Robotics & Automation News

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Sarcos Robotics raises $40 million in Series C funding

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Sarcos Robotics, a global leader in the production of robots that augment humans to enhance productivity and safety, announced that it has raised $40 million in an oversubscribed Series C financing round.

The Series C round was led by Rotor Capital, with most of the company’s existing investors participating in the financing.

The Series C funding will be used to begin commercial production of the company’s Guardian XO industrial exoskeleton – the world’s first full-body, battery-powered wearable industrial robot designed to increase strength and endurance – scheduled for commercial release in 2021. [Read more…] about Sarcos Robotics raises $40 million in Series C funding

US gives Amazon permission to make drone deliveries

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The US Federal Aviation Administration has given Amazon permission to make drone deliveries, certifying the company as an “air carrier” – basically like an airline company.

The world’s largest online retailer has been trying to get permits to operate its Amazon Prime Air drones for several years, making test deliveries by drones while it waits.

One sticking point was that the FAA had originally wanted drone operators to maintain human vision on the drone while in the air. [Read more…] about US gives Amazon permission to make drone deliveries

Origami-inspired miniature robot could open new era of surgical robotics

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By Lindsay Brownell, Wyss Institute, Harvard University

Minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, in which a surgeon uses tools and a tiny camera inserted into small incisions to perform operations, has made surgical procedures safer for both patients and doctors over the last half-century.

Recently, surgical robots have started to appear in operating rooms to further assist surgeons by allowing them to manipulate multiple tools at once with greater precision, flexibility, and control than is possible with traditional techniques.

However, these robotic systems are extremely large, often taking up an entire room, and their tools can be much larger than the delicate tissues and structures on which they operate. [Read more…] about Origami-inspired miniature robot could open new era of surgical robotics

FedEx introduces robots to ‘most difficult’ job in sorting facility

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FedEx has installed industrial robotic arms to do what is considered the “most difficult” job to automate in a sorting facility in Memphis, USA. 

As shown in the Wall Street Journal video below, FedEx has integrated Yaskawa robots and software from Plus One Robotics into a robotic system that performs a task which involves picking up parcels or envelopes from a tray and placing them on a conveyor.

While this is a simple job for a human, automating this step in a warehouse has proved very difficult in the past. [Read more…] about FedEx introduces robots to ‘most difficult’ job in sorting facility

Precision and Convenience: How Robots Are Sustaining Maintenance Beyond Working Lines

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When we think of robotics and automation, the first sight that comes to our mind is that of an industrial production line, where giant robots carry out the high-precision task of assembling products, one step at a time without compromising on efficiency and accuracy.

But as the technology of robotics and automation is becoming much more sophisticated, the uses of robots are expanding from the factory floor to new territories.

One of these new domains is that of maintenance in every industry. Robotics have made concrete inroads in the maintenance department of every aspiring industry and this reach is not unwarranted. [Read more…] about Precision and Convenience: How Robots Are Sustaining Maintenance Beyond Working Lines

Promobot puts its humanoid robot to work as a civil servant

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Russian robotics company Promobot has put a humanoid robot the company has developed into an office to work as a civil servant.

The office in question is the Multi-Function Center, located in Perm, Russia and generally provides citizens with information about their rights and the services available to them.

Promobot’s humanoid sits at a desk, much like a human employee would, and talks to people who have appointments and need advice. It processes inquiries and automatically transfers them to the MFC Civil Service Office IT systems. [Read more…] about Promobot puts its humanoid robot to work as a civil servant

Recent Breakthrough May Enable the Automated Laboratory of the Future

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Over the past several months, the world has been dealing with the first major global pandemic in more than a generation.

It has disrupted economies far and wide, cost hundreds of thousands of lives, and laid bare many of the weaknesses of the global medical industry.

One of those weaknesses has been the difficulty that multiple countries have faced in scaling up laboratory capacity to meet the demand for PCR testing created by the crisis. [Read more…] about Recent Breakthrough May Enable the Automated Laboratory of the Future

Japanese construction giant to build massive dam almost entirely with robots

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The Obayashi Corporation, one of the five largest construction companies in Japan, is building a giant dam with robots, according to a report on the Nikkei Asian Review website. 

The dam project is located in the Mie Prefecture, in the south-east corner of Japan’s main island, and Obayashi will be testing a variety of robotic and automation technologies in its construction.

In fact, according to Nikkei, almost every stage of the construction of the concrete dam will involve some sort of automation technology. [Read more…] about Japanese construction giant to build massive dam almost entirely with robots

Omron partners with Techmetics Robotics to launch UVC disinfection robot

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The Asia-Pacific division of industrial automation giant Omron has forayed into UVC disinfection with the launch of its robot – LD UVC.

The robot is a co-creation with Techmetics Robotics, a provider of autonomous service robots, to “enable organisations fight the spread of infectious diseases effectively and conveniently”, says Omron.

The UVC light has been proven to be effective in breaking down the pathogens’ DNA and RNA beyond recovery, stopping them from replicating. [Read more…] about Omron partners with Techmetics Robotics to launch UVC disinfection robot

Omron launches AI vision system which ‘captures defects with human-like sensitivity’

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Omron has launched its new “FH Series Vision System” with the industry’s first defect detection AI technology that identifies defects without learning samples.

The company says the artificial intelligence-based technology “captures defects with human-like sensitivity”.

It claims the system reproduces human sensibility and the techniques of skilled inspectors, reliably detects defects that were once difficult to capture, automating human vision-based visual inspection. [Read more…] about Omron launches AI vision system which ‘captures defects with human-like sensitivity’