Robotics & Automation News

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simulation

RoboDK targets integrator sales demos with web version of robot simulation software

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A new web version the popular robot programming software RoboDK has just been released.

This simplified version needs no license and provides a portable, intuitive interface for sales representatives, new robot users, and educational uses.

Creating convincing sales demos of robotic solutions is not always easy. Robot integrators often use simulations to make it easier for clients to understand their solutions, but such simulations are not easily portable. [Read more…] about RoboDK targets integrator sales demos with web version of robot simulation software

Autonomous vehicle simulation startup MorAI raises $20 million funding

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MorAI, a developer of autonomous vehicle simulation technology, has secured a $20 million Series B funding round.

The round includes investment from new investors Korea Investment Partners, KB Investment, and the state-run Korea Development Bank, as well as from existing investors Naver’s D2 Startup Factory, Hyundai Motor Group’s Zero1ne, Kakao Ventures, and Atinum Investment, bringing MorAI’s total funding to date to $25 million.

MorAI was co-founded in 2018 by three autonomous driving researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Ever since, the company has established itself as South Korea’s sole provider of full-stack autonomous vehicle simulation solutions. [Read more…] about Autonomous vehicle simulation startup MorAI raises $20 million funding

Seegrid partners with Applied Intuition for warehouse robot simulations

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Seegrid, a maker of autonomous mobile robots for material handling, and Applied Intuition, a simulation and software tools provider for autonomous vehicle development, have reached an agreement to collaborate on creating 3D virtual warehouses, factories, and distribution centers in support of accelerating advancements in autonomous technology for the material handling industry.

The partnership involves a significant investment by Seegrid and will enable Seegrid to quickly validate product innovations in more environments and use cases across the supply chain than feasible with manual testing.

Seegrid launched several new robot models in 2021 including the company’s newest AMR, Palion Lift, which the company says is “the only autonomous lift truck in the market with industry-leading 3D perception”. [Read more…] about Seegrid partners with Applied Intuition for warehouse robot simulations

Nvidia and USC researchers demonstrate autonomous robotic cutting

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Nvidia and USC researchers have demonstrated an innovative approach to Autonomous Robotic Cutting in new work nominated for a Best Paper Award at the Robotics Science & Systems Conference  last month. (See video and images below.)

Robotic cutting of soft materials is critical for applications such as food processing, household automation, and surgical manipulation. As in other areas of robotics, simulators can facilitate controller verification, policy learning, and dataset generation. Moreover, differentiable simulators can enable gradient-based optimization, which is invaluable for calibrating simulation parameters and optimizing controllers.

In their work nominated for a Best Paper Award at RSS 2021, Nvidia researchers present DiSECt: the first differentiable simulator for cutting soft materials. The simulator augments the finite element method (FEM) with a continuous contact model based on signed distance fields (SDF), as well as a continuous damage model that inserts springs on opposite sides of the cutting plane and allows them to weaken until zero stiffness, enabling crack formation. [Read more…] about Nvidia and USC researchers demonstrate autonomous robotic cutting

Siemens expands Simcenter with AI-driven generative engineering for systems architectures

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Siemens Digital Industries Software has released Simcenter Studio software, a web application dedicated to discovering better system architectures, faster.

Simcenter Studio offers a unique competitive advantage for designing products by finding the best possible system architectures in a shorter amount of time, searching through thousands of possibilities using artificial intelligence and system simulation.

These results are automatically generated to meet the user’s design requirements and deliver specific systems architectures faster than ever before. This AI-based generation of system architectures is the latest addition to Simcenter software within Siemens‘ Xcelerator portfolio. [Read more…] about Siemens expands Simcenter with AI-driven generative engineering for systems architectures

Kuka releases new version of its robot simulation software

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Automation specialist Kuka has released the new version of its smart simulation software, Kuka.Sim 4.0. (See video below.)

Kuka.Sim 4.0 enables details and sequences of robot applications to be “realistically simulated” even before start-up and then transferred 100 percent to the real controller.

The Kuka.Sim simulation software brings robot applications to life – even before the real system is put into operation. [Read more…] about Kuka releases new version of its robot simulation software

Unity partners with Mando to develop advanced driver assistance system

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Unity, one of the best-known platforms for creating games, is partnering up with South Korean self-driving technology company Mando to develop front camera simulation technology for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

Unity has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mando to develop an ADAS front camera simulator. This MoU will combine Mando’s expertise in technology with Unity for a joint effort to develop an ADAS front camera simulator.

This is South Korea’s first collaboration case between an automotive parts company and a game engine developer. [Read more…] about Unity partners with Mando to develop advanced driver assistance system

MIT CSAIL’s robo-starfish enables closer study of aquatic life

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Scientists have invented a ‘robo-starfish’ which give us more insights into aquatic life, as Adam Conner-Simons, or MIT CSAIL, reports. (See video below.)

Biologists have long experienced the challenges of documenting ocean life, with many species of fish proving quite sensitive to the underwater movements of humans.

As a possible solution, computer scientists have been developing special marine robots that can stealthily move among their carbon-based counterparts. In 2018, for example, a team from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) fabricated a soft robotic fish that autonomously swam with real fish along the coral reefs of Fiji.

However, the complex dynamics of how water moves – and its ability to quickly ruin some perfectly good electronics systems – have made underwater robots especially difficult to develop compared to ones for air or land. [Read more…] about MIT CSAIL’s robo-starfish enables closer study of aquatic life

Fuzzy Logic Robotics launches platform that enables users to go from CAD to control with one software

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Startup company Fuzzy Logic Robotics has launched a new, “easy-to-use and universal” software platform which it says “reduces robotics programming costs by 10”.

The first release of Fuzzy Studio, during Hannover Messe Industry 2021, is described as a “game changer” for unlocking flexible robotic production.

Fuzzy Logic Robotics highlights some of the features available in Fuzzy Studio as follows:

  • Drag and drop CAD parts into the 3D digital twin, automatically generate complex trajectories and deploy to the production robot in one click – all with one universal software platform.
  • From offline simulation to real-time control, Fuzzy Studio removes the gap between simulation and reality to reduce downtime and streamline the robotics workflow.
  • Designed from the ground up to drastically reduce the need of robotics expertise thanks to no-code real-time digital twin technology.
  • With two clicks, swap between any make and model of robot to find the right one for the application – no need to switch softwares and redo time-intensive design work.
  • Handles even the most complex robotic applications and accessible to any size of company.

[Read more…] about Fuzzy Logic Robotics launches platform that enables users to go from CAD to control with one software

Computer games-making engine Unity introduces robotics simulation system

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Unity, a software platform for making computer games, has unveiled a robotic simulation system. 

Unity is one of the most popular platforms for creating and operating real-time 3D games and other digital content and its new functionality is called Object Pose Estimation demonstration, which the company says “combines the power of computer vision and simulation technologies”, adding that it illustrates how Unity’s artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities are “having real-world impact on the use of robotics in industrial settings”.

Object Pose Estimation and its corresponding demonstration come on the heels of recent releases aimed at supporting the eminent Robot Operating System (ROS), a flexible framework for writing robot software. [Read more…] about Computer games-making engine Unity introduces robotics simulation system