Robotics & Automation News

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Delivery robot company Kiwibot expands operations to four cities in partnership with Knight Foundation

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Kiwibot, a robotic delivery service that has completed over 150,000 food deliveries with semi-autonomous robots, has expanded its operations to San Jose, Miami-Dade County, Pittsburgh, and Detroit. 

This implementation of sidewalk delivery devices is possible due to a partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which funds initiatives that ensure that “residents’ voices drive the future of people-centered, smart cities”, says the company.

Each of the four cities will be given up to 10 robots with one human supervisor, making deliveries across these urban zones more efficient and cost-effective through Kiwibot’s last-mile delivery network. [Read more…] about Delivery robot company Kiwibot expands operations to four cities in partnership with Knight Foundation

Savioke says hotels turning to its room service robot

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An increasing number of hotels are making enquiries to Savioke about its room service robots, according to the company.

As the hospitality industry struggles to adapt to changing consumer behavior during the coronavirus pandemic, many hotels are turning to room service robots to help wary travelers feel more at ease.

David Wang, director of sales and marketing at the Crowne Plaza San Jose – Silicon Valley hotel, in Milpitas, says: “Guests now think of it as a perk to not have a person come to their room. [Read more…] about Savioke says hotels turning to its room service robot

San Francisco looks like a scene from Blade Runner

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The original Blade Runner film was regarded as a cinematic classic partly because of its depiction of an eery, dystopic world where the sky is permanently a dark, dusty orangey colour, possibly suggesting acid rain or something slightly toxic in the air because of the dirty and polluting machines and factories down on the ground. 

It was a ground-breaking, startling view of the future and was in complete contrast to the vast majority of science fiction films that came and went before it as they mostly showed the future as relatively bright and pollution-free, or at least the colour of the sky wasn’t a consideration as such.

Now, in the real world, modern San Francisco is shrouded in a blanket of cloud that looks quite similar to the world of Blade Runner. The dramatic change has been caused by the “worst wildfires in the history of the state of California”, according to those who are tasked to deal with them. [Read more…] about San Francisco looks like a scene from Blade Runner

Scientists develop ‘flexoskeletons’ that cost a dollar to 3D print

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Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new method that doesn’t require any special equipment and works in just minutes to create soft, flexible, 3D-printed robots. (See video below.)

The innovation comes from rethinking the way soft robots are built: instead of figuring out how to add soft materials to a rigid robot body, the UC San Diego researchers started with a soft body and added rigid features to key components.

The structures were inspired by insect exoskeletons, which have both soft and rigid parts – the researchers called their creations “flexoskeletons”. [Read more…] about Scientists develop ‘flexoskeletons’ that cost a dollar to 3D print

Bosch and Mercedes-Benz start automated ride-hailing service in San José

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Bosch and Mercedes-Benz’s joint project to develop urban automated driving has now entered a new stage.

Their pilot project for an app-based ride-hailing service using automated Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicles has now been launched in the Silicon Valley city of San José.

Monitored by a safety driver, the self-driving cars shuttle between West San José and downtown, along the San Carlos Street and Stevens Creek Boulevard thoroughfares. [Read more…] about Bosch and Mercedes-Benz start automated ride-hailing service in San José

New lasers can weld ceramics without furnace, claim scientists

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Smartphones that don’t scratch or shatter. Metal-free pacemakers. Electronics for space and other harsh environments.

These could all be made possible thanks to a new ceramic welding technology developed by a team of engineers at the University of California San Diego and the University of California Riverside.

The process, published in the August 23 issue of Science, uses an ultrafast pulsed laser to melt ceramic materials along the interface and fuse them together. [Read more…] about New lasers can weld ceramics without furnace, claim scientists

University receives $1 million grant to improve collaborative robotics

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The envisioned intelligent material delivery system: a robot will sense when skilled workers need materials, and deliver them in advance. This will help reduce worker frustration, stress, and talent loss, and save approximately $1.7 million dollars an hour by reducing work stoppage problems, according to UC San Diego.

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have been given $1 million to research how to improve the way robots interact with people in US factories

Laurel Riek, a roboticist at the UC San Diego, will lead a three-year, $1 million project funded by the National Science Foundation to help change the role of robots in factories and make it easier for machines to work alongside people.

The goal of the project is to design an intelligent material delivery system, which supports and closely integrates with skilled workers in factories.

The researchers will investigate innovative, multi-disciplinary approaches to dramatically advance the state of the art in smart manufacturing and human-centered robotics.  [Read more…] about University receives $1 million grant to improve collaborative robotics

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