Robotics & Automation News

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Acieta launches mobile collaborative robotic work cell

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Now is an especially challenging time for machine shops facing capacity shortfalls and labor shortages. To address these struggles, Acieta has launched what it says is its “simplest to use, most flexible cobot solution ever” – the FastLoad CX1000 collaborative expandable robotic cell.

To prevent shop equipment from sitting idle, the FastLoad CX1000 is mounted on a mobile platform that one worker can move easily so it can be quickly set up at different machines around the shop.

The system is equipped with a Fanuc 10KG, 120 V collaborative robotic arm to master material handling tasks. It can be outfitted with up to three modular carts to handle a wide variety of parts or allow more parts in the queue. [Read more…] about Acieta launches mobile collaborative robotic work cell

Make Your Household Chores Easier With These 4 Gadgets

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A home is, by far, one of the biggest investments you can have. To ensure that it retains the utmost value, regular maintenance is key. A clean and organized atmosphere is also good for your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.

But household chores do not stop there. Every few days to a week, there is always laundry to take care of, dishes to be washed, and garbage to be managed. If you live in your own home or have a backyard, the lawn will also need to be attended to.

But one thing is for sure. Especially if you don’t have a Help, these tasks can prove to be overwhelming over time. This is why smart homeowners utilize technology to make their household tasks less of a losing uphill battle. With this having been said, here are four gadgets that can help make your household easier and probably more fun. [Read more…] about Make Your Household Chores Easier With These 4 Gadgets

Robotic and Automation News Review: Kassow Robots, Walmart, Wilson Logistics and much more…

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Robotics and Automation News Review Friday 25 September 2020

This is a new, weekly column which rounds up all the most interesting news from the robotics and automation industry in the past seven days, in brief form.

This Robotics and Automation News Review is also available to view on our YouTube channel. (See video below.)

Please support our website by subscribing to our YouTube channel, by sharing the stories we publish on your social media pages, and by purchasing premium subscriptions to RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com, as well as through corporate sponsorships and advertising.

[Read more…] about Robotic and Automation News Review: Kassow Robots, Walmart, Wilson Logistics and much more…

OnRobot launches robotic sanding system

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OnRobot has launched OnRobot Sander, an all-electric random orbital sander for automated finishing applications, including sanding and polishing.

Traditional sanding automation solutions often require a background in robotics to implement and maintain. With the launch of OnRobot Sander, manufacturers now have access to a complete out-of-the-box sanding tool that’s easy to use with all major collaborative and lightweight industrial robots.

The complete Sander package incorporates everything OnRobot customers need to get their sanding application started quickly and easily: a plug-and-play sanding tool, a variety of standard sanding and polishing pads, easy-to-use programming software, an optional force/ torque sensor and a Grit Changer that enables automated switching between different sanding grits without operator intervention. [Read more…] about OnRobot launches robotic sanding system

Service robotics market grows by 33 percent in China

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China’s robotics industry outlook remains positive post-Covid-19 outbreak, especially across manufacturing, hospitality, and healthcare sectors.

This is according to a new report, How is Covid-19 Shaping China’s Robotics Industry?, by YCP Solidiance, which highlights that the $8 billion robotics industry projects a positive long-term growth forecast highlighting robotic automation and its useful applications across different industries.

Investment Contraction in China Following Covid-19: The Covid-19 outbreak has caused investment contraction in Q1 2020 – between 50 percent to 57 percent year-on-year, setting off a difficult funding situation across China and globally. [Read more…] about Service robotics market grows by 33 percent in China

Innovative Ways for Robotics Companies to Step up Their Performance

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When we think about robotics, many of us automatically have the image of the robots from our favorite science-fiction movie or animation.

Robots in movies have incredible artificial intelligence and functions that often sees them at odds with the human characters.

In actual fact, robots are incredibly useful for our lives and robotic scientists are constantly coming up with new innovations which are advancing the development of new robotic technology at an incredible speed. [Read more…] about Innovative Ways for Robotics Companies to Step up Their Performance

Motiv brings space-grade robotics to industrial sector

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Motiv Space Systems is bringing space-grade robotics to Earth-bound industry. The company has built a number of innovative robots which are being tested at various companies and the robotic arm it supplied to NASA’s Mars project (main illustration) is also available to the market.

In an exclusive interview with Robotics and Automation News, Chris Thayer, CEO of Motiv, says the arm, in particular, has features that are essential in space but would also be applicable on Earth. (See video below.)

“Our robots are lighter weight than say a factory floor robotic arm,” says Thayer. [Read more…] about Motiv brings space-grade robotics to industrial sector

Ensenso 3D stereo camera system imitates human vision to make robotic inspection cells faster and more accurate

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The new Ensenso 3D stereo industrial camera system “imitates human vision” to make robotic inspection cells “faster and more accurate”, according to Imaging Development Systems (IDS).

Each Ensenso camera system contains two 2D IDS cameras to view the scene from different positions, similar to the way human eyes work, with artificial intelligence processing the data, rather like the human brain does.

“Special matching algorithms compare the two images, search for corresponding points and visualize all point displacements in a disparity map,” explains IDS. “This is then used to calculate depth information for the resulting point cloud.” [Read more…] about Ensenso 3D stereo camera system imitates human vision to make robotic inspection cells faster and more accurate

Robotic versus manual plasma cutting

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Plasma cutters are very powerful machines that have the ability to cut through metal. Some of them are powerful enough to go through very thick pieces. In fact, they can go through them like a knife through butter.

Plasma cutters are an essential piece of equipment for some welders. In fact, it does the complete opposite of a welding machine. Instead of fusing pieces of metal together, a plasma cutter is used to tear it apart.

During some point of work, it is necessary to cut through some pieces that you don’t need or when you are trying to shape something together. [Read more…] about Robotic versus manual plasma cutting

Scientists build robot to climb coconut trees

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A group of scientists has developed a robot that can climb coconut trees and harvest the delicious fruit, or nut, or whatever it is. (See video below.)

In a paper authored by nine authors, the researchers say there is “an acute shortage of human coconut tree climbers to harvest coconuts in India and other developing countries”.

In response, the team has built a robot called Amaran, which is described as “a novel robotic coconut tree climber and harvester”, and which can be operated through a smartphone. [Read more…] about Scientists build robot to climb coconut trees