Robotics & Automation News

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safety

Festo Didactic and SICK release new curriculum for robot safety awareness

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Smart Technology is rapidly evolving, especially in the automation and engineering space. This can make it difficult for professionals and aspiring engineers to be adequately prepared throughout their careers.

Festo Didactic, a leading equipment and solution provider for industrial and technical education, developed the program to holistically teach students robot safety. Students can learn the latest industry best practices and become valuable contributors to their employer from the first day on the job.

With safety as the main focus, Festo Didactic and SICK created a Safety Awareness Bundle that combines curriculum and hardware. The content of the curriculum focuses on robot risk assessments as well as the implementation of the system approach vs automation à la carte. [Read more…] about Festo Didactic and SICK release new curriculum for robot safety awareness

Mercedes-Benz claims its ‘Drive Pilot’ is world’s first internationally certified Level 3 automated car technology

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Mercedes-Benz says its Drive Pilot automated driver assistance system has become the world’s first internationally certified Level 3 automated car technology. The company adds that it backs redundancy for safe conditionally automated driving.

When it comes to conditionally automated driving (SAE Level 3), safety and reliability are the top priorities for Mercedes-Benz. Drive Pilot is therefore based on a system architecture that enables safe control of all situations that could potentially arise.

To this end, braking, steering, power supply and some parts of the sensor system are designed with physical and functional redundancy. By adopting this safety‑focused approach to system design, Mercedes-Benz is setting completely new benchmarks in automated driving. [Read more…] about Mercedes-Benz claims its ‘Drive Pilot’ is world’s first internationally certified Level 3 automated car technology

Dobot introduces expanded lineup of non-contact cobots

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Collaborative robot manufacturer Dobot and its US-based master distributor DB Cobots have unveiled the addition of its 3 kg and 10 kg collaborative robots to the existing 5 kg version of the Safe Skin model previously available.

This expanded lineup will enable more industries and companies to use cobots with the safest technology available in their automation, says the company.

Dobot’s standard line of Industrial Cobots are inherently safe by stopping when the arm makes contact with an object. [Read more…] about Dobot introduces expanded lineup of non-contact cobots

Seoul Robotics demonstrates technology that enables cars to park themselves

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Imagine driving a car – one without self-driving capabilities – to a mall, airport or parking garage, and using an app to have the car drive off to park itself. Software company Seoul Robotics is using Nvidia technology to make this possible – turning non-autonomous cars into self-driving vehicles.

Headquartered in Korea, the company’s initial focus is on improving first- and last-mile logistics such as parking. Its Level 5 Control Tower is a mesh network of sensors and computers placed on infrastructure around a facility, like buildings or light poles – rather than on individual cars – to capture an unobstructed view of the environment.

The system enables cars to move autonomously by directing their vehicle-to-everything, or so-called V2X, communication systems. These systems pass information from a vehicle to infrastructure, other vehicles, any surrounding entities – and vice versa. V2X technology, which comes standard in many modern cars, is used to improve road safety, traffic efficiency and energy savings. [Read more…] about Seoul Robotics demonstrates technology that enables cars to park themselves

General Motors and Red Hat partner to develop software-defined vehicles

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Automotive giant General Motors and open source software provider Red Hat have formed a partnership to “help advance software-defined vehicles at the edge”.

The companies expect to expand an ecosystem of innovation around the Red Hat In-Vehicle Operating System, which provides a functional-safety certified Linux operating system foundation intended for the ongoing evolution of GM’s Ultifi software platform.

The collaboration between Red Hat and GM is a significant moment in the convergence of the transportation and technology industries, with Red Hat’s cloud-native, enterprise-grade open source operating system accelerating the development of GM’s software-defined vehicle programs following Ultifi’s initial launch. [Read more…] about General Motors and Red Hat partner to develop software-defined vehicles

Baidu granted China’s ‘first-ever’ permits for commercial driverless ride-hailing services

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Baidu, China’s equivalent of Google, has secured the first permits in China to offer commercial fully driverless robotaxi services to the public on open roads.

Apollo Go, Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service, is now authorized to collect fares for robotaxi rides – completely without human drivers in the car – in Chongqing and Wuhan, two of China’s largest megacities.

Amid increasing regulatory approval of the expansion of autonomous vehicles (AVs), the permits reflect regulatory authorities’ strong recognition and trust in the strength of Baidu’s autonomous driving technology. [Read more…] about Baidu granted China’s ‘first-ever’ permits for commercial driverless ride-hailing services

SICK and Aeva partner to bring 4D LiDAR to industrial sensing applications

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Aeva, a leader in next-generation sensing and perception systems, and SICK announced a strategic multi-year collaboration to bring Aeva’s Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) 4D LiDAR to a variety of industrial sensing applications including long-range sensing, starting with Aeries II.

Dr Niels Syassen, member of the board responsible for technology and digitization at SICK, says: “We are pleased to partner with Aeva and work closely together to bring its FMCW technology to high performance industrial sensing applications.

“We are convinced that their unique approach to FMCW technology, which includes instant velocity detection and long-range performance, will provide new opportunities for us and our customers in a variety of industrial sensing applications where traditional time of flight LiDAR technologies are challenged.” [Read more…] about SICK and Aeva partner to bring 4D LiDAR to industrial sensing applications

634AI to install 200 autonomous mobile robots in Musashi manufacturing facilities worldwide

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634AI, the developers of Maestro, an artificial intelligence-enabled control tower for indoor mobility management, and Musashi Seimitsu, a global tier-1 auto part manufacturer, have signed an agreement to install 200 autonomous mobile robots, powered by Maestro, across Musashi Seimitsu’s 35 manufacturing facilities worldwide.

634AI’s Maestro powered AMRs will be used to automate Musashi Seimitsu’s intra logistics operation and increase the safety and efficiency of activity on its manufacturing floors.

Musashi Seimitsu, a global transmission gear manufacturer, is a major shareholder in 634AI. After two years of testing 634AI’s Maestro in live manufacturing facilities in Japan, Musashi Seimitsu will be rolling out 634AI’s AMRs under the management of Maestro over the next four years. [Read more…] about 634AI to install 200 autonomous mobile robots in Musashi manufacturing facilities worldwide

Veo Robotics named in CB Insights’ advanced manufacturing top 50

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Business research website CB Insights has named Veo Robotics, the Waltham-based industrial automation company building sensing and intelligence for robots to collaborate with humans safely, to its first-annual Advanced Manufacturing 50 ranking, showcasing the 50 most promising private advanced manufacturing companies in the world.

Founded by Patrick Sobalvarro, Clara Vu, and Scott Denenberg, Veo has pioneered the creation of software and hardware that allow for fluid, efficient, and flexible production lines within manufacturing facilities.

Also making the list within the robotics and collaborative robots category were Rokae, Novarc Technologies, Linkwiz, Exotic, and Locus Robotics. [Read more…] about Veo Robotics named in CB Insights’ advanced manufacturing top 50

5 Modern Technologies Improving Workplace Safety

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Top 5 Types of Technology to Keep Workplaces Safe



Workplace safety should be at the forefront of business owners’ minds and the employees who work at these places.

There are a lot of industries that you traditionally think of as being dangerous, especially industrial plants and factories, but the reality is that accidents can happen anywhere, including seemingly unthreatening places like hotels and stores.

If you’re looking for ways to decrease the OSHA recordable incidents at your workplace, take a look at some of these technologies that are improving workplace safety. [Read more…] about 5 Modern Technologies Improving Workplace Safety