Robotics & Automation News

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Intelligent City raises $30 million to bring robotics and automation to prefabricated construction sector

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With pressure mounting for cities to address affordable housing needs, decarbonize buildings, and meet sustainability goals, housing technology company Intelligent City raised CAD 22 million ($17 million), bringing the total capital invested in the company to CAD 30 million ($23 million).

As one of the first companies in North America to apply automation and robotics to the design and manufacturing of prefabricated mass timber buildings, Intelligent City will use the funding to scale operations, commercialize its Platforms for Life (P4L) building solution, grow factory automation, and expand its footprint across and beyond Canada.

Earlier this year, the company completed testing of its building systems and is now verified to work within the new mass timber high-rise building codes in Canada and the US. [Read more…] about Intelligent City raises $30 million to bring robotics and automation to prefabricated construction sector

Key VPN Statistics: What Are the Numbers Telling Us?

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All over the world, individuals use virtual private networks (VPNs) to secure their connections to the internet. The encryption protects your activity from prying eyes, allowing you to browse the web with greater anonymity.

Furthermore, a VPN may replace your actual IP address with one from another region, allowing you to access material that would otherwise be. [Read more…] about Key VPN Statistics: What Are the Numbers Telling Us?

Global semiconductor equipment sales to reach $118 billion

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Global sales of total semiconductor manufacturing equipment by original equipment manufacturers are forecast to reach a record $117.5 billion in 2022, rising 14.7 percent from the previous industry high of $102.5 billion in 2021, and increase to $120.8 billion in 2023, SEMI reports in its Mid-Year Total Semiconductor Equipment Forecast – OEM Perspective at SEMICON West 2022 Hybrid.

Both the front-end and back-end semiconductor equipment segments are contributing to the market expansion. The wafer fab equipment segment, which includes wafer processing, fab facilities, and mask/reticle equipment, is projected to expand 15.4% to a new industry record of $101 billion in 2022, followed by a 3.2 percent increase to $104.3 billion in 2023.

Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI, says: “In line with the semiconductor industry’s determined push to increase and upgrade capacity, the wafer fab equipment segment is poised to reach the $100 billion milestone for the first time in 2022. [Read more…] about Global semiconductor equipment sales to reach $118 billion

Asia ‘most receptive to smart manufacturing’, says report

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Plex Systems, a Rockwell Automation company and provider of cloud-delivered smart manufacturing solutions, has released the results of its 7th annual study, The State of Smart Manufacturing Report.

The research reveals that smart manufacturing adoption accelerated by 50 percent globally in 2021, and these new technologies are now solving the industry’s critical challenges.

Asia-Pacific (APAC) organizations (93 percent) view smart manufacturing as “very” or “extremely” important to future success, compared to North America (84 percent) and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) (75 percent). [Read more…] about Asia ‘most receptive to smart manufacturing’, says report

Majority of US businesses looking to bring production closer to home

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Some 70 percent of US businesses are looking to bring production closer to home, according to a survey by industrial automation giant ABB.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical disputes, raw materials shortages and trade issues that have rocked global economies and supply chains, a majority of US-based companies are planning to relocate production closer to their facilities in America.

Surveying 1,610 executives in the US and Europe, ABB found that 70 percent of US businesses are planning changes in their operations, with 37 percent planning to bring production back home and 33 percent looking to nearshore and shift their operations to a closer location. [Read more…] about Majority of US businesses looking to bring production closer to home

German robotics and automation sector experiencing ‘booming demand’

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The robotics and automation industry in Germany is benefiting from a boom in demand, according to industry association VDMA.

In the first four months of 2022, order intake increased by 38 percent year-on-year. The dynamic market development had already been noticeable with the results for 2021, in which industry turnover rose by 13 percent – more than expected.

Frank Konrad, chairman of the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association, says: “The robotics and automation industry is booming. [Read more…] about German robotics and automation sector experiencing ‘booming demand’

Fictiv secures $100 million in funding to solve ‘urgent supply chain risks’

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Fictiv, a provider of on-demand manufacturing, has closed a $100 million Series E funding round.

Fictiv says this investment will advance its mission to accelerate product innovation with an expanded focus on decreasing supply chain risk through its best-in-category technology and product experience.

This unique combination of benefits helps Fictiv’s customers tackle both the continuous, competitive pressures to innovate faster and address the relentless, daily supply chain disruptions. [Read more…] about Fictiv secures $100 million in funding to solve ‘urgent supply chain risks’

automatica event to showcase future-ready production through robotics and automation

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How can global supply chains be made less vulnerable? How can we make production more sustainable and conserve resources?

And how to implement a quick transition towards digital production so that the European economy will be powerful and fit for the future?

Around 600 exhibitors from all over the world will provide answers to these questions and present solutions for the entire range of automation topics at automatica, the world’s leading robotics and automation exhibition, which will be held in Munich from June 21 to 24. [Read more…] about automatica event to showcase future-ready production through robotics and automation

Gideon launches autonomous case picking and process optimization solution

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Gideon, a warehouse robotics company, has launched Casey, an autonomous case picking and process optimization solution.

The new solution helps companies manage the severe labor shortages and surging e-commerce demand by automating and optimizing manual case picking. The rise of e-commerce, due to its higher labor intensity and customer expectations, is a clear signal that new automation solutions are the key to sustainable growth.

Recent forecasts – Statista data, for example, point to a 50 percent rise of e-commerce to $7.4 trillion worldwide by 2025 – add urgency. [Read more…] about Gideon launches autonomous case picking and process optimization solution

Worldwide installations of automated guided vehicles at seaports to exceed 150,000

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Seaports globally have increased their automation solutions or kickstarted automation initiatives to mitigate port congestion.

Equipment like gantries, automated port gates, stacking cranes, and horizontal transport solutions, such as automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that transport containers and loads to and from ships, have been the most productivity-enhancing solutions in seaports.

According to ABI Research, a global technology intelligence firm, worldwide AGV deployments in seaports will have a compound annual growth rate of over 26 percent from 2022 to 2027 and exceed 150,000 global deployments by 2027. [Read more…] about Worldwide installations of automated guided vehicles at seaports to exceed 150,000