Robotics & Automation News

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Magazino provides its Soto warehouse robot to automotive giant ZF

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Germany-based robotics company Magazino has won an order from automotive technology giant ZF Friedrichshafen for a pilot project with its Soto robot.

The mobile robot Soto automates material supply between the warehouse and the assembly line and transports small load carriers (KLT) completely autonomously.

The pilot project started at the Friedrichshafen site in the transmission assembly for commercial vehicles and offers both sides the opportunity to gain experience with the robot for live operation. [Read more…] about Magazino provides its Soto warehouse robot to automotive giant ZF

Yaskawa launches two new collaborative robots for industrial applications

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Yaskawa Motoman, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of industrial robots, has launched two new collaborative robots – HC10DTP and HC20DTP, each of which has six axes.

The company describes them as “highly reliable robots (that) enrich easy capability for Yaskawa’s HC-series line”.

Hand-guided programming allows users to direct teach points without a pendant, and an ISO standard tool flange and electrical connections facilitate a plug and play approach for easy deployment of the robot system. [Read more…] about Yaskawa launches two new collaborative robots for industrial applications

Swiss university shows brain-computer interface for controlling robots

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A Swiss university called the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne has showcased a new brain-computer interface that can be used to control robots. (See video below.)

Unlike previous BCI’s famously demonstrated to former US president, Barack Obama, the EPFL brain-computer interface does not require a hole to be drilled in the user’s head.

Two EPFL research groups teamed up to develop a machine-learning program that can be connected to a human brain and used to command a robot. [Read more…] about Swiss university shows brain-computer interface for controlling robots

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

Facebook files patent for robotic eyeball

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Social media giant Facebook has filed a patent for a robotic eyeball, according to a report on Gizmodo.com.

The “mechanical eyeball” is said to feature human-like abilities and can be integrated to humanoid or other types of robots.

Why Facebook, which recently rebranded itself as Meta, is developing a robot eyeball is subject to considerable speculation. [Read more…] about Facebook files patent for robotic eyeball

Robot designed by WHOI to explore underwater glacial walls to monitor climate change

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It’s the front line of climate change and could hold the key to predicting global sea level rise, but what goes on at the underwater face of Greenland’s glaciers is a mystery to science.

That could change in 2023 with a bold new mission led by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin that will explore three of Greenland’s glaciers with a submersible robot.

The voyage will be the first time Greenland’s glaciers – which make up the world’s second-largest ice sheet – will be seen up close underwater. [Read more…] about Robot designed by WHOI to explore underwater glacial walls to monitor climate change

Winter Olympics provide China opportunity to showcase its robots

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The Winter Olympics – or Beijing 2022 – are under way in China, and the country’s roboticists are using it as an opportunity to show off their technologies. 

This is not unexpected, of course. Japan used the Summer Olympics to showcase its engineering prowess in the area of vehicle technologies as well as robots.

In fact, there’s probably less robotic showing off going on in Beijing than one might have expected, given that China is now the world’s largest buyer of robots. It’s also now the world’s largest car market, much of which is slowly becoming autonomous. [Read more…] about Winter Olympics provide China opportunity to showcase its robots

Interview: Formic aims to change the way you integrate robotics and automation into your facility

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Formic Technologies is a new type of company which, itself, is the result of the huge changes that are occurring in the robotics and automation market, what with all sorts of new robots and technologies emerging, none of which is cheap to buy, and creating an increasing amount of complexity when it comes to implementing them in an integrated system at, say, a factory. 

In simple terms, you can hire robots – for example, Universal Robots collaborative robots – and other automation technologies from Formic. But it’s more than that. You can also have Formic design the implementation, and handle the integration, for which the startup company has many established partners.

And possibly Formic’s unique selling point is its promise to link its income from its customers to those customers’ success with the automation systems Formic installs. In other words, it’s a kind of like a robotics-as-a-service company which you can pay as you go according to a sliding scale – or “Easy to start, easy to scale”, as Formic likes to put it. [Read more…] about Interview: Formic aims to change the way you integrate robotics and automation into your facility

NEC unveils autonomous mobile robot control system

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NEC has developed a control technology that the company claims “doubles the efficiency of autonomous mobile robots” in warehouses while maintaining a high level of safety.

NEC plans to put this technology into practical use by March 2024 and to have it installed in NEC’s co-operative AMRs in Japan.

In recent years, the introduction of robots for transporting materials has accelerated due to labor shortages and large warehouses. [Read more…] about NEC unveils autonomous mobile robot control system

Stäubli launches new software to enable robot programming through PLCs

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Stäubli has launched uniVAL pi, a software solution that will enable robot programming to be implemented in the future via the PLC, using Plug & Play in Siemens TIA Portal.

A PLC, or programmable logic controller, is a type of small computer or device used to control machines in factories.

Stäubli’s new software is optionally an available communication interface, with which users can program Stäubli robots without manufacturer-specific, high-level language knowledge in their familiar environment – safely, quickly and efficiently, says the company. [Read more…] about Stäubli launches new software to enable robot programming through PLCs