Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

motors

General Motors to invest $7 billion in Michigan facilities to ramp up electric vehicle production to 1 million units

by

General Motors says it will invest more than $7 billion in four Michigan manufacturing sites, creating 4,000 new jobs and retaining 1,000, and significantly increasing battery cell and electric truck manufacturing capacity.

This is the single largest investment announcement in GM history. The investment includes construction of a new Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Lansing and the conversion of GM’s assembly plant in Orion Township, Michigan for production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the electric GMC Sierra, GM’s second assembly plant scheduled to build full-size electric pickups.

Mary Barra, GM chair and CEO, says: “We are taking the next step in our continuous work to establish GM’s EV leadership by making investments in our vertically integrated battery production in the US, and our North American EV production capacity. [Read more…] about General Motors to invest $7 billion in Michigan facilities to ramp up electric vehicle production to 1 million units

Beep and Local Motors gives 10,000 passengers shuttle rides at Yellowstone National Park

by

Beep, a developer of multi-passenger, electric, autonomous mobility solutions, has released ridership results following the “highly successful” completion of Yellowstone National Park’s first-ever autonomous shuttle program.

The Electric Driverless Demonstration in Yellowstone (TEDDY), named as an ode to Teddy Roosevelt, gave a total of 10,000 passengers a lift in and around the national park, racking up 4,000 vehicle trips and 2,100 miles.

The shuttle pilot enabled the National Park Service to test the feasibility and sustainability of autonomous mobility in a national park. [Read more…] about Beep and Local Motors gives 10,000 passengers shuttle rides at Yellowstone National Park

Local Motors selects Ouster lidar for its next-generation autonomous shuttles

by

Ouster, a provider of high-resolution digital lidar sensors, has signed a strategic customer agreement with electric autonomous vehicle company, Local Motors.

The agreement includes a binding commitment for over one thousand OS digital lidar sensors through 2023 and a non-binding forecast of over 20,000 sensors through 2025 which will be used to meet production demand for Local Motors’ next-generation shuttles.

Local Motors intends to equip its next-generation 3D printed autonomous shuttles with the full suite of Ouster OS sensors. This includes wide field of view, mid-range, and long-range digital lidar sensors for complete coverage as Local Motors aims to meet demand for Level 3 autonomous vehicles operating on mapped routes within campuses, city centers, and municipalities. [Read more…] about Local Motors selects Ouster lidar for its next-generation autonomous shuttles

Tau invents wire that doubles the power of electric motors and raises €10.25 million

by

A startup company called Tau, which specializes in materials science and automotive electrification, says it has delivered a prototype wire that enables electric motors to double their power output without changing their size. 

The technology could mean that electric vehicles and machines of all kinds can keep going for longer on a single charge, and go faster.

Coinciding with the milestone of delivering prototype winding wire to the automotive industry, Tau also concluded its Series A financing round with additional funding from Finindus, a Belgium-based investment company financed by ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region, and a top-up by German specialty chemicals company Altana. The total raised is said to be €10.25 million. [Read more…] about Tau invents wire that doubles the power of electric motors and raises €10.25 million

OTTO Motors’ autonomous mobile robots now available worldwide

by

OTTO Motors, a provider of autonomous mobile robots, has agreed a series of partnerships to extend availability of OTTO Motors’ line of AMRs to a global market.

In addition, OTTO Motors has successfully completed third party assessments to demonstrate that the company’s products meet or exceed all relevant safety standards in Europe and in the United States including ANSI/RIA R15.08 which they helped define.

The company will be demoing their software and AMR fleet at Automatica, which is being held virtually this year from June 22-24. [Read more…] about OTTO Motors’ autonomous mobile robots now available worldwide

OTTO Motors to hold a live webinar about deploying AMRs in mission critical operations

by

Webinar: Best Practices to Successfully Deploy AMRs in Mission Critical Operations
Register here to attend the LIVE webinar on June 22nd at 2:00 PM ET.

Thinking of automating your material handling but don’t know where to start, or perhaps you’re in the research phase and are feeling information overload?

Then this webinar is perfect for you. [Read more…] about OTTO Motors to hold a live webinar about deploying AMRs in mission critical operations

Beep launches Yellowstone’s first autonomous shuttles in partnership with Local Motors

by

Beep – a provider of multi-passenger, electric, autonomous mobility solutions – has launched what it says is Yellowstone National Park’s first-ever autonomous shuttle program, called TEDDY (The Electric Driverless Demonstration in Yellowstone), in partnership with Local Motors, a designer and manufacturer of autonomous vehicles.

The TEDDY project, an ode to Teddy Roosevelt, will enable the National Park Service to test the feasibility and sustainability of autonomous mobility and better plan for the future of transportation.

Joe Moye, Beep CEO, says: “Beep is proud to have been selected by the National Park Service to provide transformative mobility at the country’s first national park. [Read more…] about Beep launches Yellowstone’s first autonomous shuttles in partnership with Local Motors

IQ Motion Control launches new range of servo motors

by

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

Yaskawa Motoman has sold 500,000 industrial robots

by

Yaskawa Motoman, one of the world’s largest industrial automation companies, has sold 500,000 industrial robots.

The company says cumulative shipments of Motoman Yaskawa’s industrial robots reach 500,000 units last month – February 2021.

Yaskawa has attracted a wide range of customers worldwide since its first all-electric industrial robot in Japan Motoman-L10 was shipped in 1977. [Read more…] about Yaskawa Motoman has sold 500,000 industrial robots

Otto Motors integrates its warehouse robots with Boston Dynamics’ robot dog

by

Otto Motors, a maker of autonomous mobile robots for warehouses and part of Clearpath Robotics, has integrated its warehouse robots with Boston Dynamics’ robot dog, Spot, as part of a demonstration. (See video below.)

The company says it combined its separate areas of expertise – from Clearpath and Otto – into “a dynamic real-world application using Boston Dynamics’ Spot”.

At the end of last year, Clearpath released a ROS software package for Spot which allows researchers to take full advantage of ROS capabilities out-of-the-box and leverage widely available open-source libraries and tools with Spot. [Read more…] about Otto Motors integrates its warehouse robots with Boston Dynamics’ robot dog