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Electric vehicles drop in price, but ‘most remain unprofitable’, says Lux Research

June 9, 2020 by Sam Francis Leave a Comment

Electric vehicles have fallen in price, but “most remain unprofitable”, according to Lux Research.

The automotive industry is under pressure to reduce emissions, both from government regulations and from consumers who are growing more conscious about the environmental impact of their vehicles.

Electrified powertrains are a promising avenue to reduce or eliminate vehicle emissions for automakers. [Read more…] about Electric vehicles drop in price, but ‘most remain unprofitable’, says Lux Research

BICS powers first intelligent exoskeleton with global connectivity

February 22, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

BICS, a global communications enabler, is providing global internet-of-things connectivity and asset management for a pioneering exoskeleton developed by German Bionic.

The Cray X is the first connected asset from the Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) provider and marks the first instance of a European manufacturer developing, producing and deploying smart exoskeletons for use in industrial production.

Designed to support and enhance the wearer’s movements, German Bionic’s Cray X reduces the risk of accidents and excessive strain for employees in sectors that involve repetitive but unpredictable heavy lifting. [Read more…] about BICS powers first intelligent exoskeleton with global connectivity

Saelig releases new embedded PC made by Amplicon

February 7, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

Saelig has introduced the new Impact-D 100AL embedded PC, equipped with an extensive range of I/O ports, offering maximum flexibility as well as impressive graphics capabilities.

The Impact-D 100AL is powered by Intel Atom Apollo Lake series processor technology, offering exceptional performance, extensive expansion, and an operational lifecycle of 15 years, all within a compact and reliable design.

Designed to perform in the most demanding environments, the Impact-D 100AL utilizes a compact fanless design, avoiding dust and particles commonly found in manufacturing facilities. [Read more…] about Saelig releases new embedded PC made by Amplicon

General Motors to invest $2.2 billion in Detroit-Hamtramck plant to make it ‘100 percent devoted to electric vehicles’

January 30, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

General Motors is making a $2.2 billion investment into its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant to produce a variety of all-electric trucks and SUVs.

The company says the plant will be “100 percent devoted to electric vehicles”.

GM’s first all-electric truck will be a pickup with production scheduled to begin in late 2021. This will be followed soon after by the Cruise Origin, a shared, electric, self-driving vehicle unveiled by Cruise in San Francisco last week. [Read more…] about General Motors to invest $2.2 billion in Detroit-Hamtramck plant to make it ‘100 percent devoted to electric vehicles’

Opinion: Radical rethink of automotive R&D investment required in 2020

January 24, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

Continued disruption, restructuring and re-shaping of the automotive industry will be required to make increasing levels of R&D affordable whilst simultaneously representing a major growth opportunity in the year ahead, according to engineering consultancy Horiba Mira.

The proliferation of electrification and connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technologies will continue to be amongst the top automotive trends in 2020 which will continue to push up the already soaring costs of research and development.

Indeed, latest figures show European auto manufacturers spent a record £33.3 billion on R&D – 35 per cent more than the £24.6 billion spent in 2014/15. [Read more…] about Opinion: Radical rethink of automotive R&D investment required in 2020

FLIR launches ‘industry’s first’ deep learning camera

January 19, 2020 by Sam Francis Leave a Comment

Imaging company FLIR Systems has launched what it says is “the industry’s first” deep learning camera for applications ranging from industrial inspection to autonomous driving and others.

FLIR says the Firefly DL enables systems designers to build neural networks that are capable of decision-making at the edge.

FLIR is believed to be the world’s largest commercial company specializing in the design and production of thermal imaging cameras, components and imaging sensors. [Read more…] about FLIR launches ‘industry’s first’ deep learning camera

FLIR launches new camera capable of deep learning

December 16, 2019 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

FLIR Systems has launched a camera which includes deep learning capabilities – the Firefly DL – for applications ranging from industrial inspection to autonomous driving and others.

Deep learning is a type of artificial intelligence which tends to ingest, or collect, far more data than does the machine learning method.

Both deep and machine learning types of AI tend to require large computing systems, generally necessitating clusters in the cloud, or at least a powerful PC. [Read more…] about FLIR launches new camera capable of deep learning

Škoda opens new $200 million paint shop featuring 66 robots

September 5, 2019 by David Edwards

Škoda Auto has opened a new automotive paint shop at its main plant in Mladá Boleslav, in the Czech Republic, featuring 66 industrial robots configured for applying the paint.

Up to 168,000 car bodies will be coated with paint there each year, taking the plant’s total annual painting capacity up to 812,000 vehicles.

Škoda Auto has invested €214.5 million in the new building, creating more than 650 new jobs. (See infographic below.) [Read more…] about Škoda opens new $200 million paint shop featuring 66 robots

New lasers can weld ceramics without furnace, claim scientists

August 23, 2019 by Sam Francis

Smartphones that don’t scratch or shatter. Metal-free pacemakers. Electronics for space and other harsh environments.

These could all be made possible thanks to a new ceramic welding technology developed by a team of engineers at the University of California San Diego and the University of California Riverside.

The process, published in the August 23 issue of Science, uses an ultrafast pulsed laser to melt ceramic materials along the interface and fuse them together. [Read more…] about New lasers can weld ceramics without furnace, claim scientists

Volume Graphics partners with industry consortium to improve rapid-prototyping of plastic mold inserts

August 15, 2019 by David Edwards

Volume Graphics, a provider of industrial computed tomography software, is partnering in a second joint project on “rapid tooling” with companies from a wide range of industries.

The company’s partnership is with the Kunststoff-Institut, in Germany.

As a project partner, Volume Graphics brings expertise in quality assurance and process optimization to the team via its advanced industrial computed tomography (CT) data-analysis software.

Christof Reinhart, CEO of Volume Graphics, says: “Working on this project with Kunststoff-Institut and partners is very important to us because we are convinced that industrial computed tomography can advance the future of rapid tooling. [Read more…] about Volume Graphics partners with industry consortium to improve rapid-prototyping of plastic mold inserts