Where Innovation Meets Imagination
A senior executive at industrial giant Omron foresees a time in which cars virtually build themselves in factories. (See interview below.)
Bruno Adam, director of Omron’s mobile robot business director in Europe, says that in the future, factories will operate completely differently.
The current process sees car bodies moved along a linear, straight production line where different robots and people work on their assembly.
[Read more…] about Omron robotics boss envisages cars building themselvesFlying cars have been around a long time, but only as test vehicles, often engineered and built by tinkerers who may have been seen as somewhat eccentric for even dreaming up such a machine.
But in the past couple of years, these “eccentric tinkerers” have been usurped by corporate bigwigs who maybe see a big market for the technology.
In the most recent development, a German company called Lilium has completed a successful test flight with its all-electric flying car.
[Read more…] about Lilium launches air taxi. Flying cars could take to the skies nextChris Roberts, head of industrial robotics at Cambridge Consultants, provides an overview of the jobs robots could potentially do in future
Cambridge Consultants recently announced a new technology for automating one of the most unloved jobs in a commercial kitchen – loading the dishwasher.
This technology combines innovative robotics with cutting edge AI to achieve something hitherto impossible – detecting and handling a wide variety of dirty crockery haphazardly arranged on a tray.
However, the fundamental techniques used in this product can be applied to a wider range of situations and problems. There are many different tasks that it is only now possible to automate.
[Read more…] about Wanted: Robot to load dishwasher. Must be carefulOne of the things many people have noticed about receiving goods they ordered online is the amount of empty space inside the box. Sometimes, more than 90 percent of the box is empty.
This is obviously inefficient and can result in much additional and unnecessary cost, from the amount of box material wasted, through the amount of wasted space within vehicles in transit, to name just two aspects.
While these inefficiencies have continued, for a long time, machines that automate the process of putting items inside boxes have been available. Not only can these machines box things up, they can also custom-build the box to fit the item on the fly.
[Read more…] about Amazon testing automated custom packaging machineSamsung has been showing off the robot the company uses to test the new Galaxy Fold smartphone. (See video below.)
The Galaxy Fold is a new type of smartphone – the main feature being the foldable screen.
The Galaxy Fold was scheduled for release a few days ago, but early reviews suggested that the foldable screen broke after a day’s use.
[Read more…] about Samsung shows off robot that tests Galaxy Fold smartphoneIf you’re among the millions of people who watched the sci-fi TV show Westworld and saw the folding smartphones used by some of the characters, you probably immediately thought, “I want one of those.”
That’s what we thought anyway.
And whereas the old, 1960s Star Trek showed off tablet computers and other technologies many decades before they were beamed into our collective – and possibly holographic – reality, nowadays, things happen slightly faster.
[Read more…] about Beam me up, Scotty. Or send me a foldable smartphoneAnki, a startup company which made robotic toy cars and trucks, is planning to close its doors, according to a report on the Recode website.
The company had raised more than $200 million in funding for the venture, and generated $100 million in revenue in 2017, but is now making all of its 200 employees redundant.
In a statement to Recode, the company says that it had been left “without significant funding” which meant it could not finance its hardware and software development plans going forward.
[Read more…] about Robotic toymaker Anki to close downFoxconn boss Terry Gou has confirmed that he is considering running for president in Taiwan’s general election next year, according to the South China Morning Post.
“I will decide in the next two days whether to run for president,” Gou told reporters at a seminar in Taipei earlier today. “I hardly slept last night thinking of the future of Taiwan and its security issues.”
He added that the 2020 presidential election will be “extremely critical in determining Taiwan’s future in the next 20 years in the political, defense and economic sectors”. [Read more…] about Foxconn boss Terry Gou considers automating the entire population of Taiwan
About four years ago, when Google first showed off its Glass product – a pair of hi-tech spectacles capable of running augmented reality apps – it was met with some scepticism, incredulity even.
Few people thought it would take off, as interesting as the idea was. Maybe people generally couldn’t see themselves walking around wearing glasses which could be seen as intrusive.
Theoretically, Google Glass could display images on pretty much everything and everyone you looked at while wearing them – and would people in your eyeline appreciate that? [Read more…] about You could be seeing things that aren’t there: Google Glass finds new home in old industries
Collaborative robots, smart glasses, exoskeletons and innovative work gloves are among the tech being integrated at plants across the group’s worldwide operations
German automaker BMW has been providing a glimpse into the advanced manufacturing technologies at several of its factories – in Germany and the US.
The company says it has been harnessing the potential of innovative automation and flexible assistance systems in production.
In doing so, BMW says it has modernized the work environment and increased the efficiency of its workforce. [Read more…] about BMW shows off its smart factory technologies at its plants worldwide
