Robotics & Automation News

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New ABB study on industrial transformation unveils ‘critical relationship between digitalization and sustainability’

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ABB has released the findings of a new global study of international business and technology leaders on industrial transformation, looking at the “critical intersection of digitalization and sustainability”.

The study, Billions of better decisions: industrial transformation’s new imperative, examines the current take-up of the Industrial Internet of Things and its potential for improving energy efficiency, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and driving change.

The goal of the new ABB research is to spur discussion within industry regarding opportunities to leverage the Industrial IoT and empower companies and workers to make better decisions that can benefit both sustainability and the bottom line. [Read more…] about New ABB study on industrial transformation unveils ‘critical relationship between digitalization and sustainability’

Uruguay to build world’s largest smart street lighting system in Montevideo

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National Narrowband Network Company (NNNCo), operator of the Australian national LoRaWAN network powered by Actility, has signed a contract with a European technology provider Wellness TechGroup, to provide IoT network coverage to 70,000 smart streetlights in Uruguay’s capital Montevideo.

LoRaWAN stands for low-power wide-area network. It defines the communication protocol and system architecture for the network, while the LoRa physical layer enables the long-range communication link. LoRaWAN is also responsible for managing the communication frequencies, data rate, and power for all devices.

The Montevideo infrastructure will include a private LoRaWAN network based on Actility’s ThingPark Enterprise IoT platform, and managed on customer premises. [Read more…] about Uruguay to build world’s largest smart street lighting system in Montevideo

Industrial robot sales have ‘strongest year ever’ in 2021

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Industrial robot sales in North America have had their “strongest year ever in 2021”, according to a new report by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).

Propelled by a surge in non-automotive sectors, the number of robots sold in North America set a new record in 2021, with 39,708 units sold at a value of $2 billion, a 14 percent increase over the previous high in 2017.

A3 says the number of robots sold in 2021 rose 28 percent over 2020. Record robot sales in the fourth quarter of the year – up 9 percent over Q4 2020 – demonstrated the strong momentum already realized through the previous nine months as more industries look to automation to increase productivity and alleviate ongoing labor shortages. [Read more…] about Industrial robot sales have ‘strongest year ever’ in 2021

STIHL acquires stake in line-marking robot maker TinyMobileRobots

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German industrial group STIHL, a manufacturer of chainsaw power tools, forestry machinery and robotic lawn mowers, has made a significant investment in the Danish robotics company, TinyMobileRobots.

STIHL says its robotic lawn mowers “share a strong technical kinship” with the advanced and fully autonomous line-marking robots produced by TinyMobileRobots, which are intended for use in sports fields, road construction, agriculture and other sectors.

STIHL Group has been closely following TinyMobileRobots’ rapid international growth in recent years, as the company has doubled in size each year. [Read more…] about STIHL acquires stake in line-marking robot maker TinyMobileRobots

Universal Robots reports record revenue of $311 million

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Universal Robots, the Danish producer of collaborative robots, has reported record annual revenue of $311 million, 41 percent up on 2020 and 23 percent up on pre-pandemic results in 2019.

Kim Povlsen, the company’s president, says: “Universal Robots has had a great year. In a company like ours, which manufactures sophisticated hardware to high quality standards, this sort of growth requires tremendous commitment from all involved.

“Our production team in Denmark has broken internal records for the number of cobots built, producing 400 cobots in a single week in Q4. Our supply chain experts have worked hard to keep our business running smoothly despite global supply challenges.” [Read more…] about Universal Robots reports record revenue of $311 million

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’

Opinion: How to double up grocery logistics productivity with autonomous mobile robots

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With growing labour availability issues, how can grocery logistics operations significantly boost performance? Vincent Jacquemart, CEO at French autonomous mobile robot designer and manufacturer iFollow, offers a solution.

Faced with the likelihood of long term staff shortages and resulting rises in pay rates, warehouse and distribution centre operators in grocery and many other sectors are turning sometimes belatedly to automation. This is certainly an option but not all solutions deliver really significant productivity improvements.

Labour shortages in logistics have been building for some years, by no means just because of Brexit, and the inability to fulfil orders reliably is becoming an existential threat for many firms.

Logistics UK in October claimed that “13 percent of traders are reporting severe warehouse staff shortages”; in November the Cold Chain Federation noted “10 percent to 20 percent shortage rates” among its members. [Read more…] about Opinion: How to double up grocery logistics productivity with autonomous mobile robots

Advanced technology adoption will make Indian roads ‘accident-proof’

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A relatively new company called Hi Tech Robotic Systemz (THRSL) says India’s Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s vision for Indian roads will make vehicles “accident-proof”.

In a recent meeting of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC), the minister advocated for fixed driving hours for commercial truck drivers like that of pilots, as well as a policy mandating on-board sleep detection sensors in commercial vehicles to reduce road accidents in India and give relief to truck drivers.

The logistics sector, which is a key enabler and the backbone of any growing economy, is primarily dependent on drivers who operate for long hours in tough working conditions. [Read more…] about Advanced technology adoption will make Indian roads ‘accident-proof’

Global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales on track to exceed $100 billion in 2021 for first time

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Global sales of total semiconductor manufacturing equipment by original equipment manufacturers are forecast to reach a new high of $103 billion in 2021, surging 44.7 percent from the previous industry record of $71 billion in 2020, according to industry organisation SEMI.

SEMI released its findings in its Year-End Total Semiconductor Equipment Forecast – OEM Perspective at SEMICON Japan 2021.

The growth is expected to continue with the global total semiconductor manufacturing equipment market expanding to $114 billion by 2022. [Read more…] about Global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales on track to exceed $100 billion in 2021 for first time

Evocargo to exhibit autonomous logistics vehicle technology at CES

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Evocargo will showcase its cutting-edge services in cargo transportation based on their own electric unmanned vehicle in the Vehicle Tech category at the Consumer Electronics Show 2022, being held in Las Vegas from January 5-8.

Established in 2019, Evocargo will exhibit its Smart Logistic service based on unmanned all-electric platforms. Evocargo’s EVO.1 vehicle (3.5 tons full weight) will be displayed, featuring a payload capacity of 1.5 tons, power reserve of 155 miles and operating time of 20 hours with 40-minute charging time.

Evocargo’s all-electric/hydrogen autonomous vehicles ensure its customers’ operations are always on time, optimized and precisely coordinated through all process cycles. [Read more…] about Evocargo to exhibit autonomous logistics vehicle technology at CES