Robotics & Automation News

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NGen invests $5 million into manufacturing of disinfection robots

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Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), the industry-led organization leading Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster, is co-investing $5 million in projects leading to the development and production in Canada of automated hands-free disinfection technologies to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

Five outstanding projects have been selected for funding under NGen’s Disinfection Robot Challenge. With matching contributions from industry, total value of these projects will exceed $10 million.

In April NGen challenged companies to develop innovative robotic solutions that would reduce the number of healthcare associated infections to protect the safety of both patients and healthcare workers, or that would disinfect private spaces and facilities so that businesses could bring employees back to work in a safe and sanitized environment. [Read more…] about NGen invests $5 million into manufacturing of disinfection robots

Stäubli Robotics and Quantum Surgical create ‘centre of excellence’ to develop oncology robotics

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Stäubli Robotics and Quantum Surgical have launched a strategic partnership to create a centre of excellence in oncology robotics.

The alliance aims to strengthen the role of robotics in minimally invasive cancer treatments and to use the combined expertise of each company to create a world leader in patient care.

Quantum Surgical, an innovative surgical robotic company, is developing an innovative solution, that combines powerful software and a robotic platform to offer minimally invasive therapies in liver cancer. [Read more…] about Stäubli Robotics and Quantum Surgical create ‘centre of excellence’ to develop oncology robotics

Sprint Robotics launches innovation challenge with €50,000 for winner

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Sprint Robotics has launched a new industrial innovation challenge and has issued a call for robotic technologies for Cleaning & Fabric Maintenance.

Sprint Robotics announces the CFM Challenge, aiming to find demonstrable robotic technologies that can be used for the cleaning and fabric maintenance of storage tanks, pressure vessels, process piping, and their associated supporting infrastructure.

One winning solution provider will receive a reward of €50,000 and the opportunity to further develop their solution and its application. [Read more…] about Sprint Robotics launches innovation challenge with €50,000 for winner

Acieta launches new robotic machine loading cell

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Industrial automation specialist Acieta has launched a new, high-speed robotic machine loading cell. (See video below.)

The company says the system will enable manufacturers to solve labor and capacity challenges.

The global coronavirus pandemic has made it a challenging time for companies to recover fast and get production back up to speed to stay competitive in the market. [Read more…] about Acieta launches new robotic machine loading cell

Robotic camera offers social distancing solution, say its makers

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The makers of the robotic camera Solo Cinebot say their camera can offer a solution to production companies in this new world of social distancing. (See video below.)

Virtually every government in the world has stipulated social distancing rules, where people have to all stay two metres apart – even at work.

The Solo Cinebot system was the brainchild of Josh Shadid and Aaron Grasso and was created as a “response to filming needs at this unpredictable time”. [Read more…] about Robotic camera offers social distancing solution, say its makers

Scallog launches ‘Flexytote’ for its warehouse robots

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Scallog has launched what it calls “Flexytote” – a shelf unit – for its warehouse robots.

The French designer and manufacturer of robotic solutions is expanding its range with a new solution dedicated to multi-bin transfer in warehouse.

Scallog specializes in goods-to-picker robots, and says the Flexytote allows the automation of transfer, loading and unloading of bins and boxes during multi-order preparations. [Read more…] about Scallog launches ‘Flexytote’ for its warehouse robots

Realtime Robotics partners with Siemens to simplify integration of robotic workcells

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Realtime Robotics is partnering with Siemens to simplify the integration of robotic workcells into industrial facilities. (See video below.)

Realtime Robotics, which specialises in autonomous motion planning for industrial robots, says the initiative is part of its strategic partnership with Siemens Digital Industries Software division.

Realtime’s technology is being seamlessly integrated into the Tecnomatix portfolio, simplifying robot programming and workcell coordination by automating motion programming. [Read more…] about Realtime Robotics partners with Siemens to simplify integration of robotic workcells

AOT robot ready to cut human bones after passing surgical tests

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Advanced Osteotomy Tools says its surgical robot has successfully completed all the surgeries required for the “first-in-man” clinical study of the Carlo device for laser-assisted cutting of human bone.

AOT, a Swiss medical technology company, says the tests were undertaken on June 19, 2020. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the performance and safety of the system.

CARLO, short for Cold Ablation Robot-guided Laser Osteotome, is a surgical robotic platform, which is used to cut bones through cold laser ablation – that is, without conventional surgical tools. [Read more…] about AOT robot ready to cut human bones after passing surgical tests

5 ways robots are cleaning up the world’s oceans

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Written by Pippa Strickland from iDiveblue.com

Robotics have changed our lives in remarkable ways and when you consider the vastness of our oceans (which cover more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface), it makes sense that robotics is being harnessed to conduct research and preserve our ocean health.

From improving ship fuel efficiency to repopulating reefs and removing marine litter, here are five ways that robotic innovations are leading to a brighter future for our ocean-dwelling species. [Read more…] about 5 ways robots are cleaning up the world’s oceans

Scientists develop new method of teaching surgery to a robot

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A team of scientists has developed a new way of teaching surgery to a robot that they say is far more efficient than other methods.

In a paper entitled Semi-Supervised Representation Learning from Surgical Videos, the team at Cornell University calls its algorithm Motion2Vec.

The team – which is backed by Intel’s AI Labs, Google Brain, and UC Berkeley – says Motion2Vec learns from video observations “by minimizing a metric learning loss”. [Read more…] about Scientists develop new method of teaching surgery to a robot