Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

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Kiva Systems developers launch new company and their own logistics robot

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Kiva Systems was a company that built a mobile robot for logistics operations, mainly for use in warehouses. It was a basically a small platform on wheels, and proved popular throughout the industry.

But then it got bought out by Amazon, which initially said it would still sell it to the rest of the logistics industry but actually didn’t. Instead it rebranded Kiva as Amazon Robotics and turned it into a business unit of its own.

The online retail giant now has one of the largest number of robots in operation of any company in the world.

But two former executives at Kiva Systems – Jerome Dubois and Rylan Hamilton – have now launched a new company and a range of new logistics automation solutions.  [Read more…] about Kiva Systems developers launch new company and their own logistics robot

Manufacturing and construction driving growth in Vietnamese automation and control systems market, says report

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Despite slowdowns in certain industries, Vietnam’s automation and control systems market is witnessing stable growth, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan.

Robust expansion in the manufacturing and construction sectors plus increased foreign direct investment, growing end-user need to optimize processes and improve efficiency, and development of special economic zones are factors fuelling growth.

Nonetheless, barriers to market entry are high. To succeed in a fiercely competitive ecosystem, automation vendors must embrace new technologies, such as Internet of Things, collaborate with developers of machine-to-machine technologies, and become one-stop integrated solution providers.  [Read more…] about Manufacturing and construction driving growth in Vietnamese automation and control systems market, says report

Higher wages and pressure to bring back manufacturing to the US could result in millions of job losses in clothes-making industry in Asia

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A combination of higher wages in Asian countries and a trend for bringing back manufacturing to the US could dismantle large parts of Asian economies, many of which depend on the textiles and clothes manufacturing trades for huge portion of their national income. 

An interesting video report by the Financial Times points to this possible future, but adds that in practice, for now, “almost all of the world’s T-shirts and jeans by millions of cheap workers, mostly women, watching over sewing machines”.

And beyond T-shirts and jeans, the vast majority of jobs and tasks in the clothes manufacturing sector in general is still done by humans.  [Read more…] about Higher wages and pressure to bring back manufacturing to the US could result in millions of job losses in clothes-making industry in Asia

Government incentives driving growth of Malaysian automation and control systems market, says report

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Government incentives and adoption of new technologies are driving the growth of the Malaysian automation and control systems market, according to a new report.

The Malaysian automation and control systems market, one of the biggest for suppliers, is stable and growing, says the study by Frost & Sullivan, which projects the market to be worth more than $409 million in the next four years.

Government incentives to aid manufacturing and infrastructure spend, as well as an established end-user base of sophisticated automation systems, are driving growth in the region.  [Read more…] about Government incentives driving growth of Malaysian automation and control systems market, says report

NSK miniature linear guides bring ‘higher dynamics’ to pick-and-place machines

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NSK says its linear guides bring “higher dynamics” to pick-and-place machines.

As machines for the semiconductor industry operate with cycle times of one second or less, pick-and-place units must offer very high dynamic performance.

A case in point can be seen at a manufacturer of chip-mounting systems, where NSK recommended a combination of its ball screw and miniature linear guide technologies to replace the existing linear motor and significantly increase dynamic capability.  [Read more…] about NSK miniature linear guides bring ‘higher dynamics’ to pick-and-place machines

HMS Industrial launches new smart grid connectivity gateway

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New IXXAT SG-gateways from HMS Industrial Networks enable data exchange between infrastructure and energy networks based on IEC61850 or IEC60870-5-104, and common fieldbus and industrial Ethernet systems, says the company.

While industrial communication between devices and systems is typically done with fieldbus and industrial Ethernet, modern infrastructure and energy networks are based upon other protocol standards such as IEC61850 and IEC60870-5-104.

The new IXXAT SG-gateways from HMS address the increasing need for data exchange between these two worlds, offering a wide protocol coverage and easy integration.  [Read more…] about HMS Industrial launches new smart grid connectivity gateway

Volkswagen buys D-Wave quantum computers which sell for $15 million each

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Volkswagen has become a customer of D-Wave Systems, which builds quantum computers that cost $15 million each. 

Martin Hofmann, VW’s chief information officer, told New York Times that the investment in quantum computing technology is a sign of things to come. “For us, it’s a new era of technology,” he said.

VW is claimed to have used a D-Wave computer to steer the movements of 10,000 taxis in Beijing simultaneously, optimising their routes and reducing congestion, according to the report in NYT.  [Read more…] about Volkswagen buys D-Wave quantum computers which sell for $15 million each

Harman introduces Sherlock AI system to help its designers and engineers find and put things together more quickly

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Harman International, a design and engineering company which supplies a range of products and services to automotive companies, has introduced a new artificial intelligence system into its company.

The AI system, Sherlock, is described as a “virtual colleague” for Harman employees, and is said to have completely redefined the innovation management workflow in some of the company’s divisions.

Armin Prommersberger, senior vice president technology, lifestyle audio division, at Harman, says Sherlock offers a level of insight into the business that would be impossible to gain without it.  [Read more…] about Harman introduces Sherlock AI system to help its designers and engineers find and put things together more quickly

ADAS: Features of advanced driver assistance systems

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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

Renesas working on new products for self-driving cars

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Renesas, one of the leading suppliers of electronics to the automotive sector, says it is developing a new range of products which it plans to launch towards the end of this year, according to a report in Automotive News. 

The company plans to market the new range of products under the label of “Renesas Autonomy”, and it will include such things as an image-recognition system which works with automotive cameras, around-view monitors and lidar systems.

The market for automotive electronics has been accelerating at a fast rate and is seeing consolidation in the chipmaking business, with Qualcomm having bought NXP, which previously bought Freescale.  [Read more…] about Renesas working on new products for self-driving cars