

Self-driving truck company Plus announced that its upcoming autonomous vehicle platform will be built on Nvidia Drive Orin.

This software-defined system will “continuously improve upon the safety and efficiency of the delivery and logistics industry with high-performance compute and AI algorithms that can be updated over the air”, says Nvidia. [Read more…] about Startup company building autonomous trucks on Nvidia platform already has ‘more than 10,000 pre-orders’

Smart 5G patrol robots equipped with Advantech’s edge computer employed to fight coronavirus

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As part of its effort to contain the spread of coronavirus, or COVID-19, China is using 5G patrol robots developed by Guangzhou Gosuncn Robot, using Advantech technology to monitor mask wearing and body temperatures in public places.

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, the Guangzhou Gosuncn Robot, a leading provider of smart city internet of things products and services, upgraded its 5G-powered police patrol robot with new capabilities to assist first-line police officers in conducting disease prevention inspections.

Because the manual measurement of body temperature exposes public safety personnel to potential health risks, these robots are equipped with 5 high-resolution cameras and infrared thermometers capable of scanning the temperature of 10 people simultaneously within a radius of 5 meters. [Read more…] about Smart 5G patrol robots equipped with Advantech’s edge computer employed to fight coronavirus

Brain Corp and UniCarriers to develop autonomous mobile robots for material delivery

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Brain Corp and UniCarriers have agreed a technology partnership to develop autonomous material delivery robots for use in retail, warehouses, airports, and other dynamic environments.

Brain Corp is an artificial intelligence company creating core technologies in the robotics industry, and UniCarriers Americas Corporation (UCA) is one of the world’s largest high-performance material handling equipment companies,

Under the partnership, UCA will license BrainOS, a cloud-connected operating system for commercial autonomous robots, to manufacture delivery robots that can navigate safely by themselves in public and commercial spaces. [Read more…] about Brain Corp and UniCarriers to develop autonomous mobile robots for material delivery

NXP launches GHz microcontroller

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NXP Semiconductors has launched the i.MX RT1170 range of crossover MCUs that that it says will open the GHz microcontroller era.

The chipmaker says the new chip “combines unprecedented performance, reliability, and high levels of integration to propel industrial, IoT and automotive applications”.

The NXP i.MX RT1170 family reinforces NXP’s commitment to advance edge computing with its EdgeVerse portfolio of solutions and marks a technology breakthrough with MCUs that run up to 1GHz while maintaining low-power efficiency. [Read more…] about NXP launches GHz microcontroller

HPE to acquire supercomputer manufacturer Cray for $1.3 billion

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Hewlett Packard Enterprise has reached an agreement to acquire Cray, the manufacturer of supercomputing systems.

HPE says the acquisition will cost $35 per share, in a transaction valued at approximately $1.3 billion, net of cash.

Antonio Neri, president and CEO, HPE, says: “Answers to some of society’s most pressing challenges are buried in massive amounts of data. [Read more…] about HPE to acquire supercomputer manufacturer Cray for $1.3 billion

Sick launches new compact image-based code reader

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Sick has launched a new compact image-based code reader, Lector621, for reliable detection of 1D, 2D, stacked codes, and plain text.

The high-performance DPM – direct part marking – decoder can read laser or dot-peened codes perfectly, even in the case of low contrast levels, contamination, or poor code quality.

This fills a gap in Sick’s existing portfolio of code readers, by providing a compact solution with increased reading distance, resolution, field of vision, and scanning frequency. [Read more…] about Sick launches new compact image-based code reader