Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

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From old mail order catalogues to same-day delivery: Warehouse robots are the quintessential sign of changing times

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Ever since Amazon acquired Kiva Systems in 2012 for $775 million and took the startup company’s robots off the market, warehouse managers have been looking for alternative suppliers. 

At that time, there simply no significantly well-known alternatives or proven solutions, but now, seven years on, there is a relatively large number of companies which build and supply warehouse robots.

It’s highly unlikely to be a coincidence that, in the intervening years, Amazon has grown extremely fast to become not only the world’s largest online retailer but also one of the largest logistics companies – not just in its native US, but worldwide. [Read more…] about From old mail order catalogues to same-day delivery: Warehouse robots are the quintessential sign of changing times

When Automation Works Alongside Humans

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When we talk about automation, we often imagine a future in which everything we do will be almost entirely handled by machines. Cars will drive themselves. Management decisions will be handed over to an AI. Even the creative arts might one day be taken over by robots.

But for the time being, automation isn’t quite there. And so, some compromise between machine and human worker is needed. A synergy between the two has already yielded great results – just think about an autopilot guiding a plane for the majority of a flight, and human pilot intervening only for take-off and landing.

A more commonplace example of machine-assistance comes in the form of a spell-checker on a word-processing program. And these are getting more sophisticated. Apps like Grammarly and ProWritingAid not only identify grammatical or spelling errors; they now also identify more stylistic problems, and help us to make writing clearer and more concise, even when it isn’t technically wrong. [Read more…] about When Automation Works Alongside Humans

How Automation has Transformed the Delivery Process

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The world of logistics has, in recent years, been radically altered by automation.

More than ever before, the process of getting a package from one location to another has been put into the hands of machines, and the change is behind many of the recent improvements in packaging and distribution that even small businesses can enjoy.

But exactly how does automation impact the delivery process, and what changes might we continue to see in the future? Let’s take a look. [Read more…] about How Automation has Transformed the Delivery Process

Panasonic launches initiative to encourage ‘social integration of robots’

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Panasonic has launched an initiative to promote robot development via open co-creation. The “Robotics Hub” is the central axis of Panasonic’s quest to integrate robots into society in the near future.

Nine years ago, in 2010, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), one of the largest public research and development management organisations in Japan, released some very curious data.

In their future market projections of domestic robot turnout, they forecast a sharp expansion of robots in the services field by 2035. By “services field,” it is meant medical care, logistics, nursing and welfare, cleaning, security and so forth.

[Read more…] about Panasonic launches initiative to encourage ‘social integration of robots’

Neolix inaugurates factory for manufacturing autonomous vehicles

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Neolix, a maker of small autonomous delivery vehicles, has laid the foundation stone to mark the start of building a factory for manufacturing driverless vehicles. 

The company says the new facility in Changzhou will be the first unmanned vehicle mass-production base in the region, and possibly the world.

The plant will produce vehicles which have “Level 4” autonomation, which is described as “full autonomy with human driver” by the SAE. [Read more…] about Neolix inaugurates factory for manufacturing autonomous vehicles

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

The Future of Automation in the Aviation Industry

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Recent years have seen a considerable buzz build up around the prospect of automated transport. But in the aviation industry at least, this revolution has been going on for a while.

Every commercial flight, including those undertaken by private jets, takes place with some aspects being handled entirely by a computer.

As artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated, it’s a near-certainty that a greater portion of piloting duties will be handed over to automated systems. [Read more…] about The Future of Automation in the Aviation Industry

Logistics and supply chain: An overview of ‘goods-to-person’ and ‘last-mile delivery’ technologies

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The term “goods to person” in the context of the logistics and supply chain sector refers to technology that brings items from locations within, for example, a warehouse to a human picker while he or she remains in one place, also within the warehouse. 

And while “logistics” and “supply chain” are terms that are often used interchangeably, logistics usually refers to moving goods along public roads or out in the wider world, whereas supply chain refers to the entire journey that the goods make, as well as specific parts of it, such as their processing through a warehouse.

One of the technologies most readily associated with medium- to large-scale warehouses is the conveyor, which has been around for more than 100 years. But in the past few years, warehouse robots have been eroding the total dominance of conveyors by offering what are offering described as “flexible” supply chain systems, in contrast to the “fixed” nature of conveyors. [Read more…] about Logistics and supply chain: An overview of ‘goods-to-person’ and ‘last-mile delivery’ technologies

Taiwanese store employs robot to make and serve tea

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A Taiwanese food and beverage store called Babo Arms is now using a collaborative robot from Universal Robots to make and serve tea.

Universal Robots’ UR5 unit was chosen by Babo Arms to “add a twist of modernity” into their production process.

Babo Arms were searching for an automated device to enhance operations and address the ongoing recruitment issue faced by the food and beverage industry. [Read more…] about Taiwanese store employs robot to make and serve tea

Cambridge Consultants unveils ‘dexterous robot with the human touch’

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Technology research and development company Cambridge Consultants has unveiled what it describes as a “dexterous robot with the human touch”. (See video below.)

Breakthrough innovation specialist Cambridge Consultants has developed Hank, a robot with flexible robotic fingers inspired by the human hand.

Hank uses a pioneering sensory system embedded in its pneumatic fingers, providing a sophisticated sense of touch and slip, meaning it can emulate the human ability to hold and grip delicate objects using just the right amount of pressure.

[Read more…] about Cambridge Consultants unveils ‘dexterous robot with the human touch’