Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

software

Rockwell launches network operations and maintenance software

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Rockwell Automation has released new software designed to simplify network operations and maintenance and give  centralised visibility into networked assets.

The new FactoryTalk Network Manager software is designed for monitoring and maintaining a growing number of IoT devices on networks.

It allows monitoring of Allen-Bradley Stratix managed switches, troubleshooting switch issues and configuration of new managed switches from one software interface.

[Read more…] about Rockwell launches network operations and maintenance software

Opinion: How artificial intelligence can help the food industry

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By Stephanie Duvault-Alexandre, consultant at software provider FuturMaster

There’s a lot of talk about artificial intelligence as the best thing since sliced bread. But what does AI really mean for the food industry and what are the implications?

According to a report by Accenture, 85 per cent of organisations have planned to adopt digital or AI technologies in their supply chains during the last year. It’s clearly becoming big business across industries. The value of AI is estimated to be worth $36.8 billion globally by 2025 predicts US market intelligence firm Tractica.

AI is not necessarily a concept that’s all that new. Various names refer to more or less the same thing. For example, machine learning is used to steer self-driving cars. AI is proving instrumental in healthcare for identifying and diagnosing complicated ailments.  [Read more…] about Opinion: How artificial intelligence can help the food industry

New software from Silicon Mobility ‘drastically improves’ power flow and range of electric and hybrid vehicles

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Silicon Mobility has released new software for the industry’s first automotive field programmable controller unit which the company says “enables higher yield power conversion for electric and hybrid vehicles”. 

Silicon Mobility, a developer of control solutions for cleaner mobility, says its new software, OLEA LIB DC/DC, an addition to the Silicon Mobility OLEA FPCU, enables customers to design highly efficient DC/DC converters for hybrid and electric vehicles.

Electric and hybrid vehicle performance are mainly characterized by their energy usage efficiency.  [Read more…] about New software from Silicon Mobility ‘drastically improves’ power flow and range of electric and hybrid vehicles

Digitalisation and the greatest industrial show on Earth

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Hannover Messe is probably the largest and most important industrial technology show on Earth. 

The venue for the event spans an area the size of a small town and it takes several days to visit all of the most important areas you might be interested in.

Covering an event of that magnitude from a journalistic point of view can be difficult if you’re interested in too many things.  [Read more…] about Digitalisation and the greatest industrial show on Earth

Drone software company secures over $750,000 in seed funding

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Converge, a commercial drone software provider, has raised over three quarters of a million in seed funding. The company’s initial round of funding included investors Samsung NEXT, Techstars Ventures, Kima Ventures, and other angel investors.

The commercial drone market is expected to grow to $58.3 bn as traditional industries incorporate drones to execute tasks from delivery to inspections through to emergency response.

It is the fastest growing drone market segment, however AI software is needed to move beyond intensive, hands-on planning, flying and distilling data to an automated world where drones are a seamless part of business operations.

[Read more…] about Drone software company secures over $750,000 in seed funding

Integrating CMMS and IoT to change the future of your business

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By Lindsey Walker, NexGen Asset Management

Pretty sure you have come across the term Internet of Things (IoT) more than you would have expected in the past few years.

IoT refers to a network of physical objects that are connected through the internet and function automatically without any kind of human involvement.

IoT can be applied in several areas – right from household appliances, industrial applications to fashionable wearables.  [Read more…] about Integrating CMMS and IoT to change the future of your business

Fast-growing sectors within robotics and automation

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If we were to think of robotics and automation as one industry – which we at this website in fact do – we could argue that it’s one of the fastest-growing industries in the world right now.

Certainly if we were to include software automation systems – such as robotic process automation – it would probably be the biggest.

But Robotics and Automation News tends to concentrate on physical machines – such as robotic arms or autonomous vehicles – which can be seen in a typical manufacturing or logistics facility.

And we try and understand what other sectors are most closely related to robotics and automation – manufacturing and logistics being two obvious ones.

[Read more…] about Fast-growing sectors within robotics and automation

Rethink Robotics launches new software for Sawyer industrial robot

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Company says Sawyer will now be able to produce real-time robot performance and manufacturing data

Rethink Robotics has released Intera 5.2, an expansion of its “first-of-its-kind” Intera software platform which provides critical data insights about its Sawyer industrial robot to manufacturers in real time. 

Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer gives operators and line managers valuable data at a glance, including metrics such as cycle time, part count, speed and force – data that has never before been available through a single collaborative robot vendor.

The new feature, Intera Insights, displays key performance indicators via a customizable dashboard on the robot’s on-board display, making it accessible directly on the factory floor.  [Read more…] about Rethink Robotics launches new software for Sawyer industrial robot

Yaskawa Motoman launches new software for robots and programmable logic controllers

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Yaskawa Motoman has launched new software for robots and programmable logic controllers – the computing appliances connected to industrial robots.

The MLX300 software option is the newest generation of integration for Yaskawa robots and PLCs.

The MLX300 enables operators to control and program Yaskawa robots in a standard PLC programming environment, eliminating the need to learn a specific robot programming language, says the company.  [Read more…] about Yaskawa Motoman launches new software for robots and programmable logic controllers

Ortovox to implement Centric’s product lifecycle management solution

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Ortovox Sportartikel, a German producer of mountain safety equipment and mountainwear, has selected Centric Software to provide its product lifecycle management solution.

Centric Software is a specialist provider of PLM solutions, particularly for fashion, retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor and consumer goods companies.

Ortovox was founded in 1980 in the south of Munich and got its start making avalanche safety transceivers to help locate people in mountain rescue situations. Ortovox’s range now includes a range of apparel and climbing and ski backpacks.  [Read more…] about Ortovox to implement Centric’s product lifecycle management solution