Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

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Humanoid robots: Stepping out of science fiction, into the real world

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For many decades, science fiction films and books have described and shown us a variety of humanoid robots that range from ones that look clearly mechanical and follow simple orders and have limited functionality to ones that are indistinguishable from human beings in appearance but are far stronger, faster and more capable in many ways.

And over those decades, audiences have been encouraged to imagine such robots as figments of the imagination, something for the future – a future after our own lifetimes.

Now, however, instead of waiting there for us to die and spare us from having to deal with it, that future is hurtling towards us with unsettling speed.

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Virginia Tech innovates underwater robotics with support from the Office of Naval Research

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It’s been said that we know more about the surface of the moon than the floor of Earth’s oceans. For more than two decades, Virginia Tech’s Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics has been developing robots that can find what lies beneath the sea surface with the support of the Office of Naval Research.

Bringing together faculty and students from the College of Engineering and the Virginia Tech National Security Institute, the center is developing advanced underwater robots and autonomy algorithms that enable them to operate intelligently without human oversight.

The research team recently was awarded two grants totaling more than $5 million to continue that mission. Two additional grant proposals, totaling about $2.4 million, have been selected by the agency and awards are in process. [Read more…] about Virginia Tech innovates underwater robotics with support from the Office of Naval Research

Mobile robot shipments set to grow from 547,000 to 2.8 million by 2030, says report

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Mobile robot shipments will remain the highest across all robot form factors. ABI Research, a technology intelligence firm, forecasts shipments to grow from 547,000 units in 2023 to 2.79 million by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of 24.1 percent.

Mobile robots are most used within warehousing and logistics, but the form factor is increasingly essential in manufacturing, last-mile delivery, agriculture, and healthcare. Mobile robots demonstrate efficiency improvements for diverse applications varying from cleaning to security.

Accordingly, revenue generated from mobile robots will rise from $18 billion to $124 billion by 2030, a CAGR of 23.6 percent. [Read more…] about Mobile robot shipments set to grow from 547,000 to 2.8 million by 2030, says report

Exotec expands pharmaceutical sector portfolio through partnerships with Hygie31 and Hartmann

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Exotec, a provider of warehouse automation and robotics solutions, has agreed partnerships with two new organisations in the pharmaceutical sector: Hygie31 and Hartmann Group. Both companies will adopt Exotec’s Skypod robotic system to automate warehouse processes and increase efficiency.

Hygie31, a major player in the healthcare industry has chosen Exotec to transform its pharmacy Dhygietal logistics platform, with the Skypod robots implemented at the company’s La Veuve warehouse.

The Exotec installation covers 1,500 sq m and comprises 38 Skypod robots, moving autonomously in all directions and up to 11 metres in height.

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Kuka establishes new software and digital business segment

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The long-established German-based automation company Kuka, which is known worldwide for its orange industrial robots and automation solutions, is expanding its software and digital operations, and establishing a new business unit called Kuka Digital.

The company’s goal is the end-to-end digitalization of a wide range of machines and systems in production, from the first 3D simulation to connectivity and data analysis through to the use of artificial intelligence.

Software is playing an increasingly important role in mechanical engineering. What used to be mostly solved mechanically is now done by electronics and the associated software.

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Relay Robotics calls for creation of SAE-style autonomy levels for indoor robots

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Relay Robotics – a provider of indoor robots mainly used in hotels and hospitals to deliver small items – is calling for the creation of a framework for indoor robots similar to that for autonomous road cars.

The SAE – short for Society of Automotive Engineers – released a guidance in 2014 which defined levels of autonomy in automotive vehicles from 0 to 5, and this has become the standard reference for the automotive industry.

Now, in a detailed article, two robotics experts at Relay Robotics – Sonali Deshpande, senior navigation engineer, and Jim Slater, robot systems architect – have outlined a set of definitions which the company hopes will help the wider industry develop such a framework for indoor robots.

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Universal Robots unveils its AI Accelerator

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Universal Robots, the Danish collaborative robot (cobot) company, has presented for the first time the UR AI Accelerator – a ready-to-use hardware and software toolkit created to further enable the development of AI-powered cobot applications.

Designed for commercial and research applications, the UR AI Accelerator provides developers with an extensible platform to build applications, accelerate research and reduce time to market of AI products.

The toolkit brings AI acceleration to Universal Robots’ (UR) next-generation software platform PolyScope X and is powered by Nvidia Isaac accelerated libraries and AI models, running on the Nvidia Jetson AGX Orin system-on-module. [Read more…] about Universal Robots unveils its AI Accelerator

MiR to unveil new ‘mobile collaborative robot’ at Madrid trade show

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Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) has unveiled its new innovation – the MC600 mobile collaborative robot (cobot), the latest addition to its growing list of MiR Go Approved products.

The new machine probably fits the new and distinct category of “industrial mobile robot”, or IMR, as defined in the relevant ANSI/RIA standard.

Capable of handling payloads up to 600 kg (1322 lbs), the MC600 combines the MiR600 mobile robot base with the UR20/UR30 collaborative robot arms from Universal Robots (UR) to automate complex workflows in industrial environments.

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Flexiv unveils ‘smarter solution’ for robotic programming

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Flexiv, a developer of general-purpose robotics solutions, has launched “Elements Series 3”, the latest evolution of the adaptive robot control system that the company says “makes programming faster, easier, and more capable than ever before”.

Designed to simplify the complex, Flexiv’s engineers have reimagined the user experience from the ground up, focusing on human-centered design and advanced, semi-automated features.

With a new rugged teach pendant, and intuitive easy to use software, be they in the office or the production line floor, robotic programmers of any skill level can easily create and manage robotic applications. [Read more…] about Flexiv unveils ‘smarter solution’ for robotic programming

Fieldwork Robotics partners with specialist manufacturer Burro

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Fieldwork Robotics, a developer of selective, adaptive and modular harvesting robots, has signed a collaboration agreement with Burro, a manufacturer of autonomous and collaborative mobile robot platforms.

Raspberry growers are particularly impacted by the significant and growing labour crisis affecting the agricultural sector.

As cost of labour grows driven by minimum wage increases and availability of labour remains pressured, growers are looking towards innovation to mitigate against labour cost headwinds and against the inevitable greater challenge of seasonal worker availability in the future. [Read more…] about Fieldwork Robotics partners with specialist manufacturer Burro