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ABB Robotics to develop collaborative robot solutions for healthcare

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ABB is to introduce collaborative robots to medical laboratories as it opens a new healthcare hub at the Texas Medical Center (TMC) innovation campus in Houston, Texas.

The facility will be ABB’s first dedicated healthcare research centre when it opens in October 2019.

ABB’s research team will work on the TMC campus with medical staff, scientists and engineers to develop non-surgical medical robotics systems, including logistics and next-generation automated laboratory technologies.

[Read more…] about ABB Robotics to develop collaborative robot solutions for healthcare

Autonomous forklifts ‘raise the bar on safety’, says Seegrid

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Thousands of injuries related to manually driven forklifts are reported to US health and safety authority OSHA each year, and a fatal accident involving a manual forklift occurred approximately once per week in the US in 2018.

Many companies are adopting Seegrid vision-guided vehicles (VGVs) as a safe, efficient form of transport in their facilities.

There is no comparison between human industrial vehicle drivers and their Seegrid autonomous driving counterparts – the company claims that injury and fatality statistics prove that its technology is safer.

[Read more…] about Autonomous forklifts ‘raise the bar on safety’, says Seegrid

Omron releases full metal proximity sensor for auto industry

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Omron Corporation has launched the E2EW Series of Full Metal Proximity Sensors, which have the world’s longest sensing distances, the company claims.

The automotive industry needs lighter automobiles, for electric vehicles and low fuel consumption, encouraging the material change in automotive components from iron to aluminium.

This will increase mixed production lines containing iron and aluminium. Full metal proximity sensors are mainly used in welding processes. However, previous full metal proximity sensors have short sensing distances.

[Read more…] about Omron releases full metal proximity sensor for auto industry

Volkswagen agrees digital transformation roadmap

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Volkswagen will be investing up to €4 billion in digitisation projects up until 2023 – mainly in administration but also in production. At least 2,000 new jobs related to digitisation are to be created.

This has been agreed by the Board of Management and the General Works Council in their “digital transformation roadmap”.

Agile working methods, improved processes and digitisation are to reduce the burden on employees and speed up processes. Tasks that used to be performed manually are to be simplified through improved IT.

[Read more…] about Volkswagen agrees digital transformation roadmap

Digital Visual Management: Integration of Human-Centricity and Automation

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By Nicola Olivetti, Lean and Industry 4.0 Program Director, iObeya

Recently, a leading industrial journalist asked for an explanation about the pragmatic integration of human-centricity and automation. Below are my responses.

Question: How can you preserve a human-centric approach to collegial work in a highly automated environment?

Answer: Companies with an authentic Lean culture leverage automation to expand the scope of teams by granting real-time access to valuable information. This allows for important activity and relevant people (experts, partners, suppliers, customers) to co-operate in a horizontal and agile manner. [Read more…] about Digital Visual Management: Integration of Human-Centricity and Automation

Sick launches ‘first ever’ outdoor safety laser scanner

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Sensors manufacturer Sick is launching its newest safety laser scanner, outdoorScan3.

The company says outdoorScan3 is the first safety laser scanner certified to IEC 62998 for use in outdoor applications.

The outdoorScan3 allows automated guided vehicle systems to navigate safely through outdoor industrial environments.

[Read more…] about Sick launches ‘first ever’ outdoor safety laser scanner

Sick demonstrates ‘smart logistics’ system for warehouse automation

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Sensors supplier Sick showcased a new “smart logistics” system at the recent ProMAT Show, one of the world’s largest material handling exhibitions.

Sick says its system demonstrates how to obtain greater efficiency throughout supply chain operations.

Sick presented its new innovations under the banner of “Logistics Gets Smart”, and says they are designed to provide “highly efficient solutions for intralogistics applications”. [Read more…] about Sick demonstrates ‘smart logistics’ system for warehouse automation

Hirotec on long journey towards lights-out manufacturing with robots from Otto and Yaskawa

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“Lights-out manufacturing” is a term to mean the method of making things in a way that’s entirely automated and does not need humans to be involved in the process. 

Of course, humans initially set up the process, build the factory and so on, but the factory which outputs the final product only requires robotics and automation technology.

It’s an idea that has probably been explored in science fiction many times, but in reality, a fully automated factory that needs no human intervention at all is still a distant dream.  [Read more…] about Hirotec on long journey towards lights-out manufacturing with robots from Otto and Yaskawa

Robots now ‘essential’ to clinical diagnostic labs, says new report

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fl smith lab automation
Picture courtesy FL Automation

There is an $8.8 billion market for robotic laboratory automation systems, according to Kalorama Information.

The healthcare research firm just completed a report on lab robots, and notes the imbalance between the high demand for diagnostics and the lack of supply of qualified technicians.

Bruce Carlson, publisher of Kalorama, says: “More than two-thirds of clinical decisions are based on laboratory test results, and new tests are developed constantly.

“But a shrinking field of qualified laboratory personnel, while demand grows requires something to handle the tasks created.”  [Read more…] about Robots now ‘essential’ to clinical diagnostic labs, says new report

Industrial internet: The latest trends and challenges in systems integration

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Nick Boughton, sales manager of Boulting Technology, discusses the challenges connectivity poses for industry, particularly with regard to systems integration and the water industry

Our world is getting smaller every day.

Never before have remote locations been more accessible thanks to communications technology, smartphones and the internet.

Connected devices have infiltrated every aspect of our lives, including the most traditional industry sectors.

One question industry has been unsuccessful in answering refers to the number of connected devices that exist in the world at the moment. Gartner says that by 2020, the Internet of Things will have grown to more than 26 billion units.  [Read more…] about Industrial internet: The latest trends and challenges in systems integration