Robotics & Automation News

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Intelligent City raises $30 million to bring robotics and automation to prefabricated construction sector

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With pressure mounting for cities to address affordable housing needs, decarbonize buildings, and meet sustainability goals, housing technology company Intelligent City raised CAD 22 million ($17 million), bringing the total capital invested in the company to CAD 30 million ($23 million).

As one of the first companies in North America to apply automation and robotics to the design and manufacturing of prefabricated mass timber buildings, Intelligent City will use the funding to scale operations, commercialize its Platforms for Life (P4L) building solution, grow factory automation, and expand its footprint across and beyond Canada.

Earlier this year, the company completed testing of its building systems and is now verified to work within the new mass timber high-rise building codes in Canada and the US. [Read more…] about Intelligent City raises $30 million to bring robotics and automation to prefabricated construction sector

Baidu unveils next-generation autonomous vehicle for robotaxi operation

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Baidu, China’s equivalent of Google or Alphabet, has unveiled its next-generation fully autonomous vehicle, the Apollo RT6, an all-electric, production-ready model with a detachable steering wheel.

Designed for complex urban environments, Apollo RT6 will be put into operation in China in 2023 on Apollo Go, Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service.

With a per unit cost of RMB 250,000 (approximately $37,000), the arrival of Apollo RT6 is set to accelerate autonomous vehicle deployment at scale, bringing the world closer to a future of driverless shared mobility. [Read more…] about Baidu unveils next-generation autonomous vehicle for robotaxi operation

SICK unveils intelligent solution for safe object differentiation and identification on conveying solutions and packaging machines

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With the introduction of the deTec4 Smart Box Detection access protection system from SICK, secondary packaging machines in the end-of-line area, top and side loaders, or sorter and ejector modules can now be operated in a safe and user-friendly manner.

With the help of a reliable pattern detection logic, Smart Box Detection can safely differentiate rectangular objects, such as boxes, from people and body parts in the inlet and outlet zones of packaging machines or logistics conveying systems.

This allows the boxes to be transported continuously without any stops into and out of fenced in machines. [Read more…] about SICK unveils intelligent solution for safe object differentiation and identification on conveying solutions and packaging machines

Kärcher and Brain Corp debut first professional robotic scrubber

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Kärcher has expanded its autonomous product line by introducing a professional robotic scrubber. The KIRA B 100 R is powered by Brain Corp’s BrainOS, a software platform for powering autonomous mobile robots operating in indoor public spaces.

KIRA is an acronym for Kärcher Intelligent Robotic Applications.

Rex Shull, VP of product management and engineering, says: “We at Kärcher are pleased to offer yet another innovative robotic solution. [Read more…] about Kärcher and Brain Corp debut first professional robotic scrubber

Geek+ and Bosch Rexroth extend partnership and implement advanced moving robot

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Geek+, an autonomous mobile robot maker, and Bosch Rexroth, a provider of drive and control technology, have signed a strategic channel agreement for North America in March 2022.

The partnership has already borne fruit in the form of a unique version of Geek+’s MP1000R moving robot augmented with the laser localization software ROKIT Locator by Bosch Rexroth.

These robots could automatically distribute materials to production line in Bosch Rexroth plant in Changzhou, China. (See video below.) [Read more…] about Geek+ and Bosch Rexroth extend partnership and implement advanced moving robot

SAIC unveils China’s ‘first’ Level 4 robotic taxi platform

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Chinese carmaker SAIC Motor has officially started the operation of its SAIC Mobility Robotaxi, claiming it to be China’s first Level 4 self-driving platform.

SAIC says its “Robotaxi” employs “superior resources” – from SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle Company, SAIC Motor AI Lab, autonomous driving technology company Momenta, and its ride-hailing service platform SAIC Mobility – to create a data-driven ecosystem featuring continuing evolution in an effort to explore the application of Level 4 self-driving technology in urban mobility scenarios.

There is a lack of clarity about the term “robotaxi”. So far, most companies have used it as a generic term to mean robotic taxi. None of them has yet trademarked the actual word. SAIC doesn’t seem to have done so either, but has the word on the side of its cars. [Read more…] about SAIC unveils China’s ‘first’ Level 4 robotic taxi platform

ZF partners with Embotech to develop freight yard automation systems

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ZF, one of the world’s largest automotive systems suppliers, has acquired a 25 per cent stake in Embotech, a developer of autonomous vehicle software.

The companies have agreed a strategic partnership agreement to jointly develop fully autonomous systems for commercial vehicle yard operations.

The partnership aims to enhance the operational safety and productivity of distribution hubs and yards. [Read more…] about ZF partners with Embotech to develop freight yard automation systems

Aptiv to buy Wind River for $4.3 billion

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Aptiv, a technology company developing mobility software and systems, is to acquire Wind River from TPG Capital, the private equity platform of global alternative asset management firm TPG, for $4.3 billion in cash.

Wind River is a global leader in delivering software for the intelligent edge. Used on over two billion edge devices across more than 1,700 customers globally, Wind River’s software enables the secure development, deployment, operations and servicing of mission-critical intelligent systems.

This edge-to-cloud software portfolio spans the aerospace and defense, telecommunications, industrial and automotive markets and is anchored by Wind River Studio, a highly versatile, comprehensive cloud-native intelligent systems software platform that enables full product lifecycle management for edge-to-cloud use cases. [Read more…] about Aptiv to buy Wind River for $4.3 billion

Rescale closes $105 million in expanded Series C funding

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Rescale, a provider of intelligent computing for digital R&D with high-performance computing built for the cloud, has raised $105 million in additional funding.

Rescale powers science and engineering breakthroughs with intelligent full-stack automation powered by the near-infinite computing capabilities of hybrid cloud and provides hybrid cloud high performance computing platform enabling intelligent computing for digital R&D.

Rescales has closed $105 million in an expanded Series C funding round, with participation from existing and new investors in the company including Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Fort Ross Ventures, Gaingels, Gopher, Hitachi Ventures, Initialized Capital, Keen Venture Partners, Microsoft M12, Nautilus Venture Partners, Nvidia, Prometheus Capital, Republic Labs, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Solasta Ventures, Yield Capital Partners and more. [Read more…] about Rescale closes $105 million in expanded Series C funding

A system for designing and training intelligent soft robots

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‘Evolution Gym’ is a large-scale benchmark for co-optimizing the design and control of soft robots that takes inspiration from nature and evolutionary processes

Let’s say you wanted to build the world’s best stair-climbing robot. You’d need to optimize for both the brain and the body, perhaps by giving the bot some high-tech legs and feet, coupled with a powerful algorithm to help enable the climb.

Although design of the physical body and its brain, the “control”, are key ingredients to letting the robot move, existing benchmark environments favor only the latter. Co-optimizing for both elements is hard – it takes a lot of time to train various robot simulations to do different things, even without the design element.

Scientists from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), aimed to fill the gap by designing “Evolution Gym”, a large-scale testing system for co-optimizing the design and control of soft robots, taking inspiration from nature and evolutionary processes. [Read more…] about A system for designing and training intelligent soft robots