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ABB and Red Hat partner to develop scalable digital solutions across industrial edge and hybrid cloud

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ABB and Red Hat have agreed a global partnership to enable industries using ABB’s process automation and industrial software to scale rapidly and flexibly leveraging Red Hat’s industry leading enterprise platforms and application services built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

The collection, management and analysis of industrial plant data is critical to improve the efficiency of operations while addressing safety, security and productivity needs. This is consistent with ABB’s strategy for the evolution of process automation.

The partnership enables virtualization and containerization of automation software with Red Hat OpenShift to provide advanced flexibility in hardware deployment, optimized according to application needs. It also provides efficient system orchestration, enabling real-time, data-based decision making at the edge and further processing in the cloud. [Read more…] about ABB and Red Hat partner to develop scalable digital solutions across industrial edge and hybrid cloud

automatica event to showcase future-ready production through robotics and automation

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How can global supply chains be made less vulnerable? How can we make production more sustainable and conserve resources?

And how to implement a quick transition towards digital production so that the European economy will be powerful and fit for the future?

Around 600 exhibitors from all over the world will provide answers to these questions and present solutions for the entire range of automation topics at automatica, the world’s leading robotics and automation exhibition, which will be held in Munich from June 21 to 24. [Read more…] about automatica event to showcase future-ready production through robotics and automation

Nokia and Mobile Industrial Robots showcase real-time robot fleet management using private 5G wireless

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Nokia and Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), a manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots, have showcased the power of private 5G wireless for the digital transformation of industries.

The companies will demonstrate how companies like manufacturers and warehouse operators can leverage 5G to transform tasks, including real-time fleet management of industrial robots.

MiR will leverage the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) end-to-end industrial private wireless solution at its booth at the event in Stuttgart. [Read more…] about Nokia and Mobile Industrial Robots showcase real-time robot fleet management using private 5G wireless

Industrial inspection startup Gecko Robotics raises $73 million

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Gecko Robotics, a specialist in robotics and industrial asset management software, has revealed details of its Series C funding round of $73 million, led by XN with participation from Founders Fund, XYZ, Drive Capital, Snowpoint Ventures, Joe Lonsdale, Mark Cuban, Gokul Rajaram, and others.

The company says this latest funding round accelerates Gecko’s stated mission, “To protect today’s critical infrastructure, and give form to tomorrow’s”.

Co-founded by Jake Loosararian, CEO, and Troy Demmer, chief product officer, Gecko focuses on essential industries such as power generation, oil and gas, heavy manufacturing, and defense. [Read more…] about Industrial inspection startup Gecko Robotics raises $73 million

Canadian innovator wins award for robot that does the dirtiest of industrial dirty work

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Nicolas Olmedo is on a mission to keep people safe by sending robots where no human should ever have to go: into the murky, muddy sludge of industrial mine tailing ponds and other hazardous terrains that need to be continually monitored.

His ground-breaking work to develop intelligent robots capable of traversing mud, snow, ice or rock using screw-shaped pontoons has earned Olmedo a prestigious award from Mitacs, a national innovation organization that fosters growth by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions.

In recognition of his efforts to advance the robots through his company, Copperstone Technologies, Olmedo – one of three Copperstone co-founders who completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta – was presented the Mitacs Outstanding Entrepreneur Award on June 2 at a ceremony in Montreal, Canada. [Read more…] about Canadian innovator wins award for robot that does the dirtiest of industrial dirty work

Mitsubishi and Realtime Robotics speed up implementation time for industrial robots

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Realtime Robotics, a developer of autonomous motion planning for industrial robots, is collaborating with Mitsubishi Electric Automation, to speed up the programming and control of industrial robots with innovative motion control and collision avoidance software.

The two companies demonstrated the combination of Realtime Robotics RapidPlan robot programming and motion control software with Mitsubishi Electric’s industrial robots in a demo cell in Mitsubishi Electric Automation’s booth at the recent Automate Show 2022.

In the demo, two robots (RV-7FRL and RV-8CRL) simulated moving to various points of interest on the workpiece, while the ASSISTA collaborative robot moved to inspect various points of interest. [Read more…] about Mitsubishi and Realtime Robotics speed up implementation time for industrial robots

Ericsson, TIM and Comau test the ‘factory of the future’

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Ericsson, TIM and Comau say they are testing the “factory of the future” through something called “5G network slicing”.

The three companies have joined forces to develop, on an experimental basis, innovative solutions for Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing by leveraging the potential of the 5G network. This initiative is part of the EU-funded 5Growth project.

Thanks to TIM and Ericsson’s deployment of a 5G network at Comau’s headquarters in Turin (Italy), three new applications have been launched to demonstrate the advantages of the new technology, and in particular those arising from the slicing functionality of the network, within an industrial environment. [Read more…] about Ericsson, TIM and Comau test the ‘factory of the future’

Trimble implements new localization system for autonomous vehicles

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Trimble has released details of the first deployment of its map-based localization system for land-based autonomous vehicle applications.

IHI Corporation, a heavy industry manufacturer based in Japan, will retrofit its existing container and haulage trucks with a customized Applanix POS LV system as part of its broader autonomy capabilities for the transport of goods around industrial facilities.

Map-based localization provides precise positioning and orientation estimation, augmenting GNSS/inertial data, which is critical for safe and efficient autonomous vehicle operations. The ability to provide IHI Corporation a full workflow and real-time data ensures seamless integration into IHI’s truck design. [Read more…] about Trimble implements new localization system for autonomous vehicles

Nidec develops AC servo motor equipped with Zignear

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Nidec and its subsidiary Nidec Sankyo have jointly developed an AC servo motor (resolution: 17bit) equipped with Zignear, the position detection technology that can be applied to industrial robots and replace encoders.

The motor is intended for application in industrial robots and automated guided vehicles.

An encoder, which is a sensor used to detect the rotation of a brushless DC motor mainly, is essential in adjusting a motor to an intended location, and keeping its rotation consistent. [Read more…] about Nidec develops AC servo motor equipped with Zignear

AGCO taps mobility software experts Apex.AI for its robotic planting concept

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Apex.AI, a company developing safety-certified software for mobility and autonomous applications, says that AGCO, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural machinery and precision agriculture technology, is adding new capabilities to its Fendt Xaver concept vehicle, an autonomous farming robot, by incorporating Apex.OS, a software development kit (SDK).

Apex.AI has enabled AGCO’s engineering team to integrate several autonomous driving components into the Fendt Xaver in a tight timeframe, including lidar object detection, collision checking and planning, using the state-of-the-art framework and developer tools that come with Apex.OS.

This technical partnership expands an existing relationship between the two companies. In December 2021, AGCO announced a strategic investment in Apex.AI. [Read more…] about AGCO taps mobility software experts Apex.AI for its robotic planting concept