Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

sensing

Sonair raises $6.8 million to develop ‘breakthrough’ 3D ultrasonic sensor

by

Sonair has closed a new funding round, led by Skyfall Ventures, to “propel the robotics industry into a new era of sensing technology”.

The investment introduces a completely new category of sensors that will transform a mobile robot’s spatial awareness from 2D to 3D, offering a significantly improved safety performance over traditional vision systems while cutting costs by 50-80 percent.

The company’s Early Access Program now counts AMR manufacturers, automakers, and distributors from across the world. [Read more…] about Sonair raises $6.8 million to develop ‘breakthrough’ 3D ultrasonic sensor

Security robots ‘deter crime and minimize risk’, says Knightscope

by

The concept of automated policing began as a science fiction concept years ago, but today it is “real and impactful”, according to security robotics specialist Knightscope.

The sophistication of robot-powered security is even more interesting than sci-fi to Stacy Stephens, the co-founder and chief client officer of Knightscope.

Launched in 2013, the Mountain View, California, public safety technology services company was the first in the world to deploy mobile, fully autonomous security robots (ASRs) in public spaces such as malls, parking lots and neighborhood parks. [Read more…] about Security robots ‘deter crime and minimize risk’, says Knightscope

Automation in Construction: Researchers develop automated system to measure strain and acceleration of precast concrete structures

by

Reserarchers at Chung-Ang University, South Korea have developed a smart portable sensing system for monitoring precast structures during delivery. The multimetric portable system uses an IoT sensor to simultaneously measure strain and acceleration of the structures real-time during delivery.

Precast concrete structures (PCS) reduce workforce dependency and construction time. However, they are subjected to vibrations and strain during transport from their manufacturing site to the construction site.

Effective quality control measures require continuous logging of vibration and strain measurement during the delivery, an essential feature that is missing in current systems. To this end, researchers have now developed a novel portable sensing system that can monitor strain and acceleration to enable efficient PCS delivery. [Read more…] about Automation in Construction: Researchers develop automated system to measure strain and acceleration of precast concrete structures

Lumotive and Axibo partner to bring lidar to cinematography automation

by

Lumotive, the developer of Light Control Metasurface (LCM) beam steering chips enabling the next generation of 3D sensors, and Axibo, a cinema robotics company and the developer of autonomous camera motion control systems, have unveiled Axibo’s Precision eJib – a unique, designed-for-cinema, 6-axis robotic arm with 3D sensing capabilities made possible with Lumotive’s LCM beam steering technology.

The jointly-developed solution gives photographers and videographers unparalleled capabilities such as smart object targeting and tracking, enhanced image stabilization, and ground-breaking new autofocus features, to produce far crisper images and films combined with automated scene capture.

Available initially for professional-grade cameras, and under development for consumer-grade cameras, this revolutionary photography and cinematography automation solution takes advantage of Lumotive’s LCM beam steering chips that deliver best-in-class performance, range, and size in the 3D sensing industry. [Read more…] about Lumotive and Axibo partner to bring lidar to cinematography automation

SICK launches new photoelectric sensor

by

SICK has unveiled its new Roller Sensor Bar (RSB) as an addition to its extensive portfolio of photoelectric sensors. This sensor provides the logistics and production markets a reliable solution to accommodate the ever-increasing variety of packaging shapes and sizes, and that provides a quick and easy installation experience.

Traditional sensors are mounted above the side frame and require installers to align and teach the sensor to a reflector at the end consumer, leading to high costs.

SICK offers the RSB as a solution to high installation costs and packaging variations to help logistics and production processes run more smoothly and efficiently. [Read more…] about SICK launches new photoelectric sensor

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

by

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

Soft assistive robotic wearables get a boost from rapid design tool

by

Scientists created a new design and fabrication tool for soft pneumatic actuators with integrated sensing, which can power personalized healthcare, smart homes, and gaming.

Soft, pneumatic actuators might not be a phrase that comes up in daily conversations, but more likely than not you might have benefited from their utility. The devices use compressed air to power motion, and with sensing capabilities, they’ve proven to be a critical backbone in a variety of applications such as assistive wearables, robotics, and rehabilitative technologies.

But there’s a bit of a bottleneck in creating the little dynamic devices that have advantages like high response rates and power to input ratios. They require a manual design and fabrication pipeline, which translates to a lot of trial and error cycles to actually test and see whether the designs will work. [Read more…] about Soft assistive robotic wearables get a boost from rapid design tool

LeddarTech raises $140 million to develop autonomous driving technology

by

LeddarTech has raised investment of $140 million, which comprises a Series D first close of $116 million and debt facility of $24 million.

LeddarTech is a developer of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving sensing technology.

FS Investors led the financing round with the participation of Investissement Québec, BDC Capital, Go Capital, certain funds managed by Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Export Development Canada, ams Osram, Desjardins Capital, UI Investissement, Cowen Investment II LLC and other LeddarTech management. [Read more…] about LeddarTech raises $140 million to develop autonomous driving technology

ATI unveils ‘ultra-thin’ force torque sensor for robots

by

ATI Industrial Automation has unveiled its “ultra-thin” Mini43LP Force/Torque Sensor, which the company says provides “high-precision force sensing in a rugged, yet compact transducer”.

At less than 8 mm tall, the newest member of ATI’s force/torque sensor product range is “uniquely suited for smaller automated applications”, says ATI.

The low profile sensor body allows users to optimize their work envelope and preserve the robot’s lifting power for end-of-arm tools. [Read more…] about ATI unveils ‘ultra-thin’ force torque sensor for robots

Infineon and Reality AI teach cars how to ‘hear’

by

Today’s advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are based on cameras, radar or lidar. As a result, their target objects need to be within the line of sight to be recognized by the system.

This, however, turns into a weakness when it comes to emergency vehicles – they can be heard much earlier than they can be seen and thus are invisible to ADAS for a longer time.

To address this challenge, Infineon Technologies together with Reality AI created an advanced sensing solution giving vehicles the sense of hearing. [Read more…] about Infineon and Reality AI teach cars how to ‘hear’