Robotics & Automation News

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Inspection and Diagnostic Robots: What they Mean for Society

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Seventy percent of robots in the United States are employed in just four industries: auto-making, electronics, plastic and chemicals, and metals manufacturing.

Inspection and diagnosing play an important part in all these industries, so a variety of robots have been programmed to inspect equipment and diagnose problems as they arise.

Of course, inspection and diagnosis are not limited to manufacturing; they are the safeguards of society. AI diagnostics and autonomous inspection are helping us in more ways than we can imagine. [Read more…] about Inspection and Diagnostic Robots: What they Mean for Society

RMUS partners with Sarcos Robotics Guardian S ‘snake’ robot

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Rocky Mountain Unmanned Systems has partnered with Sarcos Robotics to distribute Sarcos’ Guardian S robotic crawler system.

The Guardian S robot is a compact, multi-purpose remote visual inspection tool ideal for industrial and public safety applications.

Its rugged design allows for deployment in challenging terrain and confined spaces while maintaining real-time situational awareness via wireless transmission from six high-resolution cameras and onboard audio sensors. [Read more…] about RMUS partners with Sarcos Robotics Guardian S ‘snake’ robot

RoboDK partners with RobCo SWAT to offer robotic simulation software solutions to automotive industry

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Canadian robot software provider RoboDK has teamed up with automation specialists RobCo SWAT from Bulgaria to provide the world’s leading automotive experts with advanced Industry 4.0 solutions.

Albert Nubiola, RoboDK’s co-founder and CEO, says: “We’re honored to partner with RobCo SWAT to provide flexible and efficient automation systems for global automotive car manufacturers such as Audi, Volkswagen, Lamborghini and Porsche.”

RoboDK offline programming and simulation software gives automation cell designers unprecedented robot simulation possibilities and supports simultaneous simulations of bespoke hardware devices alongside leading robot brands. [Read more…] about RoboDK partners with RobCo SWAT to offer robotic simulation software solutions to automotive industry

ABB expands RobotStudio with ability to control SCARA robots from PC

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ABB says it has “simplified” the use of its popular SCARA robots by giving users the ability to commission and control the robots from their PC through RobotStudio, ABB’s simulation and offline programming software.

Robot Control Mate is an add-on to RobotStudio, enabling users to jog, teach and calibrate robots from their computer, making it easier than ever to control a SCARA robot’s movements.

For the first time, ABB’s offline programming software can be used to control the physical movements of a robot in real-time. Robot Control Mate also makes robot programming possible when a FlexPendant is not in place. [Read more…] about ABB expands RobotStudio with ability to control SCARA robots from PC

Realtime Robotics unveils new robot controller computer

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Realtime Robotics, which specialises in motion planning for industrial robots and autonomous vehicles, has launched what a robot controller solution it calls “Realtime Controller”.

The solution dramatically reduces and simplifies the programming required to safely integrate robotic workcells, speeding up the time to deployment.

As the pressure intensifies to improve margins it will accelerate the adoption of robotic automation. [Read more…] about Realtime Robotics unveils new robot controller computer

Productive Robotics launches fourth collaborative robot model

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Productive Robotics has launched a fourth model of its next-generation teachable collaborative robots, the OB7-Stretch.

Productive says the OB7-Stretch is the cobot that customers have been asking for – “simple, affordable, and with a longer reach to handle parts and machines with longer distances”.

OB7-Stretch is similar to the standard OB7 5kg model, but longer with a reach of 1.25 meters and a slightly lower payload of 4kg. [Read more…] about Productive Robotics launches fourth collaborative robot model

How Robots Repair Aging Water Pipes

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Robots are incredibly useful when working in hard-to-reach areas, such as the cramped confines of the municipal water pipes.

But robots can perform the tasks of accessing and repairing these water pipes without facing the challenges that humans usually do.

Many companies are already building robots that can function in areas that are not easily accessible to humans. [Read more…] about How Robots Repair Aging Water Pipes

ABB offering digital services free of charge

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ABB is making its digital services available free of charge.

During this unprecedented crisis, ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation business says it is working to “help customers and partners keep production lines going and to enable businesses to continue to function while many are working from home”.

ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation business is making “key software services” available free of charge to our customers until the end of 2020. [Read more…] about ABB offering digital services free of charge

How to simplify the control architecture of cartesian coordinate robots

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By Barry Weller, product manager at Mitsubishi Electric

In order to remain competitive, it is generally accepted that industries should adopt lean manufacturing strategies to improve process efficiency.

A key action can be to reduce part count, that is to say the number of components in an assembly or system. This is particularly challenging when it comes to highly accurate cartesian coordinate (linear) motion applications.

In these cases, machine builders would often need to use both PLCs and computer numerical controllers (CNCs) in order to fully manage movement within the machine – until now. [Read more…] about How to simplify the control architecture of cartesian coordinate robots

Nuro puts its delivery robot into action against coronavirus

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Nuro, a California-based startup building small, wheeled autonomous delivery robots, is using its technology in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak in the US. (See video below.)

America now has the highest death toll in the world from Covid-19 and authorities have set up many temporarily hospitals and treatment centres across the country.

One of these temporary hospitals is located at the Sleep Train Arena, a basketball stadium which used to be the home of the Sacramento Kings, and another at the San Mateo County Event Center. [Read more…] about Nuro puts its delivery robot into action against coronavirus