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Robotics and Automation News Review: Fanuc and Kuka launch new robots, Pittsburgh ready to go to ‘infinity and beyond’, Foxconn moves operations out of China, and much more…

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Friday 14 August 2020: This is a new, weekly column – to be published every Friday – which rounds up all the most interesting news from the robotics and automation industry in the past seven days, in brief form. 

This Robotics and Automation News Review is also available to view on our YouTube channel.

Comau Robotics says it has created an “innovative, in-line testing and quality control system that optimizes the construction and assembly of batteries”. The company says the MI.RA / Thermography system uses thermal imaging and artificial intelligence to perform non-invasive automated assessment and control of welded joints, to ensure battery integrity and prevent waste.

Kuka Robotics has launched a new compact industrial robot. The company says its new KR 4 Agilus is “a hot candidate for first place in the small robotics charts from October onwards”.

Fanuc Robotics has launched a new “extremely compact” robot which it claims has the “best precision in its class”. The new M-10iD/16S robot is the most compact model of the M-10iD series, says Fanuc, adding that it combines the best features of its two predecessors, M-10iA/10MS and M-10iA/12S.

Hyundai Robotics has signed an agreement with Korea’s Asan Medical Center and KT for joint development and commercialization of smart hospital solutions on June 30th. The company is planning to prepare for the post-corona era with a smart hospital solution for infection management by ICT-based digital transformation.

Techman Robot, a manufacturer of collaborative robots, says it has adopted proactive steps against the new coronavirus. Techman Robot says it checks the health of its employees on a daily bases and collects global virus information. It also implementing prevention measures. The company maintains business communications online and is frequently in touch with all overseas offices, global distributors, partners, and customers.

HRG International Institute of Research and Innovation has unveiled a new floor cleaning robot, the SW10. The company says it is exclusively designed for floor cleaning tasks in commercial and industrial environments. The robot is combined with sweeping, mopping and vacuum cleaning functions and its work can maintain 2,000 square meters per hour.

Denso has established the Pittsburgh Innovation Lab, a new US research and development center designed to strengthen open innovation and enhance technology development that enables automated driving.

FedEx has installed industrial robotic arms to do what is considered the “most difficult” job to automate in a sorting facility in Memphis, USA. The logistics giant has integrated Yaskawa robots and software from Plus One Robotics into a robotic system that performs a task which involves picking up parcels or envelopes from a tray and placing them on a conveyor.

Foxconn, Apple’s main contract manufacturing partner, has moved a significant portion of its operations outside of China. The company has already moved an additional 5 percent of its operations to countries other than China, bring it up to 30 percent, compared with 25 percent last year.

Pittsburgh local authorities say they are looking to “infinity and beyond” after NASA awarded a local company, Astrobotic Technology, a $200 million contract to build and send the first-ever US robotic rover to the Moon by 2023.

Airbus unveils autonomous helicopter

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Aerospace giant Airbus has unveiled an autonomous helicopter.

The prototype of Airbus Helicopters’ VSR700 unmanned aerial system has performed its first free flight. The VSR700 performed a 10-minute flight at a drone test centre near Aix-en-Provence in the south of France.

The company says this is a “significant step” in the programme following the first flight in November 2019 when the prototype was tethered to comply with regulatory requirements. [Read more…] about Airbus unveils autonomous helicopter

US tightens restrictions on Huawei

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The US government has tightened its restrictions on doing business with Chinese telecommunications equipment supplier Huawei.

The US had already effectively banned American companies from providing a platform for Huawei, which led to the company being unable to put its products and services on the Android operating system used by the majority of smartphones around the world.

Although Android is an open-source operating system, Google, Samsung and many others have developed their own versions for their smartphones based on the original code and, therefore, can call it their own and prevent others connecting to it or using it. [Read more…] about US tightens restrictions on Huawei

Big investor dumps all its Rolls-Royce stock

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ValueAct, a San Francisco-based investment company with more than $16 billion of assets under management, has sold all its shares it Rolls-Royce, according to a report on the Financial Times website.

ValueAct is said by Reuters to have at one stage held almost 10 percent of Rolls-Royce entire stock, which currently capitalizes at approximately $6.3 billion.

One of the most famous names in the industry, Rolls-Royce is one of the world’s leading suppliers of aircraft engines. [Read more…] about Big investor dumps all its Rolls-Royce stock

Robotics and Automation News Review: New collaborative robots, an ‘easy’ vision system, an award-winning delivery robot, and more…

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Friday 7 August 2020: This is a new, weekly column – to be published every Friday – which rounds up all the most interesting news from the robotics and automation industry in the past seven days, in brief form. 

This Robotics and Automation News Review is also available to view on our YouTube channel, and is embedded below, at the end of this article.

Doosan Robotics has introduced six new collaborative robots (main picture), diversifying its product offerings. The new lineup includes four models from the A-Series and two from the H-Series.

SICK is continuing the roll-out of its customisable SensorApps for “easy” machine vision, with the launch of its Colour Inspection and Sorting App (picture below), which the company says is a cost-saving and simple solution for common inline quality control tasks in automated production and packaging applications.

A company called Edwards Vacuum has won an award from SEMI and Semiconductor Digest for its autonomous mobile robot, the ESV-X (see video below), which loads equipment without human intervention and autonomously delivers it to work locations within a semiconductor factory to minimize scheduled and unplanned downtime and the need for other transportation equipment while increasing customer safety.

Renesas has launched the RV1S9353A, a delta-sigma modulator chip used in robotic arm controllers, AC servo controllers, and NC servo controllers employed in a range of smart factory equipment.

GreyOrange says its Ranger GTP robot (pictured below) has become the first Automated Mobile Platforms robot of its kind to be UL Certified to UL 3100, Second Edition for use in commercial and industrial environments, UL being a US-based safety certification company.

Epson Robots has launched what it says are “new and improved” LS3-B SCARA and LS20-B SCARA robots. Notable, new and improved features include batteryless encoder, a lower cable duct profile that is ideal for hard to reach work cell layouts, built-in camera cable for easy vision system setup, and new top-of-arm layout for enhanced usability.

Plexus Health Science has launched the UVC-650, or “Sunslinger” (pictured below), a lightweight robot that emits high-powered UV light to envelop a space that kills microorganisms in “just a few minutes and virtually disinfects the space”. The system can be installed in hospitals, restaurants, offices and in other facilities.

Geek+ says its C200M Bin-to-Person robotic warehouse system can save 50 percent on goods storage. The machine has a 1.5m telescopic fork, modular door frame and multiple bin access. (See video below.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoSrlBRR_ig

Productive Robotics has released its Productive Analytics platform, which provides real-time status monitoring for all OB7 cobots, enabling access to the operating status of all cobots and their production history so customers can optimize their production, identify production errors, minimize downtime, and remotely monitor their robot activity.

Siemens has launched its Desigo building automation controllers – the PXC4 and PXC5. The company says the controllers can transform buildings into high-performing, energy efficient assets. Both controllers concentrate on specific automation elements – the Desigo PXC4 for HVAC plants and Desigo PXC5 for system functions and integration.

Russia and China ‘ditch’ dollar and increase use of euro

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Russia and China are building a “financial alliance” and look set to “ditch” the dollar, according to a report on the Nikkei Asian Review website. 

The financial news website reports that the US dollar’s share of trade between Russia and China “fell below 50 percent for the first time on record” in the first quarter of 2020.

The source of the statistic is Russia’s Central Bank and Federal Customs Service, which published figures showing that a relatively low 46 percent of trade transactions between China and Russia were conducted or completed in US dollars. [Read more…] about Russia and China ‘ditch’ dollar and increase use of euro

Continental building supercomputer on Nvidia platform to use for vehicle AI

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Continental is building a supercomputer based on the Nvidia computing platform. The system is intended for vehicle artificial intelligence system training.

The two companies say they are building the high-performance cluster based on Nvidia DGX AI systems, adding that this will “boost autonomous driving development performance”.

The new cluster reduces development time from weeks to hours, say the companies and among its main uses are deep learning, simulation and virtual data generation. [Read more…] about Continental building supercomputer on Nvidia platform to use for vehicle AI

Kuka launches new robot controller that is ‘smaller and requires less energy’

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Kuka has launched a new robot controller which it says requires less energy than its predecessor and is at the same time “significantly more compact”.

The KR C5 and the corresponding KR C5 micro robot controller are designed for small robots and are described as “future-compatible hardware” which feature “smart software”.

Kuka says the controllers “slot seamlessly into existing IT and cloud environments” and will gradually support all current applications – while offering considerably more possibilities and even better results. [Read more…] about Kuka launches new robot controller that is ‘smaller and requires less energy’

Siasun installs robotic system for inspection and categorization of rails

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Siasun has installed a robotic system for the inspection and categorization of rail and beam material manufactured at an Anshan Iron and Steel facility.

The trial robotic system integrates eight industrial robotic arms which are equipped with sensing technology, mechanical control, artificial intelligence, and bionics.

Siasun says the robots have high accuracy, reliability and consistency, and “can fully cope with the harsh and dangerous in the steel production process”. [Read more…] about Siasun installs robotic system for inspection and categorization of rails

How to Know What Type of Home Security System to Get

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Are you looking into getting a home security system for your home, but aren’t sure which type to get?

Don’t worry – this is a problem many people face.

There are many types of home security systems available that offer a variety of coverage. [Read more…] about How to Know What Type of Home Security System to Get