Robotics & Automation News

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Lucas presents Comau to France

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Robotics and automation distributor Lucas is presenting Comau robots to its French market at an event this week.

Lucas signed a deal with Comau as an official distributor of its robots in France. Lucas, is a long-established French company based in Bazas, and has been active for over 50 years in manufacturing and supplying linear axis and Cartesian robots.

Lucas organized an open house October 12 and 13 in order to present the new partnership with Comau, and a series of products and active robot cells to the market and French media.  [Read more…] about Lucas presents Comau to France

Universal Robots launches in Sri Lanka

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The pristine island of Sri Lanka with its serene Buddhist culture will make way for a technology pit-stop for one of the world leaders in the concept of collaborative robotics.

Universal Robots, which claims to have pioneered collaborative robots or “cobots” as they are sometimes called, has launched its machines into the Sri Lankan market and talked about the availability of this technology to various industries.

The event was attended by the key stakeholders that define this technology, including the general manager of the company in the India and Sri Lanka region, and a host of other dignitaries representing the government and customers.  [Read more…] about Universal Robots launches in Sri Lanka

Logistics robots: The way you move

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As Joni Mitchell once sang, and Janet Jackson reiterated, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone”.

So it was when Amazon bought Kiva Systems in 2012 for a chart-topping $775 million.

Now one of the world’s largest online retailers, Amazon is also growing its logistics business, with 30,000 Kiva robots working away at its warehouses all over the world. [Read more…] about Logistics robots: The way you move

Fanuc launches two new small collaborative robots to go with its big heavy one

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Fanuc has introduced a range of new collaborative robots – the CR-4iA and CR-7iA table-top size collaborative robots – and its CR-35iA heavy-payload collaborative robot.

The CR-7iA, CR-7iA/L, and CR-4iA collaborative robots follow the launch of the larger CR-35iA collaborative robot.

Greg Buell, product manager, Fanuc America, says: “Our collaborative robots are equipped with highly-sensitive contact detection allowing them to share workstations with people.

“This is a major safety and cost benefit as it allows the robot to perform more strenuous tasks or repetitive operations without the need for expensive industrial safety barriers.”  [Read more…] about Fanuc launches two new small collaborative robots to go with its big heavy one

Omron launches ‘AI-equipped’ mobile robot for logistics

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Omron Adept has launched what it says is an artificial intelligence-equipped mobile robot.

The new vehicle was developed for indoor use by the company’s US subsidiary, Omron Adept Technologies.

Omron says it will release two variations of the Mobile Robot LD Platform in 33 countries simultaneously on January 20, 2017, as a “step toward realizing harmony between humans and machines in the field of manufacturing”.  [Read more…] about Omron launches ‘AI-equipped’ mobile robot for logistics

Chinese whispers: The most populous nation on Earth wants to replace millions of human workers with industrial robots it plans to manufacture

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Towards the end of last year, the nominally communist Chinese government announced that it wants China to become the world’s largest producer of industrial robots. 

In comments made in the past few months, China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have clearly stated their intention to embrace robots and the new industrial revolution brought about by internet connectivity and artificial intelligence.

In a speech to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jinping called for a “robot revolution”, saying: “Our country will be the biggest market for robots, but can our technology and manufacturing capacity cope with the competition? Not only do we need to upgrade our robots, we also need to capture markets in many places.”

And speaking at the China Association for Science and Technology conference in Beijing, Keqiang said the conference will “spur the the growth of the emerging robot industry and create the world’s largest robot market”.  [Read more…] about Chinese whispers: The most populous nation on Earth wants to replace millions of human workers with industrial robots it plans to manufacture

University of Pennsylvania’s Ghost Robotics launches Minitaur four-legged robot platform for autonomous vehicle applications

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Ghost Robotics says Minitaur four-legged robot built for highly-precise force feedback applications and movement across unknown, rough and vertical terrains 

University of Pennsylvania startup company Ghost Robotics has launched its first patent-pending direct-drive legged robot platform, Ghost Minitaur. 

Ghost Robotics specialises in the research and development legged, direct-drive or gearless and proprioceptive robotics technologies.

Founded by University of Pennsylvania PhD candidates, Avik De and Gavin Kenneally, Ghost Robotics is researching and building next-generation legged robots that are superior to wheeled and tracked autonomous vehicles in many field applications.  [Read more…] about University of Pennsylvania’s Ghost Robotics launches Minitaur four-legged robot platform for autonomous vehicle applications

Your next nurse could be a robot, say scientists who trained one

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Robots can successfully imitate human motions in the operating room, claim scientists

The nursing assistant for your next trip to the hospital might be a robot. This is the implication of research recently published by Dr Elena De Momi and colleagues in the open access journal Frontiers in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

Dr De Momi, of the Politecnico di Milano, in Italy, led an international team that trained a robot to imitate natural human actions. De Momi’s work indicates that humans and robots can effectively coordinate their actions during high-stakes events such as surgeries.

Over time this should lead to improvements in safety during surgeries because unlike their human counterparts robots do not tire and can complete an endless series of precise movements. The goal is not to remove human expertise from the operating room, but to complement it with a robot’s particular skills and benefits.  [Read more…] about Your next nurse could be a robot, say scientists who trained one

Yaskawa Motoman demonstrates new range of robots at IMTS

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Yaskawa Motoman has demonstrated a range of new automation solutions for material handling, human-robot collaboration, and mobile machine tending and material movement during IMTS 2016.  [Read more…] about Yaskawa Motoman demonstrates new range of robots at IMTS

Apple’s Liam robot helping drive innovation and eco-friendly technology

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With the development of innovative tech devices continuing at a rapid pace, global electronic waste is set to create a major problem. In research featured by Ecowatch, it revealed that e-waste is predicted to reach 65 million tons by 2017. 



One of the major contributors of e-waste is the disposal of mobile devices, particularly smartphones that get replaced quickly as mobile manufacturers continue to introduce better models annually.

However, Apple plans to change the game by producing top of the line smartphones while offering a reliable recycling robot to quickly deconstruct iPhones and saves its components. 

Introduced earlier this year, Liam is made up of 29-armed robotic modules that focuses on taking apart an iPhone in seconds.  [Read more…] about Apple’s Liam robot helping drive innovation and eco-friendly technology