Where Innovation Meets Imagination
This is a long list of features of advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS as it’s called in the automotive industry.
ADAS is an umbrella term. Its individual technologies are basically small autonomous systems.
Taken together, ADAS is essentially a self-driving system, but it’s not promoted as such because of regulatory reasons. [Read more…] about ADAS: Features of advanced driver assistance systems
Smart automatic vending machines are becoming increasingly widely used in industrial settings, according to Bedrunka+Hirth.
The German company supplies what it calls “intelligent consumable and tool dispensers” which have hi-tech features such as ID card and PIN code verification access management.
B+H says the machine knows exactly who is allowed to receive a measuring device and when it must be calibrated. It logs the number of times when a milling cutter was taken out and knows when the stock is running out. [Read more…] about Smart tool dispenser systems finding their way into industrial settings
A company called Husarion has launched a new development board specially designed for robotics.
The Core2 is described as a controller with a variety of interfaces which are useful in robotics, and it can be connected to the Husarion cloud, enabling remote control of robot systems over the internet.
Among the use cases Husarion highlights are:
One flavour of Core2 uses the Robot Operation System, and is now available for pre-order through CrowdSupply.com. The controller itself is being offered for less than $100 while [Read more…] about Husarion launches new robotics development board
The employees at BMW Group’s Dingolfing Plant have a new, highly responsive assistant: an LBR iiwa lightweight robot from Kuka, which they say takes over “monotonous and physically demanding tasks”.
Previously, BMW employees had to lift a differential case which weighed up to 5.5 kg, and had to manoeuvre it with millimeter-precision, in the assembly of the front axle.
Now the robot is taking over this “ergonomically demanding work”. [Read more…] about Collaborative robotic system makes ‘monotonous and physically demanding tasks’ at BMW easier
Harvest Croo Robotics is field testing an autonomous vehicle designed to help plant and pick strawberries, according to a report on ThePacker.com.
The new vehicle looks rather unlike your typical farm vehicle, and is designed to straddle six strawberry beds as it moves along. It uses GPS navigation, LiDAR vision and carries 16 robots which will do the actual planting and picking of the strawberries.
The robots will use a proprietary vision system which will identify which strawberries are ready to be picked (probably based on colour as robots can’t smell or taste yet as far as we know). Picked strawberries will then be moved to the platform level for further inspection and grading. [Read more…] about Harvest Croo Robotics field tests autonomous strawberry-picking vehicle
Honda says it is targeting the year 2025 for the introduction of vehicles with highly-automated driving capability – or autonomy – in most driving situations (SAE Level 4).
Full list of SAE levels of automation, or autonomousness, available here.
This new goal builds upon earlier-announced plans for Honda and Acura vehicles to have highly-automated freeway driving capability (SAE Level 3) by 2020.
Honda says these are “critical steps” in its commitment to contribute to a “collision-free society”. [Read more…] about Honda aiming for Level 4 automated driving capability by 2025
Robotic Vision Technologies will be a co-exhibitor at EastPack 2017, on June 13-15, 2017 with the world’s largest collaborative robot maker Universal Robots.
RVT will be demonstrating its new collaborative 3D vision guidance software on a Universal Robot UR5. The 3D cobot packaging solution can be seen at EastPack ATX 2017 in East Booth 2529 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
RVT, a leader in vision software for industrial applications, has been integrated into Universal Robots’ cobot arms to demonstrate precise pick-and-place items off a conveyor in 2.5D and onto a movable tray in 3D. [Read more…] about Robotic Vision Technologies and Universal Robots introduce 3D cobot packaging application
This is the full list of SAE’s autonomy levels:
Level 0 – No Automation: The full-time performance by the human driver of all aspects of the dynamic driving task, even when enhanced by warning or intervention systems.
Level 1 – Driver Assistance: The driving mode-specific execution by a driver assistance system of either steering or acceleration/deceleration using information about the driving environment and with the expectation that the human driver performs all remaining aspects of the dynamic driving task.
Level 2 – Partial Automation: The driving mode-specific execution by one or more driver assistance systems of both steering and acceleration/deceleration using information about the driving environment and with the expectation that the human driver performs all remaining aspects of the dynamic driving task.
Level 3 – Conditional Automation: The driving mode-specific performance by an Automated Driving System of all aspects of the dynamic driving task with the expectation that the human driver will respond appropriately to a request to intervene.
Level 4 – High Automation: The driving mode-specific performance by an Automated Driving System of all aspects of the dynamic driving task, even if a human driver does not respond appropriately to a request to intervene.
Level 5 – Full Automation: The full-time performance by an Automated Driving System of all aspects of the dynamic driving task under all roadway and environmental conditions that can be managed by a human driver.
Electronics is a fast-growing market for industrial robots, and Kuka has been showing off some of its success in the sector.
In one example the company highlighted recently, a total of 25 Kuka robots are in operation at Possehl Electronics in Niefern, Germany.
There, they manufacture complex timing cases for electric power steering systems for cars.
At the core of the system, three KR Agilus robots precisely place components into the injection molding machine.
Industrial robots work on three lines with an accuracy to a tenth of a millimeter, says Kuka. [Read more…] about Kuka shows off its robots working in microelectronics
The Drives & Motion Division of Yaskawa America has released what it says is “a full line of gear motors” based on its Sigma-7 servo motors.
The new line brings “precise Yaskawa servo motion to a wider variety of automation applications than ever before, especially to uses which require high torque at low
output speeds”, says the company.
A new set of gearheads have been designed to pair precisely with every servo motor in the full Sigma-7 range, creating complete gear motor solutions rated from a low of 50W to as high as 7.5 kW. [Read more…] about Yaskawa introduces gear motor capabilities for its full Sigma-7 servo line
