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6 River Systems upgrades its robotic fulfillment solution

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6 River Systems has made a series of enhancements to its robotic fulfillment solution.

6 River, part of e-commerce platform provider Shopify, revealed the upgrade during its second annual user conference, FLOW 2020.

David Vallance, director of product at 6 River Systems, says: “We have developed a strategic product roadmap at 6RS to find and address the next level of efficiencies to help our customers meet ever-changing demand and drive value to their own customers. [Read more…] about 6 River Systems upgrades its robotic fulfillment solution

Geek+ implements first large scale robotic warehouse sorting system for e-commerce company BangGood

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Geek+, the leading manufacturer of warehouse robots, has implemented a large scale autonomous mobile robot sorting system with BangGood, a well-known e-commerce company. (See video below.) 

The Geek+ system will support the company’s growing cross-border e-commerce business of 37 international warehouses with deliveries bound for over 200 countries.

In light of the accelerated shift towards e-commerce, BangGood has faced challenges of rapid growth in online sales, unpredictable demand, labor shortages, and higher requirements for safer operations. [Read more…] about Geek+ implements first large scale robotic warehouse sorting system for e-commerce company BangGood

AutoX launches driverless taxi service in China

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Driverless car startup AutoX has launched its RoboTaxi ride-hailing service in Shanghai, China to the general public for the first time, marking a transit milestone for China’s largest city.

AutoX RoboTaxis can be booked through Alibaba’s AutoNavi smartphone app, similar to other ride-hailing services.

AutoX, which has raised at least $160 million to date, according to Crunchbase, has also struck up a strategic partnership with Letzgo, a major taxi fleet operations company headquartered in Shanghai. [Read more…] about AutoX launches driverless taxi service in China

Robotics and Automation News Review: Fanuc and Kuka launch new robots, Pittsburgh ready to go to ‘infinity and beyond’, Foxconn moves operations out of China, and much more…

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Friday 14 August 2020: This is a new, weekly column – to be published every Friday – which rounds up all the most interesting news from the robotics and automation industry in the past seven days, in brief form. 

This Robotics and Automation News Review is also available to view on our YouTube channel.

Comau Robotics says it has created an “innovative, in-line testing and quality control system that optimizes the construction and assembly of batteries”. The company says the MI.RA / Thermography system uses thermal imaging and artificial intelligence to perform non-invasive automated assessment and control of welded joints, to ensure battery integrity and prevent waste.

Kuka Robotics has launched a new compact industrial robot. The company says its new KR 4 Agilus is “a hot candidate for first place in the small robotics charts from October onwards”.

Fanuc Robotics has launched a new “extremely compact” robot which it claims has the “best precision in its class”. The new M-10iD/16S robot is the most compact model of the M-10iD series, says Fanuc, adding that it combines the best features of its two predecessors, M-10iA/10MS and M-10iA/12S.

Hyundai Robotics has signed an agreement with Korea’s Asan Medical Center and KT for joint development and commercialization of smart hospital solutions on June 30th. The company is planning to prepare for the post-corona era with a smart hospital solution for infection management by ICT-based digital transformation.

Techman Robot, a manufacturer of collaborative robots, says it has adopted proactive steps against the new coronavirus. Techman Robot says it checks the health of its employees on a daily bases and collects global virus information. It also implementing prevention measures. The company maintains business communications online and is frequently in touch with all overseas offices, global distributors, partners, and customers.

HRG International Institute of Research and Innovation has unveiled a new floor cleaning robot, the SW10. The company says it is exclusively designed for floor cleaning tasks in commercial and industrial environments. The robot is combined with sweeping, mopping and vacuum cleaning functions and its work can maintain 2,000 square meters per hour.

Denso has established the Pittsburgh Innovation Lab, a new US research and development center designed to strengthen open innovation and enhance technology development that enables automated driving.

FedEx has installed industrial robotic arms to do what is considered the “most difficult” job to automate in a sorting facility in Memphis, USA. The logistics giant has integrated Yaskawa robots and software from Plus One Robotics into a robotic system that performs a task which involves picking up parcels or envelopes from a tray and placing them on a conveyor.

Foxconn, Apple’s main contract manufacturing partner, has moved a significant portion of its operations outside of China. The company has already moved an additional 5 percent of its operations to countries other than China, bring it up to 30 percent, compared with 25 percent last year.

Pittsburgh local authorities say they are looking to “infinity and beyond” after NASA awarded a local company, Astrobotic Technology, a $200 million contract to build and send the first-ever US robotic rover to the Moon by 2023.

Foxconn moving operations out of China

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Foxconn, one of the most well known Chinese manufacturing companies as a result of its status as main supplier for Apple, is moving significant parts of its operations outside of China.

The company, which according to TechSpot reported almost $800 million net profit for the quarter ending in June, has already moved an additional 5 percent of its operations to countries other than China, bring it up to 30 percent, compared with 25 percent last year.

China is still overwhelmingly the main base for Foxconn’s manufacturing operations, representing some 70 percent of its production capacity, but the company is scouting many locations abroad. [Read more…] about Foxconn moving operations out of China

Flylogix and Cambridge Consultants to use Iridium’s satellites for drone platform

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Flylogix and Cambridge Consultants have agreed a collaboration that will use Iridium’s satellite communications to safely control unmanned aerial vehicles from a central control hub.

This will enable Flylogix to move from local drone piloting at the airfield to centrally controlled operations, massively increasing the resilience of their services to offshore installations.

The Flylogix service reduces the cost, risk and environmental impact of gathering data from offshore exploration and production activities. [Read more…] about Flylogix and Cambridge Consultants to use Iridium’s satellites for drone platform

Rapid Growth of Autonomous Forklifts

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By Thomas R. Cutler

Autonomously driven forklifts, whether in distribution centers, manufacturing, or some hybrid, are much more cost-effective than manned forklifts for extremely repetitive processes.

They can be integrated into continuous round-the-clock operations covering several shifts. Self-controlling these trucks can coordinate perfectly in terms of routing and speed. This enables material flows to maintain optimal levels and the energy consumption is kept to a minimum.

The additional benefit reported by facilities managers includes substantially less damage to shelving, loads, pallets, and other trucks, as they navigate more accurately and safely than manned forklifts. [Read more…] about Rapid Growth of Autonomous Forklifts

InOrbit raises $2.6 million for its cloud robotics business

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InOrbit, a provider of cloud-based robot management software, has closed $2.6 million in seed round investment.

The funding was led by Animo Ventures, with participation by Yamaha Motor Ventures and Laboratory Silicon Valley, Kärcher New Venture and other key institutional and individual investors.

InOrbit’s software-as-a-service enables robotics companies and operators to develop, deploy and orchestrate autonomous robots at global scale. [Read more…] about InOrbit raises $2.6 million for its cloud robotics business

Geek+ powers remote operations and new deployments for Decathlon in China

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Geek+, an autonomous mobile robot manufacturer, has extended its co-operation with Decathlon, one of the world’s largest retailers of sporting goods.

Decathlon is present in over 50 countries with more than 1,600 stores globally and has been partnering with Geek+ on a successful two-year collaboration in its e-commerce and retail fulfillment centers in Shanghai.

Decathlon has now accelerated its automation program, with AMR deployments at two new sites in China. The installations were implemented remotely in under three months, following strict pandemic restrictions. [Read more…] about Geek+ powers remote operations and new deployments for Decathlon in China

Geek+ streamlines e-commerce supply chain company Winit’s warehouse operations

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Geek+, an autonomous mobile robot manufacturer, is providing smart logistics solutions for to Winit, an integrated supply chain solutions provider for cross-border e-commerce.

Winit serves e-commerce leaders like eBay, and Geek+ says its robots will enable enable more efficient and flexible operations at Winit’s fulfillment center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

With an inventory subject to a wide variety of products, massive SKUs, and a rapid increase in online sales, Winit has been looking for solutions that can streamline their warehouse operations, mitigate against management issues due to high turnover of warehouse workers, and enable flexible yet affordable scaling of operations. [Read more…] about Geek+ streamlines e-commerce supply chain company Winit’s warehouse operations

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