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Yamaha Motor Ventures leads $7.5 million funding round for Verge Ag

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Yamaha Motor Ventures, the strategic business development and investment arm of Yamaha Motor, has led a $7.5 million Series A funding round for Verge Ag, a precision agriculture company.

Verge claims to be the developer of the world’s first AI-powered interactive software that enables farmers to plan, simulate, and validate the movement of equipment in the field and execute field operations efficiently.

Nolan Paul, partner and Global Ag Tech lead for Yamaha Motor Ventures, says: “This investment in Verge Ag underlines our thesis that precision farming technologies are mission critical to a sustainable future for agriculture. [Read more…] about Yamaha Motor Ventures leads $7.5 million funding round for Verge Ag

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

Comau creates high-volume electric drive assembly line for Geely to ‘double its automation rate’

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Comau has developed and implemented an automated electric vehicle drive assembly line for Geely Automobile, one of China’s largest automakers, at the Geely Veremt plant in Ningbo, China.

The assembly line is specifically created for the end-to-end assembly of the electric motor, gearbox and inverter.

Designed in close collaboration with the Geely team, the complete line uses a flexible automatic production system to assemble the permanent magnet motor rotors, gearboxes and electronics drives, in addition to automated quality control and testing. [Read more…] about Comau creates high-volume electric drive assembly line for Geely to ‘double its automation rate’

Unity and Hyundai partner to build virtual twin of automotive manufacturing facility

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Unity, a platform for developing games and other 3D content, and Hyundai Motor Company have agreed a partnership to jointly design and build what they describe as “a new metaverse roadmap and platform for a meta-factory”.

The partnership will realize Hyundai’s vision of becoming the first mobility innovator to build a meta-factory, a digital-twin of the company’s physical plant, supported by a metaverse platform.

The introduction of Meta-factory, will allow Hyundai to test numerous scenarios virtually, in order to assess, calculate and create optimal operation conditions, without employees needing to be onsite. [Read more…] about Unity and Hyundai partner to build virtual twin of automotive manufacturing facility

Interview: Energy Systems Network CEO Paul Mitchell talks about the future of cars and Indy Autonomous Challenge

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It’s been a while since we wrote up an interview, mainly because they take a long time to transcribe and edit into a readable article. And we’re not yet a large enough website to devote time to doing that because there are many other stories that would have to wait while we’re busy doing that.

However, the subject of electric vehicles and EV charging networks are important technologies that literally millions of people have been reading about on this website, and we think they will find this interview interesting.

The interview is with Paul Mitchell, president and CEO of Energy Systems Network, a US-based nonprofit which could be described as a kind of public-private partnership with the aim of discovering and commercialising technologies that provide a platform for the continued healthy growth of the entire clean-energy future of moving machines – cars and other road-going vehicles in particular, but possibly even marine vessels and other types of craft such as drones and maybe even planes. [Read more…] about Interview: Energy Systems Network CEO Paul Mitchell talks about the future of cars and Indy Autonomous Challenge

Cleveland Clinic develops bionic arm that restores ‘natural behaviors’

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Cleveland Clinic researchers have engineered a “first-of-its-kind bionic arm” for patients with upper-limb amputations that allows wearers to think, behave and function like a person without an amputation, according to new findings published in Science Robotics.

The Cleveland Clinic-led international research team developed the bionic system that combines three important functions – intuitive motor control, touch and grip kinesthesia, the intuitive feeling of opening and closing the hand.

Collaborators included University of Alberta and University of New Brunswick. [Read more…] about Cleveland Clinic develops bionic arm that restores ‘natural behaviors’

Nidec to establish joint venture with Hon Hai and Foxtron

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Nidec Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of drives, has agreed to start discussions on establishing a joint venture with Hon Hai Technology Group and Foxtron Vehicle Technologies.

The Hon Hai Technology Group in Taiwan has been the main manufacturer for Apple products in the past two decades.

Nidec signed a memorandum of understanding with Foxtron regarding its strategic alliance in the development of electric vehicle drive systems. [Read more…] about Nidec to establish joint venture with Hon Hai and Foxtron

Toyota subsidiary Hino Motors partners with REE Automotive to develop autonomous mobility solutions

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Hino Motors, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, and REE Automotive, an innovator in e-mobility, have signed a strategic business alliance agreement to realize their shared vision of “providing new value to society through next-generation commercial mobility”.

With the backdrop of advancements in CASE – Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric – vehicles, the automotive industry is entering a major transformation phase.

Hino and REE envision beyond this transformation a future in which commercial vehicles that support the movement of people and goods will evolve into mobility that provides new value and opportunities for society. [Read more…] about Toyota subsidiary Hino Motors partners with REE Automotive to develop autonomous mobility solutions

IQ Motion Control launches new range of servo motors

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IQ Motion Control has launched a new range of servo motors.

IQ Motion Control designs and delivers high performance motor modules for robotic and industrial applications.

The company’s proprietary technology was born out of the University of Pennsylvania’s robotics lab and combines unique hardware designs with innovative calibration and control software to achieve high end motor performance at an affordable cost. [Read more…] about IQ Motion Control launches new range of servo motors

Lattice Semiconductor launches chips specially designed for industrial automation

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Lattice Semiconductor has extended its portfolio of comprehensive low power FPGA-based solution stacks with the introduction of Lattice Automate.

The stack includes software tools, industrial IP cores, modular hardware development boards, and software-programmable reference designs and demos that simplify and accelerate implementation of applications like robotics, scalable multi-channel motor control with predictive maintenance, and real-time industrial networking.

Intelligent industrial systems made possible by Automate will play a vital role in automating future smart factories, warehouses, and commercial buildings. [Read more…] about Lattice Semiconductor launches chips specially designed for industrial automation