Robotics & Automation News

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Ready Robotics ‘making robotics system design easier’ for non-programmers

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Robotics hardware traditionally requires programmers to deploy it. Ready Robotics wants to change that with its “no code” software aimed at people working in manufacturing who haven’t got programming skills.

The Columbus, Ohio, startup is a spinout of robotics research from Johns Hopkins University. Kel Guerin was a PhD candidate there leading this research when he partnered with Benjamin Gibbs, who was at Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, to land funding and pursue the company, now led by Gibbs as CEO.

Guerin, who’s now chief innovation officer at the startup, says: “There was this a-ha moment where we figured out that we could take these types of visual languages that are very easy to understand and use them for robotics.” [Read more…] about Ready Robotics ‘making robotics system design easier’ for non-programmers

Nvidia expands availability of its robotics development software and hardware

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Nvidia says it is making its robotics software and hardware more widely available.

The chipmaker says its Omniverse Cloud will be hosted on Microsoft Azure, increasing access to Isaac Sim, the company’s platform for developing and managing artificial intelligence-based robots.

The company also says that a full lineup of Jetson Orin modules is now available, offering a “performance leap” for edge AI and robotics applications. [Read more…] about Nvidia expands availability of its robotics development software and hardware

Soft Robotics using Nvidia simulation technology to develop its gripping system

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Soft Robotics has applied Nvidia Isaac Sim’s synthetic data to food processing automation in efforts to improve safety and increase production.

Developers have been striving to close the gap on robotic gripping for the past several years, pursuing applications for multibillion-dollar industries. Securely gripping and transferring fast-moving items on conveyor belts holds vast promise for businesses.

Soft Robotics, a Bedford, Massachusetts startup, is harnessing Nvidia Isaac Sim to help close the sim to real gap for a handful of robotic gripping applications. One area is perfecting gripping for pick and placement of foods for packaging. [Read more…] about Soft Robotics using Nvidia simulation technology to develop its gripping system

Reinforcing the value of simulation: Teaching dexterity to a real robot hand

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Nvidia researchers show how training in simulation enables the transfer of complex manipulation skills to a robot hand with project DeXtreme

The human hand is one of the most remarkable outcomes of millions of years of evolution. The ability to pick up all sorts of objects and use them as tools is a crucial differentiator allowing us to shape the world around us.

For robots to work in the everyday human world, the ability to deftly interact with our tools and the environment around them is critical. Without that capability, they will continue to be useful only in specialized domains such as factories or warehouses.

While it has been possible to teach robots with legs how to walk for some time, robots with hands have generally proven to be much trickier to control. A hand with fingers has more joints, and they must move in specific coordinated ways to accomplish a given task. [Read more…] about Reinforcing the value of simulation: Teaching dexterity to a real robot hand

Stilfold prepares to launch ‘industrial origami’ technology into space

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Swedish design and technology startup Stilfold is stepping into space, with an exciting new project that aims to identify applications for its origami-inspired manufacturing technology in outer space.

The startup – renowned for pushing the boundaries of design and innovation – is working with Sweden’s International Space Asset Acceleration Company (ISAAC) to discover how Stilfold’s “origami” manufacturing solution can be used for transporting and constructing materials in space.

ISAAC is an innovative new organization, founded by serial entrepreneur Mattias Hansson and backed by the European Space Agency and Sweden’s first astronaut Christer Fuglesang, which aims to strengthen innovation on Earth using knowledge and discoveries from outer space. [Read more…] about Stilfold prepares to launch ‘industrial origami’ technology into space

Nvidia unveils Isaac Nova Orin to accelerate development of autonomous mobile robots

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Next time socks, cereal or sandpaper shows up in hours delivered to your doorstep, consider the behind-the-scenes logistics acrobatics that help get them there so fast.

Order fulfillment is a massive industry of moving parts. Heavily supported by autonomous mobile robots, warehouses can span 1 million square feet, expanding and reconfiguring to meet demands.

It’s an obstacle course of workers and bottlenecks for hospitals, retailers, airports, manufacturers and others. [Read more…] about Nvidia unveils Isaac Nova Orin to accelerate development of autonomous mobile robots

Cogniteam’s Nimbus supports cloud-enabled robot management powered by Nvidia Jetson

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Cogniteam is supporting the Nvidia Jetson edge AI platform into its cloud-based robotics development and deployment platform, allowing cloud-enabled deployments to use Nvidia technology for the first time.

More customers are moving over to Nvidia’s GPU-accelerated technologies that can be developed and deployed through the cloud.

This is made possible by Nimbus’s packaging of field-tested software, such as sensors and AI capabilities, based on over a decade of Cogniteam’s work with enterprise businesses. [Read more…] about Cogniteam’s Nimbus supports cloud-enabled robot management powered by Nvidia Jetson

Nvidia brings AI perception to ROS developers

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Nvidia has unveiled initiatives to deliver a suite of perception technologies to the Robot Operating System (ROS) developer community.

The chipmaker says these initiatives will “reduce development time and improve performance for developers seeking to incorporate cutting-edge computer vision and AI/ML functionality into their ROS-based robotics applications”.

Nvidia and Open Robotics, the organisation which maintains ROS, have entered into an agreement to accelerate ROS 2 performance on Nvidia’s Jetson edge AI platform and GPU-based systems and to enable seamless simulation interoperability between Open Robotics’s Ignition Gazebo and Nvidia Isaac Sim on Omniverse. [Read more…] about Nvidia brings AI perception to ROS developers

BMW selects Nvidia to ‘redefine factory logistics’

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Automotive factories to incorporate artificial intelligence robots built on new Isaac platform from Nvidia

BMW Group has selected the new Nvidia Isaac robotics platform to enhance its automotive factories – utilizing logistics robots built on advanced AI computing and visualization technologies, the companies announced today.

The collaboration centers on implementing an end-to-end system based on Nvidia technologies – from training and testing through to deployment – with robots developed using one software architecture, running on Nvidia’s open Isaac robotics platform.

BMW Group’s objective is to enhance logistics factory flow to produce custom-configured cars more rapidly and efficiently. Once developed, the system will be deployed to BMW Group factories worldwide. [Read more…] about BMW selects Nvidia to ‘redefine factory logistics’