Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

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MIT scientists find new way to help robots handle fluids

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Researchers create new simulation tool for robots to manipulate complex fluids in a step towards helping robots more effortlessly assist with daily tasks that deal with liquids

Imagine you’re enjoying a picnic by a riverbank on a windy day. (Why you chose to do this on a windy day was your own poor decision).

A gust of wind accidentally catches your paper napkin and lands on the water’s surface, quickly drifting away from you. You grab a nearby stick and carefully agitate the water to retrieve it, creating a series of small waves.

These waves eventually push the napkin back towards the shore, so you grab it. In this scenario, the water acts as a medium for transmitting forces, enabling you to manipulate the position of the napkin without direct contact. [Read more…] about MIT scientists find new way to help robots handle fluids

Why is cold storage better for bitcoin?

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Most likely, you’ve encountered a little bit regarding cryptocurrency. Even someone you know could have purchased some. You might even give it a go.

But what happens if you intend you safely and securely keep your Bitcoin and the products of your labour? Immediate Edge for Your Next Stock Portfolio Visit bitindexai.me to sign up right now.

In this situation, Cold Preservation is useful. Said cold storage is an offline method of keeping your cryptocurrency. Since of this, it cannot be hacked or subjected to other internet assaults because it is not linked to the internet. [Read more…] about Why is cold storage better for bitcoin?

MIT demonstrates reprogrammable materials that ‘selectively self-assemble’

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By Rachel Gordon, MIT CSAIL

While automated manufacturing is ubiquitous today, it was once a nascent field birthed by inventors such as Oliver Evans, who is credited with creating the first fully automated industrial process, in a flour mill he built and gradually automated in the late 1700s.

The processes for creating automated structures or machines are still very top-down, requiring humans, factories, or robots to do the assembling and making.

However, the way nature does assembly is ubiquitously bottom-up; animals and plants are self-assembled at a cellular level, relying on proteins to self-fold into target geometries that encode all the different functions that keep us ticking. [Read more…] about MIT demonstrates reprogrammable materials that ‘selectively self-assemble’

Edson to debut new robotic cell at Pack Expo

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Edson, a ProMach brand, is debuting its new KDF Stack Prep System, a robotic cell that automates the infeed area of a case packer, in booth N-5348 at Pack Expo 2022, October 23-26, at McCormick Place in Chicago.

Edson is a manufacturer of case and tray packing solutions for the converted paper, diaper, and nonwoven markets.

After stacks are loaded onto the case packer’s infeed conveyors, the KDF (knocked down flat) Stack Prep System prepares the cases by cutting bands and removing dunnage and other cardboard or paper materials used during transportation. The stacks are then straightened, squared, and presented to the case packer. [Read more…] about Edson to debut new robotic cell at Pack Expo

Intel’s new AI chip enables ‘real-time learning for robots’

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Intel Labs, in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Technology and the Technical University of Munich, has introduced a new approach to neural network-based object learning.

It specifically targets future applications like robotic assistants that interact with unconstrained environments, including in logistics, healthcare or elderly care.

This research is a crucial step in improving the capabilities of future assistive or manufacturing robots. It uses neuromorphic computing through new interactive online object learning methods to enable robots to learn new objects after deployment. [Read more…] about Intel’s new AI chip enables ‘real-time learning for robots’

Soft assistive robotic wearables get a boost from rapid design tool

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Scientists created a new design and fabrication tool for soft pneumatic actuators with integrated sensing, which can power personalized healthcare, smart homes, and gaming.

Soft, pneumatic actuators might not be a phrase that comes up in daily conversations, but more likely than not you might have benefited from their utility. The devices use compressed air to power motion, and with sensing capabilities, they’ve proven to be a critical backbone in a variety of applications such as assistive wearables, robotics, and rehabilitative technologies.

But there’s a bit of a bottleneck in creating the little dynamic devices that have advantages like high response rates and power to input ratios. They require a manual design and fabrication pipeline, which translates to a lot of trial and error cycles to actually test and see whether the designs will work. [Read more…] about Soft assistive robotic wearables get a boost from rapid design tool

Almost 50,000 robots expected to be shipped to warehouses by 2026

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More than 47,000 collaborative robots are expected to be shipped to warehouses by 2026, according to ABI Research, which included the estimate in its report, 38 Technology Stats You Need to Know for 2022.

The Covid-19 pandemic quickened the pace of digital transformation, placing technologies at the very center of how people live and work – and that pace shows no signs of slowing down.

In its new white paper, 38 Technology Stats You Need to Know for 2022, global technology intelligence firm ABI Research has identified and highlighted the most impactful forecasts that illuminate the direction in which digital transformation is truly heading. [Read more…] about Almost 50,000 robots expected to be shipped to warehouses by 2026

Scientists unveil robotic grippers ‘delicate enough to lift egg yolks and precise enough to lift a human hair’

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Engineering researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a new type of flexible, robotic grippers that they say “are able to lift delicate egg yolks without breaking them, and that are precise enough to lift a human hair”. (See video below.)

The work has applications for both soft robotics and biomedical technologies.

The work draws on the art of kirigami, which involves both cutting and folding two-dimensional (2D) sheets of material to form three-dimensional (3D) shapes. [Read more…] about Scientists unveil robotic grippers ‘delicate enough to lift egg yolks and precise enough to lift a human hair’

How to Become a More Eco-Friendly Industrial Business

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A few key industrial organizations around the world are now known to be the biggest culprits when it comes to emissions, so it’s as important as ever for production lines and other similar plants to begin moving toward more eco-friendly operations.

Thankfully, figuring out how your industrial business can reduce its carbon footprint and become a more environmentally conscious brand doesn’t have to be as difficult as you might expect, as there are in fact just a few key tips and tricks that you can make the most of to turn your green dreams into a reality in no time.

So, if you’re interested in finding out more, then simply read on. [Read more…] about How to Become a More Eco-Friendly Industrial Business

Ranpak launches ‘completely automated packaging solution’ in North America

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Ranpak, a provider of paper-based packaging solutions for e-commerce and industrial supply chains, has launched its AutoFill solution in North America.

AutoFill is described as a “next-generation, fully automated end-of-line packaging solution that enhances throughput, reduces labor costs, and ensures the optimal amount of void fill in each package”.

Ranpak’s proprietary solution uses smart sensors to scan the package, computing the box size and the volume of objects inside, and then dispenses the optimal amount of paper needed to protect items during shipping. [Read more…] about Ranpak launches ‘completely automated packaging solution’ in North America