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Hexagon unveils automated platform to accelerate autonomous robotic quality assurance

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Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division, which supplies smart manufacturing technologies to giants from Volkswagen to Boeing, has unveiled its HxGN Robotic Automation, which it describes as a “pioneering robotic programming and control software” that enables non-specialist quality professionals to program industrial robots to perform fully automated quality inspection.

The platform enables manufacturers to equip greenfield factories or retrofit existing production lines with state-of-the-art autonomous optical inspection cells, accelerating time to market by eliminating historic bottlenecks while providing more complete data direct from the production line as products are made.

HxGN says its robotic automation enables manufacturers to accelerate adoption of Industry 4.0 by intelligently devising optimal inspection routines in a single step; a task that would typically demand significant time and attention from both a metrology and robotics professional. [Read more…] about Hexagon unveils automated platform to accelerate autonomous robotic quality assurance

ABB unveils two new OmniCore robot controllers

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ABB has expanded its OmniCore robot controller range with two new versions – the E10 and the V250XT. The company says the new controllers provide for an even wider range of manufacturing applications.

ABB says the two new products in its OmniCore range “meet the demand for faster, more efficient production”.

Available for a range of robots across ABB’s portfolio, the new E10 and V250XT controllers offer “best-in-class motion control”, says ABB, as well as 20 percent energy savings and future-proofing through built-in digital connectivity and 1000+ additional functions to meet changing requirements. [Read more…] about ABB unveils two new OmniCore robot controllers

Door locking systems manufacturer turns to Delta for machine vision robotic solution

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Metal LS, a Bulgarian manufacturer of door locking systems, door and window handles and building hardware, started planning the new automated assembly of door locks in 2019.

The robotic systems that the company already used for other applications were too large for the planned production site, so the new solutions needed to be as compact and precise as possible, in addition to being state of the art.

Door and security locks are precision parts with standard dimensions and components stipulated in DIN standards. Therefore, quality and precision were especially important deciding factors for Metal LS. [Read more…] about Door locking systems manufacturer turns to Delta for machine vision robotic solution

Robot-assisted assembly of high-voltage connectors for electric vehicles

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Assembling high-voltage connectors for electric and hybrid vehicles at a rate of 5 million per year calls for sophisticated automation solutions. Especially when regular retooling for new models and variants is the norm. Against this background, a pioneering system with six Stäubli robots, 13 image processing systems and inline quality control at every stage is now ensuring highly flexible production.

Electro-mobility is the buzzword of our times, and the market for vehicles with electric drives is steadily gaining momentum worldwide. For some time now, this trend has also been spurring demand for the type of assembly solutions for electric components offered by specialized machine builders such as Eberhard. The company, based in Schlierbach near Stuttgart, Germany, was recently asked by a multinational automotive supplier to implement a complex project.

Specifically, it involved the planning and realization of an assembly line for high-voltage connectors. The system would have to not only perform the actual assembly work, but also the visual inspection at each stage, the testing of every single connector for leak-proofing, and finally the packing of the finished high-voltage connectors in trays. [Read more…] about Robot-assisted assembly of high-voltage connectors for electric vehicles

Social robots deserve our appreciation, bioethicist says

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If you have sex with an android doll and then knock it around the room, are you being abusive? If you’re in a foul mood and boot your robotic pet down the stairs, are you being a jerk? In either scenario, is the device’s owner culpable of bad behavior?

The questions may sound insincere, but a US bioethicist submits that they raise concerns that societies should address as humans increasingly rely on social robots for companionship and emotional support.

Nancy Jecker, a bioethicist at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, authored a newly published paper in the journal AI & Society. It asks a provocative question – “Can we wrong robots?” – and argues that the answer is “yes”. [Read more…] about Social robots deserve our appreciation, bioethicist says

A system for designing and training intelligent soft robots

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‘Evolution Gym’ is a large-scale benchmark for co-optimizing the design and control of soft robots that takes inspiration from nature and evolutionary processes

Let’s say you wanted to build the world’s best stair-climbing robot. You’d need to optimize for both the brain and the body, perhaps by giving the bot some high-tech legs and feet, coupled with a powerful algorithm to help enable the climb.

Although design of the physical body and its brain, the “control”, are key ingredients to letting the robot move, existing benchmark environments favor only the latter. Co-optimizing for both elements is hard – it takes a lot of time to train various robot simulations to do different things, even without the design element.

Scientists from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), aimed to fill the gap by designing “Evolution Gym”, a large-scale testing system for co-optimizing the design and control of soft robots, taking inspiration from nature and evolutionary processes. [Read more…] about A system for designing and training intelligent soft robots

Top 10 Most Liked and Popular Robotic YouTube Channels

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Robotics remains one of the most popular subjects that individuals like to post videos about on YouTube. You should know that if you want to buy cheap YouTube likes, that is one way to get the engagement numbers you crave as a content creator.

However, if you know about robotics and can develop some interesting videos using those as subject matter, you are likely to find success.

We’ve come up with ten of the most liked and subscribed robotics video channels if you’re interested in seeing what we mean. Maybe you might check out these channels and decide which one you’d like to use as a model for your own robotics-based content. [Read more…] about Top 10 Most Liked and Popular Robotic YouTube Channels

Stanley Engineered Fastening achieves automated quality inspection with Universal Robots

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Universal Robots, the world’s leading collaborative robot provider, says Stanley Engineered Fastening has successfully introduced robotic quality inspection using its collaborative robots.

15 UR3e cobots act as key components in its brand-new cells for Breakstem autonomous manufacture which have reduced product costs by approximately 10 percent and shortened lead times by up to 70 percent.

They are producing approximately 350 million fasteners per annum from across the company’s product range. [Read more…] about Stanley Engineered Fastening achieves automated quality inspection with Universal Robots

ATI Industrial Automation launches new robotic tool changer to ‘unlock productivity for smaller robots’

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ATI Industrial Automation is releasing a new standard tool changing option for smaller robots.

The QC-29 Robotic Tool Changer brings the powerful and rugged technology of ATI’s Heavy Duty Tool Changers to robots in the 25-35 kg payload class.

The QC-29 is the first standard ATI Tool Changer designed with a rectangular body that mounts directly to 40 mm and 50 mm robot wrists. [Read more…] about ATI Industrial Automation launches new robotic tool changer to ‘unlock productivity for smaller robots’

Opinion: Warehouse robots are playing a vital role in keeping supply chains from completely toppling

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In the warehouse, robots aren’t replacing workers. They’re playing a vital role in keeping the supply chain from completely toppling, says Mike Futch, CEO of Tompkins Robotics

What do robotics look like in the modern world of warehousing and distribution?

If you’re like many, you might envision a large, heavy, steel system that’s bolted to the floor, with an arm twirling in a repetitive motion performing some task of sorting or tagging. The machine is stationary. It stays in one spot, performing the same function, day after day.

Let me tell you: That’s your grandad’s robotics. Today, the supply chain relies on a growing fleet of small, automated robots that are portable, scalable and modular. They’re also configurable, so their jobs can change as needed by their users, whether it’s warehouses and distributors, retailers, manufacturers, third-party logistics providers, freight shippers and so on. [Read more…] about Opinion: Warehouse robots are playing a vital role in keeping supply chains from completely toppling