Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

manufacturers

IndustrialML and one to ONE Holdings expand partnership to serve galvanized steel tube market

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IndustrialML, an enterprise software company serving industrial customers, is expanding its partnership with one to ONE Holdings (o2Oh) to develop and bring real-time smart factory solutions to the galvanized steel tubing market around the world.

IndustrialML has a diverse team of experts in manufacturing, enterprise software, and data analysis dedicated to helping the underserved majority of manufacturers – the 99 percent of companies looking to help their employees make and communicate decisions more quickly and effectively.

Nearly all manufacturers are trying not to build new, fully automated factories that stop relying on human intuition; rather, they want to help employees make smarter decisions, both about setting up their production lines and responding to production issues, even as more and more tenured factory workers begin to retire. [Read more…] about IndustrialML and one to ONE Holdings expand partnership to serve galvanized steel tube market

ABB launches robot alignment software to ‘increase electronics manufacturing speed and accuracy’

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ABB Robotics has launched an industry leading, pioneering software solution to transform speed and accuracy in electronics assembly.

Packed with 50 years of software expertise, ABB’s High Speed Alignment software is the first to offer manufacturers the ability to increase the speed of 6-axis robots by 70 percent, and accuracy by 50 percent – significantly reducing time-to-market while increasing accuracy levels.

The PC-based software includes Visual Servoing technology using one or more cameras, combined with a computer vision system, to control the position of the robot relative to the workpiece. [Read more…] about ABB launches robot alignment software to ‘increase electronics manufacturing speed and accuracy’

Cobots and no code: Robotics for everyone

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Almost three months before the start of automatica, which takes place from June 21 to 24 at the Munich Exhibition Center, one thing is certain: never before has there been such a wide range of collaborative robots as this year. And they are easier to use than ever.

The latter also applies to industrial robots. Here, no-code robotics allows an almost playful handling of robots.

These and many other developments pursue one goal: the democratization of robotics. In the future, anyone should be able to operate robots without special knowledge. With cobots, this is already possible thanks to simple programming options. [Read more…] about Cobots and no code: Robotics for everyone

Will Car Manufacturing Ever Be Fully Automated?

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The other day, I got an email asking me to participate in a survey regarding robots in hotels. Basically, the people behind the study wanted to gauge how comfortable respondents were about letting robots and AI systems take care of different aspects of their stay.

Would they be happy to check in without ever speaking to a human? What about having a robot clean their rooms?

The reason this survey stuck with me is that it posited the possibility that hotels would be staffed by robots in the near future. I wondered if it would be people coming to stay in hotels who would delay this from happening due to technophobia. This is in spite of the fact that mechanisation itself is not fully automated in many industries. [Read more…] about Will Car Manufacturing Ever Be Fully Automated?

Universal Robots reports record revenue of $311 million

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Universal Robots, the Danish producer of collaborative robots, has reported record annual revenue of $311 million, 41 percent up on 2020 and 23 percent up on pre-pandemic results in 2019.

Kim Povlsen, the company’s president, says: “Universal Robots has had a great year. In a company like ours, which manufactures sophisticated hardware to high quality standards, this sort of growth requires tremendous commitment from all involved.

“Our production team in Denmark has broken internal records for the number of cobots built, producing 400 cobots in a single week in Q4. Our supply chain experts have worked hard to keep our business running smoothly despite global supply challenges.” [Read more…] about Universal Robots reports record revenue of $311 million

Hexagon unveils automated platform to accelerate autonomous robotic quality assurance

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Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division, which supplies smart manufacturing technologies to giants from Volkswagen to Boeing, has unveiled its HxGN Robotic Automation, which it describes as a “pioneering robotic programming and control software” that enables non-specialist quality professionals to program industrial robots to perform fully automated quality inspection.

The platform enables manufacturers to equip greenfield factories or retrofit existing production lines with state-of-the-art autonomous optical inspection cells, accelerating time to market by eliminating historic bottlenecks while providing more complete data direct from the production line as products are made.

HxGN says its robotic automation enables manufacturers to accelerate adoption of Industry 4.0 by intelligently devising optimal inspection routines in a single step; a task that would typically demand significant time and attention from both a metrology and robotics professional. [Read more…] about Hexagon unveils automated platform to accelerate autonomous robotic quality assurance

Epson signs Gibson Engineering as distributor in US Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions

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Epson Robots has signed Gibson Engineering, a solutions provider for manufacturers of industrial automation products, as an official distributor of Epson Robots automation solutions.

Gibson Engineering has a diverse customer base in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, from life sciences and plastics manufacturers to OEM machine builders.

As the sense of urgency for manufacturing projects in these industries accelerates, this new partnership offers Gibson Engineering customers access to Epson’s fully stacked product lineup to simplify automation installs while meeting project time frames. [Read more…] about Epson signs Gibson Engineering as distributor in US Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions

TTTech Auto and Infineon design new chip architecture for highly automated driving

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TTTech Auto and Infineon Technologies have developed key components for a fail-operational electronic architecture for highly automated driving of SAE Level 3 and 4.

This enables the safe and reliable processing of, for example, radar or LiDAR camera sensor data and is targeting car and technology manufacturers. The fail-operational architectural concept and its key components ensure the safe operation of highway pilot functions, valet parking and autonomous truck driving in case individual functions fail.

The joint research contributed to the successful completion of the European PRYSTINE (Programmable Systems for Intelligence in Automobiles) project. With a budget of about €50 million, PRYSTINE aimed to realize safe automated driving by fail-operational urban surround perception. [Read more…] about TTTech Auto and Infineon design new chip architecture for highly automated driving

Enabling manufacturing innovation with the virtual twin experience

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Manufacturers in just about every industry are already embracing the reality of Industry 4.0 – that the digital transformation of factories is necessary, replacing manual processes with automated systems in cyber-physical smart factories.

This is crucial to manufacturers as challenges caused by global disruptions can make it even more challenging for them to ramp up production to satisfy ever-volatile market demands.

There are many subtle differences in the obstacles faced by manufacturers in different industries, but there are also a few key challenges that all manufacturers have in common. Having a limited number of assembly lines makes it difficult for manufacturers to keep up with the rising demand for customised products as well as the accelerating rate of innovation (and by extension, obsolescence) in new products.

Many manufacturers still lack the visibility required to respond to supply and demand volatility in an agile manner. At the same time, it can be challenging to be mindful of the growing list of certifications required and regulations that manufacturers need to comply with – in addition to the growing pressure for manufacturers to shift towards more sustainable practices. [Read more…] about Enabling manufacturing innovation with the virtual twin experience

SICK presents intelligent sensor solutions for the ‘factory of the future’

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At PackExpo this year, SICK is presenting numerous demonstrations and one educational session that highlight how intelligent sensors can help you create the factory of the future that includes robotics, quality inspection, and digital transformation.

Intelligent sensor solutions from SICK enhance mobile and stationary robotic applications. In its booth (C-2160) at PackExpo 2021, demos about sensor solutions for robotics and quality inspection are available throughout the show.

From 3D vision robot guidance systems for more efficient bin picking to safety and LiDAR solutions for AMRs, SICK prioritizes improving the supply chain with solutions for mobile robot safety, LiDAR localization, and robot vision systems. [Read more…] about SICK presents intelligent sensor solutions for the ‘factory of the future’