Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

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How Robotnik’s RB-KAIROS+ mobile manipulator can helps improve productivity in SMEs

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A recent Roland Berger study, which analyses the impact of robotics in logistics, provides some interesting data in this regard.

It indicates a cost reduction of between 20 percent and 40 percent and an improvement in productivity of between 25 percent and 70 percent.

Increased production and cost reduction is already a reality for many small and medium-sized companies that are experiencing increased profitability and reduced production costs thanks to the automation of certain processes using mobile manipulators such as Robotnik’s RB-KAIROS+. [Read more…] about How Robotnik’s RB-KAIROS+ mobile manipulator can helps improve productivity in SMEs

Robots provide opportunities for restart after coronavirus pandemic, say industry leaders

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Robots provide opportunities for a restart of the economy after the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to industry leaders surveyed by Automatica, one of the largest industrial automation trade shows in the world.

Messe Munchen, which owns Automatica, says it did a survey and found the following:

  • 84 percent of decision-makers expect more robot automation in German SMEs;
  • 77 percent of decision-makers rely on mobile robotics to convert production quickly; and
  • 76 percent of employees in SMEs want robotics training.

Even before the corona pandemic, the manufacturing industry in Germany was highly automated according to figures from the International Federation of Robotics and ranked third in robot density worldwide behind Singapore and South Korea. [Read more…] about Robots provide opportunities for restart after coronavirus pandemic, say industry leaders

Autoware aims to make advanced AI available to small manufacturers

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Autoware says it aims to make advanced AI and related technologies available to small- and medium-sized enterprises that would otherwise not be able to afford or implement it.

The EU-funded project calls its offering “cognitive manufacturing”, which includes the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies.

Basicaly, Autoware is a research and development project that helps manufacturing SMEs to integrate new digital technologies in their production processes. [Read more…] about Autoware aims to make advanced AI available to small manufacturers

ESMERA opens €200,000 competition to fund small businesses developing robotics solutions

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The EU funded robotics project ESMERA – the European SMEs Robotics Applications – has opened its second open call to help fund small businesses developing robotic solutions for enterprise applications.

Within that call, industrial end-users have defined specific challenges that are to be solved by introducing a robotics solution.

The challenges come from the areas of manufacturing, energy, construction, agriculture, food processing, retail, healthcare and emergency response. [Read more…] about ESMERA opens €200,000 competition to fund small businesses developing robotics solutions

Universal Robots looks for opportunities created by Malaysia’s Industry4WRD program

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Universal Robots, a collaborative robots maker, has identified Malaysia as a key growth market in line with the country’s increased focus on automation and robotics, as outlined in its national policy on Industry 4.0, called “Industry4WRD”, to transform its manufacturing sector.

The manufacturing sector, comprising 98.5 percent of Malaysian SMEs, serves as a major contributor to the country’s economy. In 2018, the sector contributed 22.4 percent of GDP, roughly RM 325 billion.

Sakari Kuikka, general manager, Southeast Asia and Oceania at UR, says: “Malaysia deployed just 45 units of industrial robots per 10,000 employees in 2017, almost 50 percent below the global average of 85 units. [Read more…] about Universal Robots looks for opportunities created by Malaysia’s Industry4WRD program

Challengers in Esmera robotics competition in line to receive €200k each

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In the context of the European robotics project Esmera, 12 experiments have now started to solve industry challenges by developing new robotics solutions.

The Esmera consortium has chosen the best twelve experiments from 32 proposals that were handed in during the first Open Call in 2018.

The solution design by the experiments will be carried out in two competitive phases.

[Read more…] about Challengers in Esmera robotics competition in line to receive €200k each

Esmera launches new robotics competition – each winner to receive more than €200,000

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An EU-backed project called the European SMEs Robotic Applications, or Esmera, has launched a competition to find solutions to industrial end-user challenges.

Esmera says it is looking for real-life problems in which providers would like to introduce a robotics solution.

Eight of these challenges will be included in an open call in September 2019, to which SMEs all over Europe will apply to solve them. [Read more…] about Esmera launches new robotics competition – each winner to receive more than €200,000